James 3:1-2 – Right desires to be teachers

Here in the first two verses of chapter three, James dealt with people with the ambition to be teachers of the Word. While teaching could have great potential of motivating and influencing believers for good, it also has great potential to destroy lives. Different people could be driven by different reasons to teach. Some are driven by their love for Christ, but there is no denial that there are some who could be driven by their ego. In the presence of temptation to gratify one’s personal ego, people who want to teach should carefully weigh their intention. Hence, James’ instruction was not for many of them to become teachers. Especially those motivated to teach for the wrong reasons.

In two verses, James gave three specific reasons why not many should be teachers. Firstly in verse 1, we see that teachers have greater accountability. They are supposed to have more knowledge and hence, they would have greater responsibility and accountability for the way they conduct their lives.

Secondly, James said that we all stumble in many ways. Why did he say that? It is true that we, fallen human being, succumb to sin easily. When that happens, it would cause others to be stumbled in their relationship with God. Hence, a teacher needs to be more watchful over his personal life, so that he would not become a stumbling block. Unless a person is prepared to consider this area seriously, James said that he or she should rethink his or her desire to teach.

And finally, verse 2 implied that it is difficult to bridle one’s tongue, including the teacher. A controlled tongue reflects a person’s controlled life. This also invariably reveals the character of a person. However, people do lose control of it every now and then. Therefore, because of the difficulty to bridle one’s tongue, one should consider carefully his desire to teach. Due to the fact that teachers have great potential and power to influence others, only people with proper motivation should consider being teachers. 

James point is obvious. One wrong direction or indication from a teacher, a whole class of people could be sent down the wrong path. Can we understand now why a teacher will be judged with greater severity? Can we understand why James asked us to be more thoughtful before we choose to teach? For us who are teachers and for those who desire to be teachers, these two verses must be at the forefront of our thoughts! It will help us to conduct the way we live. Yes, it should!