MARCH 24, 2 Peter 2:17-18

You may have heard in the news some time back about a Singaporean lawyer who stole about ten million dollars of his clients’ money and fled Singapore. Up till today, he is still missing. Those cheated by him included a jewellery store which lent him a lot of precious stones, but the most affected victims were a couple who had given him millions of dollars to buy a house, but had those millions stolen.

Although he stole a lot of money, the people at least now know the truth. False teachers of God’s Word are a lot worse than errant lawyers. False teachers of God’s Word harm and destroy souls, and the people will know only when it is too late. Is it difficult to detect these false teachers?

What does 2 Peter 2:17 mean when it says that false teachers are “wells without water”? Wells are dug for the sole purpose of collecting and storing water. If wells are without water, they are useless. Likewise spiritual teachers are to teach us the Bible and warn us about going against the Lord. When these false teachers do not teach us the truth, they are like “wells without water”. 2 Peter 2:18 tells us they “speak great swelling words of vanity”. Many false teachers are eloquent enough to sway crowds. However, eloquence is not the factor to see whether someone is right or wrong. These teachers are eloquent but what they speak are just empty words without real spiritual substance.

So dear child, do not be too impressed with eloquent words, but listen out for truthful words of spiritual substance and speak with a trusted Junior Worship teacher if you are unsure. This is the way to see whether the spiritual teacher is a false one or otherwise.

Thought: May I beware of false spiritual teachers.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, grant me the wisdom to see right from wrong, to be able to discern truth from falsehood. This I know is difficult for a child my age, and so I commit this into Your hands. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.