Observe yourself and learn
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III reminds us of the Apostle Paul’s exhortation: “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine, continue in them” and addresses servants and teachers about the necessity of watching the self before increasing teaching and ministry.
Main idea
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Priority of self-watch: the servant must watch himself spiritually, intellectually and morally before caring for teaching others, because the salvation of his soul is more important than any ministerial success.
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The danger in immersion in ministry: preoccupation with responsibilities, meetings and activities may consume the time for prayer, meditation and self-examination and lead to spiritual lethargy and loss of example.
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Gospel and prophetic examples: Paul is cited frankly as one who disciplined his body, and cases like Solomon and David are mentioned as warnings that ministry does not protect from falling if not accompanied by self-watch.
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Manifestations of ministerial deviation: the servant’s pride, his judging others without self-accountability, turning the church into a “field of service” without spirituality, and external religious appearances without inner purity.
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Responsible and methodical teaching: do not transmit your private opinion nor teach untested books; make your teaching sound Orthodox, substantial, saturated with prayer and knowledge, prepared by meditation so it truly nourishes souls.
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Practical preparation for ministry: prepare the sermon in advance, care for your spiritual library, mix the lesson with prayer and reverence, and teach your disciple out of love and care because some disciples rely on you as their sole source.
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Monitoring faults and honesty with self: confess the fault and avoid “philosophizing the mistakes” to improve oneself, and evaluate your spiritual growth internally and externally continuously.
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Conclusion and appeal: watch yourself continuously and persist in correct teaching; be filled yourself to overflow onto others, for self-watch achieves the effectiveness of teaching and preserves the servant and shepherd from being lost.
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