Not Many of You Should Become Bloggers

Few should become teachers, says James 3:1.  As a blogger I don't want to run afoul of James on this point.  But I do see a solution here, and that is to apply the golden rule.  “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matt 7:12 RSV). It’s frustrating to read  things  written by people who don't know what they are talking about, especially if they take five pages to say what they could say in one.   Applying the golden rule here means that  I can't  be writing that way either.    My application to this in the blogosphere: Avoid subjects which are too deep for me.   That is doable.  Take what you know, and reflect on that.  For someone like me who has been enjoying  the Bible as a layperson  for over 35 years, the texts and scholarly commentaries which I have come to know and love  raise many  fascinating  issues to discuss.   I try to  avoid matters that should be left to the professionals.

With that preface, here is the scary verse for bibliobloggers:  "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness" (James 3:1 RSV).   And also consider this from  John Dyer:  

What few of us realize is that when we press those "Publish," "Post," "Comment," and "Send" buttons, we are making the shift away from merely "believing" truth and stepping into the arena of publishing that belief. In doing so we are effectively assuming a position of leadership and teaching that prior to 2004 was not available to us.

James warned us, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly" (James 3:1, NIV1984). James goes on to graphically portray the incredible power that our tongues have both to praise and to curse especially in the context of teaching. He then says, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life." (James 3:13). Solomon echoes similar wisdom, "Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent" (Prov. 17:28).

"Not Many of You Should Presume To Be Bloggers,"  http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/marchweb-only/bloggers.html

Or, like I tell my children,   the less said the better.  

But Ps. 119 becomes a kind of opposing thought to James 3:1.  At verse 33 the psalmist says, "Lead me in the path of your commands, for in it I delight."  A blogger like me is not likely to come up with anything new.  But in the act of republishing  the sacred teachings and one person's response to them, my hope is that I am adding just a little of the light of Christ to a world which has much darkness.     As the psalmist says, the teachings become a "path" and in it we "delight."   Most bloggers are not doing much teaching.  That has already been done by the sacred writers.  We are more like members of a chorus who agree with Ps. 119, giving praise to God for his teaching and asking God to help us follow it. 

Why is reading and reflecting on  God’s word an empowering experience?   Jesus answers that, quoting  from  Deuteronomy 12:32,   “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”  (Matt 4:4 RSV) (quoting Deut. 8:3).

A version of this was posted on this blog June 27, 2012.