We Cannot Teach What We Do Not Know

As an upcoming, first-year teacher, the beginning of the school year looks daunting. Thankfully, my schedule is light, and I have had time to prepare. Health is already a passion, so diving into the curriculum and searching for supplemental aids to teach four classes a week is much more enjoyable than a subject like math would be for me. However, even as I read through the curriculum, I realize there is so much more I do not know. I will need to continue studying so that I can teach my students well.

Since the thirty-first of the month fell on Wednesday of this week, my Proverbs schedule landed on the ever-challenging insight into the nearly perfect woman of Proverbs 31. My attention is usually drawn to verses 10-31, but the first verse caught my eye.

            The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. Proverbs 31:1

This could have been Bathsheba that the writer is referring to since the book of Proverbs was written by Solomon. While we cannot be sure of the identity of this woman, we do know the legacy she left behind. The value of this mother’s teaching multiplied dividends in her child’s life. This mother taught with words and actions. She warned her son of the perils of giving in to lust and dependency on alcohol. She challenged him to stand up for the weak and care for the needs of the poor. Then, she showed him what such a life looked like throughout her lifetime. Her life’s work was spent caring for the needs of others, teaching her son the value of the words she had poured into him.

When did she learn what she had taught him? How did she become wise? Where did she learn the things she did not know? Since this chapter is the crowning conclusion of an entire book devoted to wisdom, it is safe to say that the rest of the book holds the answers. The very first chapter of Proverbs instructs the reader where to start their learning journey.

            The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

The refrain is repeated in Proverbs 9:10.

            The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

When I was growing up, I imagined God to be ready at any moment to strike me with lightning when I defied Him. As I continued reading His Word, however, I learned that this fear noted in Proverbs roots itself in love and then leads to obedience.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. 1 John 4:18-19

The Bible paints a picture of God as a loving Father placing needed boundaries around His children and allowing the natural consequences to play out when those boundaries are defied. However, He clearly defines the boundaries in His Word for our good. One only needs to read His Words to know Him and His ways.

            For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Romans 8:14-17

            And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Hebrews 12:5-6

What does this have to do with King Lemuel’s mother? Only that she had to learn of God and His ways before she could teach her son His ways. She had to learn it well enough to live out God’s ways before her son. She could not teach what she did not know. Knowing God’s wisdom for herself became the passion of her life, and it impacted her son’s life. We know of her now only because her pursuit of God’s wisdom led to a life that impacted her son’s life in invaluable ways. Her life also impacted an entire kingdom since this man was a king. We may not know her name, but we see the legacy of such a life as generations of women strive to match her ideals.

Just as I must dig in and learn the material if there is any hope to teach my new students, every mother must dig into God’s Word if there is any hope of teaching her children. There is too much at stake to waste time pursuing other things. We cannot teach what we do not know.

If your children are grown and have flown the nest, it is not too late to know God and His ways. There are children in Sunday School or Bible clubs still in need of adults who passionately pursue God and His Word. Perhaps there are grandchildren in need of Biblical wisdom and prayer. It is never too late to pursue God. Generations behind us are depending on it.

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Erica B.