Proverbs 16:21
Some
teachers you want to learn from. Others you avoid because they have very little
of value to offer. It is often the way that they speak to their students and
others that makes the difference between the two.
When
a teacher is disrespectful toward others, they have not earned the right to
speak into my life. I always wonder if I will be the next person they will
disrespect.
If
their ideas don’t stand on their own merit, then usually the only method of
promoting ideas is to destroy, belittle and condescend. American universities
are experts at this. Any idea that varies from their cultural agenda is labeled
as backward, primitive, bigoted. Their ideas don’t stand the test of time or
universal application. The only way they stand is to try to knock down every
other idea.
By
contrast are those who simply present their ideas and let the ideas do the
talking. It is pleasant to listen to them. You don’t have to have your defenses
up. You don’t feel like you are being attacked, even if your ideas are very
different from theirs. There can be differences discussed without the heated
rhetoric. When the temperature rises during debates, grace comes from their
mouths.
So
how do they do it? They do it by holding onto the truth. If their ideas are
worth defending, then the ideas will defend themselves. They won’t need much
help. They will speak across time and culture. They can be universally applied
without crushing their opponents.
The
louder the protest, the weaker the ideas. Just listen to the tone of protest in
Washington and the media aimed at those who present simple truth.