Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:16
Suicide attacks are no laughing matter. And the loss of life is never humorous. But Iraqi citizens are sleeping a little better and enjoying a bit of irony because of an accident at a suicide bomber training camp in Northern Baghdad last week.
As reported by the New York Times, the accident happened at a terrorist training camp associated with an Al Qaeda splinter group known as “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” Apparently, a bomb exploded when an instructor was demonstrating how to make and use belt explosives to would be suicide bombers. The instructor and all 21 students died in the accident.
Now, it would be easy to laugh at their misfortune, as in, “Pay attention, I’m only going to do this once!” But based on the daily bombings that take place in that part of the world, this is merely a short-lived respite for the residents of Iraq. Sadly, there will be many more suicide bombers and more deaths.
But it is a good reminder to all of us that what we teach and how we teach are extremely important! Teachers have a special responsibility. They are charged with the task of carefully imparting knowledge to their students. And each of us will be judged by what we taught in this life.
The Apostle Paul knew this fact very well. He stressed to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16, that we ought to handle the gospel with great care. If perverted into “another gospel,” false teaching can be more damaging to a soul than a terrorist’s bomb. That is why we take great care with God’s Word.
The differences, though, are obvious. Terrorists and suicide bombers bring death, but the gospel brings life. Terrorists work with explosives that kill, but the Christian works with God’s grace that brings mercy. Hear the good news of Christ and teach it carefully to others…their lives, and your own, depend on it!
