Since 1984, Teacher Appreciation Week has occurred during the first full week of May. Perhaps you are a teacher, or you know a teacher, that has recently received a (or several) gift(s) because this celebratory period has recently occurred. Perhaps you sent a proverbial apple with your child to their schoolmarm. But what was sent to their Bible class teacher?
“Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.” (Galatians 6.6)
The most important lessons you, or your child, will ever learn are taught, not from scholastic books, but from the Word of God. I recently attended a gospel meeting about the family of God sharing with one another. The first night, the speaker spoke on sharing our material blessings with each other. A chief section of his sermon was on Galatians 6.6. The teaching there is that we have an individual responsibility to share all good things with those who have taught us the best things. Our Bible class teachers should receive our support- spiritual, emotional, physical, and even financial. And that this is not the work of the church as a group, but as individuals. All of the pronouns are individual pronouns. Backing up to the first verse and continuing through the tenth. Has a teacher shared the Word with you (or your family)? Then our individual responsibility is to share something with them.
Is this a command? Actually, the way Paul phrases verse six, it appears this is a work that had already begun, and he is (by the Spirit) encouraging it to continue. “Let…”; do not stop, do not hold back, do not refrain from. If we so honored our Bible class teachers, how easy it would be to get people to teach!
Share or give? Giving is something to do, or to not do. Giving means I had it and rid myself of it and possession is now yours. Sharing means we both have it. Remember the two-stick popsicles, joined in the middle? Sharing means I break them apart for us. I have one, and you have one. It means we have something together; we share. Consider how to stir one another up to love and good works. Share all good things.