I thought I could teach. I still do.

James tells his brothers, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” I don’t have to wait to be judged by others; I judge myself most harshly already. I’m sure, though, that others will do a much better job in the future.

So here’s a warning:

Listening to me holds a risk that my bad habits may appear canonical. I may teach them as such because I hold them so strongly. Yet, I may still be wrong.

I cannot correct all bad habits and all bad ideas before teaching. I would wait far beyond my own freshness date, much less that of the topic. So I’ll muddle on with this one assurance.

What I’m teaching can be the wrong way to do things, the wrong way to think of things, or even get you in trouble one day. Therefore, do not let me be your only teacher. Only that will protect you, if anything can, from my bad habits, erroneous thought, or bad architecture.

You have been warned. That’s all I can do (besides challenging myself and my presuppositions[1] at every turn). Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Now that I have that off my chest it’s back to the muck, neck-deep and with gusto!

Reference:

[1] And here I thought I might get away with one post that didn’t use big words.