Teaching Others As One Who Is
Spiritually Rich or Spiritually Poor
Taken from Macarius’ 18th Homily
Re-written and expanded by DSB

Suppose a very rich man wants to give an extravagant dinner party for a large number of special guests. He will spend whatever is needed out of his wealth, and he will not fear running out of money because of how much he has. So he serves his guests in a beautiful setting with the best of everything one could want to eat. But a poor man whose meager income hardly provides enough for his family cannot put on a banquet like the rich man. He has no stored up treasure to draw from. Therefore, he will have to borrow everything, from dishes to silverware, and from glassware to tablecloths. His food, though tasty, will not be abundant or anywhere near the variety of the rich man’s dinner. And after his guests leave, he will have to return what he borrowed to the rightful owners – leaving him as empty and poor as he was before giving his dinner. In the same way, there are Christians who are spiritually rich and those who are spiritually poor.

Those who are spiritually rich are the Christians who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6). They strive to love God with all their being (Mark 12:30), while making it their aim to be perfect as their Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). They deny self, and continue to put to death whatever holds them back from living a life that is pleasing to God (Matthew 16:24; Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:5-10). Wanting to be conformed to the image of Christ, they fervently pray that God will continue to perform His transforming work within them (Romans 8:29). They are diligent and persistent in their pursuit of a pure heart (Matthew 5:8). They count it a privilege to be tested and tried, knowing that God uses such times to strengthen their faith and perfect their character (I Peter 1:6-7; James 1:2-4). And because they live up to what they know, they are growing in their understanding of the deeper truths of God’s word (Psalm 119:99).

When such spiritually rich Christians speak about God, the ways of God, and the truths of God’s word, they speak from the wealth of the spiritual treasure that is within them. They do not fear running out of spiritual food to edify those who come looking to be filled, for what they give comes from a treasure so vast it cannot be depleted. And after speaking, they are as full of God and the riches of His truths as they were before they started speaking.

Those Christians who are spiritually poor are poor because they make choices and behave in ways that distract them from submitting to God, resisting the devil, drawing near to God, and purifying themselves just as He is pure (James 4:7-10). As a result of these choices and behaviors, they deprive themselves of possessing the spiritual riches of Christ. They do not have within themselves the wealthy treasure of a pure heart. They do not have the riches of a tested faith that has remained faithful through the hard times. They are not convinced God is completely trustworthy. They lack the understanding of God’s word that only comes from living according to what it says. And because they do not live up to what they know, their knowledge of the deeper truths and the practical application of God’s word comes from what others speak.

Therefore, when such Christians speak about God, the ways of God, and the truths of God’s word, they cannot speak from the riches of a treasure within, for they are spiritually impoverished. The best they can do is to repeat things they have memorized or borrowed from religious books or gleaned from some teacher who knows and walks with God. These spiritually poor Christians may speak intelligently, eloquently, and fervently. Their words may even inspire and provide some measure of spiritual profit to those who listen. But when they have finished speaking, every word spoken returns to its source, leaving them as empty and as spiritually poor as when they began.

For example, a well-educated and well read speaker can give an engrossing lecture on war, the horrors of war, the bravery of soldiers, the tragedy of defeat, and the glory of victory. He may even be a respected lecturer on the strategies of war – even though he has never fought in a single battle. Yet because he has never been in combat, he knows nothing of the grueling demands in time and energy of good preparation for meeting the enemy. He knows nothing of the hard work required to engage the enemy. He has no experience with the terrifying sights and sounds of the enemy’s weapons, and he has not had to face the constant threat of getting wounded or even dying on the battlefield. He knows nothing of what it is like to push himself against his own fears or to push through his exhaustion to continue fighting.

The same is true in the Christian life. It is one thing to teach others with a certain intellectual knowledge based on what others have written or taught, and quite another to teach with the substance and reality of personal experience. It is one thing to talk about trust in God, the work of the Holy Spirit, and gaining the victory. It is quite another thing to talk as one who trusts God, relies on the Holy Spirit’s work, and has gained the victory.

How much good can be accomplished when the poor help the poor or the blind lead the blind? What spiritual profit can be gained – for the hearer or the speaker – from an empty treasure chest? How can the one speaking be an example of what is spoken if he does not live according to what he speaks? What is better, being able to show the magnificence of the types of Christ from the Old Testament and expound the meaning of the Greek from the New, or living according to the truth one teaches? And what about the impoverished Christian who speaks another’s words as if they were his own? Has he not deceived himself into believing he is rich when in fact he is that much poorer for not heeding his own teaching and living accordingly? Who can teach others the truth while continuing to live something other than the truth without hardening his heart against the truth? Finally, is Jesus praising or condemning those who honor Him with their lips while their heart is far from Him?

Do not let anyone deceive you, those who speak empty words live in illusions, thinking themselves to be what they aren’t.

God has equipped, empowered, and in every other way given us everything necessary for life and godliness (II Peter 1:2-11). If we will use what God has given to vigilantly pursue righteousness and a pure heart, and if we will live up to what we know while calling on Him throughout the day to work in us that which is pleasing to Him, we will reap an abundant wealth of spiritual treasure (John 14:21,23; Psalm 1:1-3; Acts 14:13). With such a rich treasure, we will have an abundant supply for leading others to gain this same, immeasurable treasure.