Can You Teach a Man to Fish?
An old familiar proverb states, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
As I was in the kitchen cooking to take over to some friends for supper, that thought came to mind.
Many times we love to quote familiar sayings, poetry, etc.
But do we really process the truth of the words?
I think, not every time.
Now, I'm not big into fishing, even though I enjoy it on occasion.
A memory card flipped out of the archives of my mind as I chuckled to myself thinking about it.
My sweet aunt Tommie Lou Mullis Knight, daddy's sister who sadly was killed in an automobile accident many years ago, had a fish pond not far from their home that she would let us fish in occasionally.
Josh was just a boy, and Mama loved to fish. Josh's dad liked to fish, too, but he was always wanting his lures changed. Mama, on the other hand, fished with worms and didn't mind baiting her own hook, but she wouldn't take a fish off when she'd catch one. She'd sling them up on the bank and wait for me to take them off.
So here's the mental picture...she was sitting in her folding chair, Josh was about four years old, so he was back and forth between all of us, trying to get to the edge of the water, his dad was down the way calling for me to come change a lure, then Mama would catch a fish, so she was calling for me to come take her fish off the hook and onto the fish string, if it was big enough to keep and eat, and I was constantly telling Josh to stay away from the edge of the water!
When did I get to cast my line into the pond? Seldom.
So, I guess this gives you an idea as to why I'm not big into fishing.
Yep, I chuckled thinking about it, because the point I'm trying to make here is that I was the chosen one to lay aside my desire to fish to help those I loved accomplish the task of catching a mess for supper. And many times they did. As for me, if I even got a bite between my duties, I was thrilled. Once in a blue moon I'd catch one, but not very big. Yep, so went my fishing in the good ole, bygone days.
There's a technique in fishing.
The proverb I shared states the secret is in the 'teaching'.
See, I could've handed Josh a pole and said, "go fish."
But, with him being a child, and not having any knowledge of what it takes to actually fish, he would just throw his pole into the water; which, by the way, he did once.
So, I had to show him what to do.
The same principle is involved in the fulfillment of the proverb aforementioned.
Jesus knew some of his disciples were experienced fishermen. They knew the tricks of the trade, in every aspect.
When Jesus called them, they immediately left their boats and their nets and followed Him.
Talk about sweet abandon! They had no clue what they were in for.
I'm sure they figured they could apply some of their tactics to catching men just as they caught fish.
But they found out that catching fish produces death...to the fish, so they can use them for sustenance.
Catching men, on the other hand, produces life, so they can be fed the bread of life, Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
So, Jesus had to teach them the difference.
Imagine this, realistically. Jesus was here on a mission beyond Himself, and you know He had to keep that foremost in His thoughts, because what He dealt with 24/7 for over three and a half years was not men who were soft spoken, whiny, mamby pamby wusses like we have so many of in our society today.
He had hard core, bad to the bone, crude looking and speaking men!
Men who would cuss, spit, cheat, lie, steal; these were the ones who became some of the great patriarchs of our Biblical history.
Why? Because Jesus knew once He taught them how to become fishers of men, they wouldn't be more interested in filling their bellies, but rather their souls.
That's why He taught the Beatitudes; that's why he gave illustrations in parables, relevant to their time so His disciples could understand that He was grooming them for future days. He even told them in John 14:12, "he that believes on me shall do the works that I am doing, and greater works shall he do because I'm going back to the Father."
Not greater in magnitude, but greater in extent was to what He was referring.
He told them in Matt. 28:19-20, "Go ye to all the world..."
His world was limited at the time, but He knew in time the Church would go to the four corners of the world, making fishers of men.
Thus, we see what Jesus was referring to, in greater proportion today.
He poured Himself into them, with words of life, words of faith. He was the example of a mentor which the Church in so many instances has failed to embrace.
Sadly, the Pharisees and scribes have tried to dampen the great commission by not making fishers of men.
Discipleship comes with a cost, my friend, and if you've never discipled a new convert, a young novice who thought his or her zeal was all that was needed, then you have no clue what mentoring is all about.
Thus, my question, "Can you teach a man to fish?"
There's more to it than stringing a pole, putting on the hook, sinkers, corks and baits.
It requires knowledge, wisdom, patience, endurance, all nine of the fruit of the Spirit, with the greatest being love (Galatians 5:19-23).
If you've never tried it, then you're missing one of the greatest challenges in walking as a Christian disciple.
Why not let 2017 be your year...to teach a man (woman, boy or girl) to fish!
D. S. Mullis
copyright2017
