You Were Instructed Now Give Instruction

Over the course of my life, I have had the good fortune to learn from some great people. There were Sunday School Teachers, Fellow Deacons, School Teachers, Professors, Business Leaders, as well as Friends and Family. Each of them were able to instruct me in different things and ways of carrying myself and going about the work I am doing. This was not just for me. I am obligated to take what I have learned and pay it forward to others.

“⁹He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” – Titus 1:9 (ESV)

In this verse and the passage it is found, Paul is giving encouraging instruction to Titus. Titus had been experiencing some difficulties and Paul was providing for that need. I see in the verse the instruction from Paul to Titus to seek assistance from those in his congregation that met certain criteria to serve elders and provide support where Titus was needing. This verse describes the character traits from a teacher’s perspective. These elders should be able to take the instruction they have received and pass that on to the others of the church so they too would gain from the knowledge and learning.

I have found myself in the place of having to figure things out in order to progress forward. The mistake I make is in trying to do it all myself and with just the information I have. In those instances, it seems as though I find the breakthrough once I draw on what I have learned or I reach out to others that may have experienced something similar and ask for their guidance.

Too often I believe that we forget what we have been instructed in the interest of forging our way. The reality is that most of what has gone on in the world and what will go on in the world has already been done once before. It is the use of what we were instructed that leads to new discoveries and learning.

What have you learned in the past that you have neglected to bring forward to the now? Are you out there trying to do it all? What if we simply use the instruction we have received to pay it forward to others so they too can learn and grow?