SCREENING YOUR TEACHERS

Proverbs 19:27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

Teaching or instructing is a powerful tool. Truth can be communicated and received in such a way that it will stay permanently in the mind of the learner. In the same manner, error can be taught and explained so convincingly that students enthusiastically embrace it. Our text warns us about the importance of carefully screening our sources of information. Simply stated, we are to stop listening to teaching that will cause us to depart from the truth. We are taught to respect the power of truth; but too often, we fail to respect the power of lies. Error can lead us away from the truth. The sometimes overlooked fact is that error can become “perceived truth” in the unsuspecting mind. Those who have been successfully indoctrinated in error will stubbornly defend it. Cults are convinced that their false beliefs are the absolute truth. We need to be careful about who our instructors are and who is teaching our children. Lest we think this is not really all that relevant, remember what the New Testament says: “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9). How much error does it take to corrupt the truth? It was this passage of Scripture that convinced me, many years ago, not to allow our children to be taught in the government schools. We did not want our children to be taught the godless theory of evolution or the revised history of our nation, which ignores our Christian heritage. Who are our teachers? One of the most powerful and dangerous mediums of information is the media. The valueless system of this world is being communicated through music, movies, television, and the printed page. Minds are being conformed to a way of life that is opposed to the Word of God. Medical professionals who should be trained to protect life have been brainwashed to believe that aborting a living human is permissible. Judges in our nation have had their judgment defiled until they believe it is their duty to protect society from the message of Christianity. Where did all this nonsense begin, and how has it been sustained? It has been promoted and propagated through teaching. We need to take this caution from the wise writer of Proverbs seriously. We are to quit listening to teachers whose error can cause “to err from the words of knowledge.”

A devotional thought by Pastor Smith of Mt. Zion Baptist Church