Imperfect Teachers

I have a dilemma.  I love to help people.  And the way I love to help them is through teaching with words.  However, I do not always "walk my talk", which comes across as "do as I say and not as I do".  The question I am pondering is...does it matter?   Before taking a stand on this, I want to dig a little deeper.

The last time I checked, I wasn't perfect.  Well actually...not even close.  Perfect is a hard word to define.  Basically, I am not being the "best" I can be in the areas of physical, mental, psychosocial and spiritual aspects of my well being.  Some of us may have a belief system that a person cannot be an effective teacher because of this...or worse yet, is a hypocrite. 

I have been a physical therapist for 30 years.  I rarely follow my own advice, and I know for a fact that I have made a difference in the quality of hundreds of lives.  Here is the funny thing...if I TOLD my patients that I don't follow my own advice, I would not have been  nearly as effective.  Why is that?

Let's take an example of an overweight, smoking MD who has a wicked bedside manner.  BUT he is brilliant in his field of practice.  Why would not "walking his talk" make him a poor guide to YOUR improved health?   Instead of going to the gym and spending time with his family, maybe he is pouring over the latest medical research to save YOUR life. (While eating donuts, of course.)

Psychology poses the same question.  I have seen some great clinicians with messed up lives.  Do their personal imperfections and failures make their advice less effective or invalid?  Or is there the possibility that their imperfect personal and family life might be the very thing that drove them to learn all the things YOU are now benefiting from?

I remember a time at my office when I was giving marital advice to a friend.  Another coworker said to me "Who are you to give marriage advice, you're divorced!"  Wow.  There it was:  The ASSumption that if you are not walking your talk, or have failed at it...your advice is useless. The truth of the matter was...I had A LOT of great advice, because I had learned from my failures.  The sad part was that my advice, as useful as it could have been was tossed.  My friend bought into the belief system the other coworker preached.  I too am guilty of this prejudice: Bad role model=useless teaching.

Now let's move on to the spiritual arena.  Have you ever known a preacher of pastor who was truly a great teacher of morality...and didn't always follow his own advice?   History is full of these "hypocrites".  And yet, their teachings actually changed many lives for the better.  When the hypocrisy was discovered, much of their good guidance was thrown out with them. 

Here is the point:  THE MESSENGER IS NOT THE MESSAGE

As for me...I want to help people.  It really doesn't matter if I follow my own advice...the content remains the same.   HOWEVER there is an EXCEPTION to this...in the Christian arena it DOES matter.  According to this message, the messenger must "walk the talk" also.

I want to be a messenger for the message of God.  I love to help people.  I know I will never be able to walk my talk in all the arenas of life.  But I do know that to practice what I preach in God's arena is imperative.  The lesson is for all...including the imperfect teacher!