Teach Yourself!

“you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. ²⁴ For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 

Romans 2:21–24

This world is all about telling others what to do. If I put words on social media, people might say something against it. In the past few weeks everyone on social media is giving their ‘two cents’. We pontificate, and we speak without expecting others to rattle our opinions. It’s an odd posture in this internet and social media era. Studies show the more we’re engaged in online ‘relationships,’ the less we have empathy. We can’t read the facial expressions, the body language, and the intonation of a person when we’re doing something on the internet. 

What should we do with all this? I think that we need to reflect on Romans 2 a little bit. Paul is circling us as we read the book of Romans and making us ask the question, ‘Aren’t I ok?’ He answers it by asking us, ‘Do you teach yourself?’ When you judge that person for idolatry, do you idolize something else in your heart like money or power? When you boast in saying you’re not so bad, do you still serve yourself instead of God? Do you when you speak your opinions, do you expect everyone to fully agree with you as though your word is law?! When you are trying to make everyone happy and avoid any kind of conflict, do you miss out on honoring God? When you look at the successful person in the room, do you celebrate God’s gift in them or do you get stuck in jealousy? 

The point is that we’re really good at looking at everyone else’s problems and not so good at knowing ourselves. And Paul is pretty clear: we’re bad at it. We don’t teach ourselves. We were stuck in jealousy, overflowing desires, we were gossips, we used our words to tear down. We need Jesus to save us from these things. And when we don’t humble ourselves, we actually trample the name of Christ. So what to do? Humble yourself. Don’t just talk over people, ask others questions, test everything according to God’s word and not just your feelings or reactions or anything else. And look to Jesus as your confidence.