I Taught You Better: A Mother’s Love, Paul’s Gospel, and the Power of True Education

   “I AM astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.” – Galatians 1:6 (KSB)

                                                        

   One of the most foundational things mothers do is teach us. Those who operate in that nurturing, mothering role whether biological mothers or spiritual caregivers serve as our earliest educators. Today’s reflection is titled: I Taught You Better. My own mother was big on manners. If I failed to say “please” or “thank you,” she’d immediately correct me: “I taught you better.” That phrase echoes across generations. What is it your mother, grandmother, or primary caregiver taught you better? They expected that when they took time to teach, we would honor that teaching by how we lived.

   In Galatians 1, Paul shares a similar frustration. He’s writing to churches in the region of Galatia, and he’s shocked. He says in essence, “I taught you better. I taught you the gospel of grace. I modeled it. I preached it. I demonstrated it. And yet, you’ve turned to something else.” Paul is holding them accountable not for what he never gave them, but for what he faithfully delivered. Just like a good mother or teacher, Paul poured into them. He could say with certainty: I taught you better. Teaching is the sharing of information. But just because you share doesn’t mean others will learn. Learning is the receiving of information. And deeper still, education is the transformation that happens when the information shared and received takes root in someone’s life and shapes who they are.

   I once worked as an assistant principal. I trained teachers to engage their students, to use multiple learning modalities. So, when I saw a teacher lecturing endlessly, I’d say, “Wait a minute I taught you better.” The same is true in our faith walk. We’re responsible not only to share truth but to share it effectively and compassionately. We can teach audibly, visually, and experientially. But learners must be ready to receive. That’s why schools have lunch programs, why ministries host backpack drives because children can’t learn if they’re hungry or lacking basic supplies. These efforts remove barriers to learning so that teaching can take root. Still, there’s a difference between learning and education. 

Many of us have learned things just long enough to pass a test but we weren’t educated. True education means to learn and rest, to sit with the material until it shapes how we live, think, and act. That’s what Paul longed for in Galatia. That’s what our mothers longed for in us. Not just to repeat facts but to live transformed lives. When my cousin paid me to learn multiplication tables, I didn’t just memorize them I was educated. I still remember them because I sat with that knowledge. It became part of me.

   Jesus said, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations…” Teaching is sharing. But the fruit of education is evident when that shared truth shapes someone’s soul. Paul said, “I taught you better,” and many of us can echo the same today. To our students, our children, our church family we taught you better. And now the question is: Have you just learned it? Or have you been educated by it?

📖 Reflection: What is one biblical truth or life lesson someone taught you that still shapes who you are today?

💡 Action Step: Think of someone you’ve taught or mentored. Reach out and encourage them to not only remember what you shared but live it.