“To do good is noble, but to teach others to do good is nobler…and much less trouble.” ~Mark Twain
Many of us who are writers and teachers hope, I suspect, to establish our own nobility by telling others how to behave.* Yet most of us are at least part-time purveyors of the sins we condemn, and spotty practitioners of the virtues we extol.
A. A. Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh and real life daddy of Christopher Robin, was reportedly a cold and distant father. Beloved Victorian moralist Charles Dickens summarily dumped his wife of twenty years for a 17 year old actress.
Are we trying to get into heaven by riding the coattails of those we shove?
The Apostle Paul admonishes us to “be a model” to those we teach, “both in word and in deed, in love, faith, and purity.” “Live there,” he says, “be that person…so that your progress is apparent to all…for by so doing you will not only save yourself, but your hearers, as well!” (I Timothy 4:12-16)
*Yes, I, as a writer and teacher, am using this post to do precisely that. Please excuse me while I remove the plank from my eye.
Mitch Teemley 
Ah yes, we all need to be reminded to do just that😄
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Good post. This reminds of someone referring to a societal problem and then saying, “I was so affected that I wrote a song about it.” Not that this can’t be beneficial, but it is more of a long distance involvement even when done properly.
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An apt comparison, Robert.
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Excellent! What an incredible writer you are. I love your way with words.
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Aw, thank you, Lydia. Now if I can only remember to practice what I preach. ;>)
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Reblogged this on Penn Wealth Publishing.
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Artists’ are known to have the highest rate of mental illness, and just pure craziness. I’m of the opinion that most of us write not because we came into life as a writer, but because life made us writers…
A little glass half empty, I know, but that’s my two cents to add to your lovely thoughtful post! : p
Meno
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Art as self-therapy? Oh, yeah, I get that. And thanks for those two lovely cents, Meno!
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Sometimes it’s the only way to cope ; )
Meno ❤
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Great post. Great thoughts to be pondered. When my daughter was in 6th grade of a GATE class, she said to this mom who has a doctorate degree when tried to tell her something. She said,”Mom, you don’t know anything. I am in the GATE program.” Whoooo, I backed off. I have never “preached” to her ever since. The great comment I got from her after she got married, was that, “Mom, you’re a great example to me.” That’s enough to bring tears into my eyes.
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The pay-off takes a while, doesn’t it? Glad you got to those happy mom-tears eventually, though!
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I often say, “Do as I say, not as I do,” is not a bad rule, because we almost all talk a better game than we play. Regarding the writers mentioned, what I’m thinking now is that if I write the most degenerate, sinful, naughty fiction I can think of, perhaps I will in real life be a noble, virtuous sort. Of course I will strive to remember NOT to preach to others but to set an example always. Good post.
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Well, I don’t want to encourage you to write naughty, degenerate fiction, but, hey, if it makes you a better person… ;>)
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Love this and so true!
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A plank for a plank–thank God for friends who help me see it!
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Of course, the beauty of this is recognizing the plank. That is, as they say, half the battle. 😉
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I see your plank and raise you 16 gazillion motes. You said a mouthful once again, Mitch. Thanks
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;>)
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Reblogged this on MOTIVATION with DEHAN and commented:
Are we trying to get into heaven by riding the coattails of those we shove?
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