Adlai Stevenson II, twice an unsuccessful candidate for President of the United States, once observed, “In America, anybody can be President. That’s one of the risks you take.”

Mr. Stevenson was, of course, employing a bit of hyperbole — not just anybody can be President. The U.S. Constitution lists three requirements for the nation’s highest office: one must be a natural-born (as opposed to naturalized) American citizen, at least 35 years of age, and a resident of the United States for 14 years. (Article II, Section 1 — you could look it up.) Then there’s that whole tricky business of getting elected, as Stevenson himself discovered.

What old Adlai meant was that anyone who satisfies the Constitutional prerequisites could, if elected, serve as President. At any given moment, there are millions of folks who meet those minimum requirements. I do. My wife does (though she’d prefer that I note that she just squeaks by on the age limit). So do my parents, my in-laws, and a fair number of you.

Why is that a risk? Because not everyone who’s eligible is ideally suited to the job. I, for one, would make a terrible President, even though I’m Constitutionally “qualified.” Because I meet the minimum standard, I could — in theory, at least — be elected to the position. Only then would it become painfully apparent to the American electorate that they’d made a colossal error in choosing me. That’s the risk: many people can be President, but not very many people should be President.

James, the brother of Jesus, made a statement similar to Adlai Stevenson’s, albeit in a different context. James wrote, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body” (James 3:1-2). At first glance, James’ comment seems contradictory to many other New Testament passages that encourage us all to instruct one another (Titus 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Romans 15:14; Hebrews 5:12; 2 Timothy 2:2). Does James really mean that being teachers is a bad idea?

We can easily understand James’ point if we view his remark in context. He’s writing about the dangers of the tongue, and the ease with which we can say harmful things with it if we aren’t careful. His point is not that we shouldn’t teach — spreading the wisdom of God is a primary reason for the church’s existence (Ephesians 3:10) — but that if we’re going to be teachers, we ought not to view the task as something “anybody” can do.

If we would be teachers, we need to prepare ourselves to handle the word of God correctly (2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Peter 1:10; 1 Peter 3:15). We must be certain that we don’t teach any doctrine that is different from the gospel (Galatians 1:8-9), go beyond what is written on the inspired page, or omit elements of it (1 Corinthians 4:6; Revelation 22:18-19; 2 John 9; Acts 20:20, 27). We must resist the temptation to alter the Scriptures to suit ourselves (2 Peter 3:16) or to tell people what they want to hear rather than what the Bible says (2 Timothy 4:3-4; Galatians 1:10). We have to teach with patience and humility (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Above all, we must be willing to be instructed ourselves when our knowledge is incomplete or inaccurate (Acts 18:25-26).

Can “anybody” do this? Perhaps not in the public arena — different people possess different talents (1 Corinthians 12:4-6; Romans 12:4-8). Not every teacher can — or should — preach from the pulpit or conduct a class. But any Christian should be ready to “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11), even if it’s across a breakfast table or over a cup of coffee in the family room. What’s necessary is the desire to save a lost soul, the will to prepare, the courage to speak, and the caution not to stumble by speaking carelessly or without knowledge.

Is there risk involved? Of course. We might well look at ourselves and say, “I’d make a terrible teacher.” Perhaps you would — today. But the investment of some concentrated time in Bible study today would prepare you to teach someone effectively tomorrow. You’ll never get growing if you never get going.

And remember — someone taught you what you needed to do to obey the gospel. That someone was taught by someone else, who was in turn taught by another. Every one of them started with less knowledge than you have right now. So return the gesture. You might just pull some soul out of eternal fire (Jude 22-23)!