Is it beneficial for a novice Christian to teach others about matters of faith?

By Archimandrite Lazar (Abashidze) (+2018)

 

On the same foundation of unspiritual zeal, vain fervor, and self-conceit, the passion for teaching often arises. It has become common in our time for everyone to instruct and morally edify their neighbor, although very often those who become teachers are themselves only at the very beginning of the Christian life, having merely glimpsed it through a slightly opened door. How often it happens now that a person who has spent their entire life in unbelief and sins, after repenting and making some changes in their way of life, after attending church a few times or spending several days in a monastery, after learning some Christian laws and views, after familiarizing themselves with certain church rules and customs—immediately begins to teach and rebuke their relatives and friends, reproaching them for unbelief, for not being churchgoers, even accusing them of serving Satan, and the like.

Such cases are often observed when a newly converted person, having just left a sinful life, immediately begins to teach, rebuke, correct their close ones, zealously turn them to faith, and save their souls—only to soon stumble, fall, and return to their former sinful life. Meanwhile, those whom he rebuked, seeing him in such a pitiable state, attribute uselessness and weakness to Christianity itself, and turn away from the Church and from God even more.

Most of us—as soon as we read something edifying or notice an interesting thought or reflection from spiritual books—immediately rush to present it to our neighbor as instruction, to enlighten them, hastening to give advice on applying this or that rule from the Fathers, even though we ourselves have not yet used these rules and do not intend to use them.

How often do those who have come to believe now not live by faith, but only grasp certain aspects of Christian teaching, reinterpret them, and pass them on to their neighbor without ever making use of this wealth themselves. How widespread has become the phenomenon where a person’s entire religious life begins and ends only in the mind, never reaching the heart; religious knowledge enters through hearing, through reason, circulates in the intellect, is reviewed, reinterpreted, often reshaped to one's own understanding, and then immediately expressed through speech, presented to others as if taken from real spiritual experience, from life itself. But such knowledge, not tested, not suffered through an active life and struggle, is empty. A person who teaches not from spiritual experience but from book knowledge, according to the words of Isaac the Syrian (Homily 1), is like an artist who, promising water to the thirsty, paints it on a wall. The trouble is also that one who prematurely dedicates himself to teaching remains himself without fruit; this passion becomes a great obstacle to working on oneself, to seeing oneself, one’s weaknesses, and seeking one’s own healing.

Once again, at the root of such improper teaching lie vanity, self-conceit, self-importance, and pride of mind. Likewise, a tendency toward idleness may play a role, as well as the desire to avoid the arduous labor of inner struggle with oneself and to replace this effort with the easier task of instructing others. The whole world has always been afflicted and remains afflicted with this passion. All those possessing even a slightly outstanding intellect have always sought to teach and convert others to their own ideas; all philosophers, religious thinkers, and founders of heresies have strenuously endeavored to spread their heresies; every religious sect seeks to draw as many as possible into its net. Thus, there can be many graceless motives and impulses driving one to preach and to draw others into one’s faith. For this reason, we must not trust these inner "zealous" urges to convert everyone to the true path, as the Holy Apostles and the Holy Fathers—the luminaries of the Church—did by the grace of God. It is very possible that these are evil passions lurking within us, inciting us to shift our concern for the salvation of our own soul onto the concern for the salvation of others, thus giving these passions free rein in our hearts. And in seeking to save others, we may ourselves perish. "Be not many teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation," says the Apostle James (James 3:1).

Here is what the Holy Fathers say about this:

One elder said: "Do not begin to teach prematurely, otherwise, throughout your whole life, you will remain lacking in understanding." [103]

Abba Pimen the Great: "To teach one's neighbor is just as contrary to humility as it is to rebuke him." [104]

Abba Isaiah said: "It is dangerous to teach one's neighbor prematurely, lest one himself fall into that from which he warns his neighbor through teaching. He who falls into sin cannot teach others how to avoid it." [105]

He also said: "The desire to teach others, based on the belief in one's own ability to do so, becomes a cause of downfall for the soul. Those who are guided by self-conceit and seek to lead their neighbor to a state of dispassion bring their own soul into a wretched condition. Know and understand that when you instruct your neighbor to do this or that, you act as an instrument that destroys your own house at the very moment you attempt to build the house of your neighbor." [106]

Isaac the Syrian: "It is good to theologize for the sake of God, but it is better for a person to make himself pure for God. It is better for you, though knowledgeable and experienced, to be slow of speech than, due to the sharpness of your mind, to pour forth teachings like a river. It is more beneficial for you to strive to resurrect the deadness of your soul from passions by directing your thoughts toward the Divine than to raise the dead.

"Many have performed miracles, raised the dead, labored in converting the lost, and worked great wonders—through their hands, many were brought to the knowledge of God. And yet, after all this, those who gave life to others fell into vile and disgraceful passions, put themselves to death, and became a stumbling block for many when their deeds were revealed, for they were still in a state of spiritual infirmity and did not care for the health of their own souls..." [107]

"Even if you redeem hundreds of Christian slaves from captivity among the ungodly and grant them freedom, this will not save you if you yourself remain in bondage to the passions." [108]

"When a person attains a state of inner peace, then he can pour forth the light of enlightened reason upon others as well." [109]

"Preaching and proclaiming the Gospel is not only not the first duty of every believer, but not even any duty at all. The first duty of a believer is to cleanse himself from passions." [110]

"Vanity and self-conceit love to teach and instruct. They do not care about the worthiness of their advice! They do not consider that they may inflict an incurable wound upon their neighbor with a senseless counsel..." [111]

"...but for giving advice and guidance, it is not enough to be pious; one must have spiritual experience and, above all, spiritual anointing..." [112]

"If a person, before being purified by the Truth, is guided by his own inspiration, he will emit not a pure light for himself and others, but a mixed, deceptive one, because in his heart there dwells not simple goodness, but goodness mixed, to a greater or lesser degree, with evil." [113]

Abba Isaiah said: "How can I know whether I am pleasing to God, that I should tell my brother: do this or that? I myself am still under the yoke of repentance because of my sins." [114]

"Good feelings are silent. It is selfish feelings that seek expression through words, desiring to utter what flatters our self-love and presents us, as we imagine, in a better light." [115]

"Each of us should be more concerned with ourselves, with our own soul, and with our own spiritual benefit, because, according to the word of the Apostle, each of us shall give an account of himself to God. The confusion among us arises because we are more inclined to instruct others and strive not only to convince but also to refute and to prove with countless arguments..." [116]

"I have not yet begun the struggles of piety, and already I have been infected with vanity. I have not yet stepped into the threshold, and already I dream of the inner sanctuary. I have not yet laid the foundations of a God-pleasing life, and already I rebuke my neighbors. I have not yet come to know what truth is, and yet I wish to be a teacher of others. My soul! The Lord has granted you everything—understanding, reason, knowledge, discernment—so recognize what is beneficial for you. How do you dream of imparting light to others when you yourself are still immersed in darkness? Heal yourself first, and if you cannot, then at least weep for your own blindness." [117]

Thus, as is evident from the words of the Holy Fathers, teaching, guiding, and instructing is not beneficial for everyone, though it may appear honorable and praiseworthy; whereas delving into the knowledge of one's own weaknesses and seeking their healing is a matter of the utmost importance for all.

 

NOTES

103. Bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov, Patericon, p. 398.
104. Ibid., p. 336.
105. Ibid., p. 148.
106. Ibid., p. 138.
107. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 56.
108. Unseen Warfare, ch. 1.
109. The Life of Seraphim of Sarov.
110. Bishop Theophan, Letters on the Christian Life.
111. Bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov, vol. 5, ch. 13, p. 77.
112. Ibid., vol. 4, Appendix – Letters, Letter 18.
113. Bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov, Letters to Various Persons, Letter 51.
114. Bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov, Patericon, p. 137.
115. Unseen Warfare.
116. Hieroschemamonk Ambrose of Optina, Letters to Laypeople.
117. Ephraim the Syrian.

 

Source: О тайных недугах души [On the Hidden Ailments of the Soul], by Archimandrite Lazar (Abashidze), Moscow: Sretensky Monastery, 1998.