You know, your question is worthwhile, my dear friend. Let me start by saying, if there were no need for tutors, instructors, and teachers, we would not even have this thing called the Bible. Are you following me? You know, in this time, everybody's saying, "Know God for yourself, know God for yourself." Great, but somebody must first of all give you a picture of what this God is. Are you following me?

The place of a teacher, a guide, a tutor, can never be replaced in the life of a believer. It is not possible to move forward in this thing called faith. If one person hasn't been tutored, trained by someone else that has walked in this journey called faith. Samuel was trained by Eli. Saul was trained by Samuel. David was trained by Samuel. Solomon was trained by David, and so on and so forth.

Now, when we study scriptures, we see an unbroken line of spiritual heritage. Even Moses had to learn the wisdom of the ancients from his father-in-law called Jethro, who was indeed a descendant of Abraham. Are you following me? There's that place of being under tutelage and guidance. And you see, in the beginning of anybody's walk, in the beginning of learning, or education, of any kind, there is a time that it is expedient that you immerse yourself completely in the system another person has formed.

For example, if you go to music school, let's say you go to Juilliard or whatever, all the laws of music they teach you are the laws that other people discovered or probably created or something like that. Are you following me? So when you hold the guitar and you play the notes that they give to you and so on and so forth, you are simply a parrot in that time, all right? You are simply repeating like a parakeet what someone else brought out of their soul, but that's fine in the beginning. Are you following me? That's fine.

Because before you can find your own individual voice and narrow your vision, you have to walk through the corridor of someone else who has already narrowed their vision a little bit to make it easier for you to find your own light.

But you see, my friend, you must find your own light eventually. You must. Because there's a deposit of God inside of you that is as unique as your thumbprint. The world needs it. You are not complete, actually, unless that light in you comes out. And you see, when you read the New Testament, all those people were trained by Jesus.

When you read the words of Paul, you see that there was a uniqueness to his rhetoric. Oh, there was style, if I'll use that word. When you read Peter, the energy was different. They were all of the same spirit. Oh, but there was a uniqueness in the way they delivered the message of Christ. When you read James, oh my God, it was clear that this one was actually a philosopher. The way he spoke, the way he articulated himself, the examples that he produced. You see how even though they all came from the same household, there was a uniqueness to them.

In the beginning, they were probably like robots. Just quoting, quoting, quoting, quoting, quoting, and that's okay. But after a while, they started to find their own individual sound, their own unique sound that can only come from the fountain of living water inside of them. Everybody has that fountain. It's not just for spirituality but for any walk in life. Everybody has a fountain, and it must come out.

But in the journey to unearthing that fountain, we're going to have to submit ourselves for a while under the government of tutors and governors while we discover our voice. And when the Bible talks about honor, honor is not about a person being dumb, a person being blindly obedient.

Actually, even the word obedience, as we use it in conventional lingo, doesn't exist in the Bible. God actually doesn't tell anybody to obey him. There is no single scripture in the Bible from the Hebrew language where God told people, "Obey me." He never said that; he said, "Hear me." God doesn't tell people to obey him. He tells people to hear him. Listen to my heart. Perceive my intention. See the spirit behind me, and he knows that if in truth you actually see him, there is no way you will not perform the counsel that he has prescribed.

So when the Bible talks about honor, it's not so much about obeying whatever a person says. The word honor is from the Hebrew word "kavod," and the word "kavod" means to be weighty, to be heavy. When he says honor, it's about not taking a person lightly. That even if you are to disagree with what they have said, don't disagree and trivialize their existence.

For example, if your mother tells you, "Hmm my daughter or my son, be wary of that person. I don't think you should marry them." Even if you go ahead and marry them, you better not disregard the reason why he or she was disgruntled about your choice. Are you understanding me? Because they've lived long enough, and they have seen a lot of things that will make them give a counsel like that. Don't take it lightly.

So it's a good thing when we have that honorable spirit. It will save us from a lot of injury. We're in a time where the devil has been so intentional about rubbishing our predecessors, not because they are not flawed but because he wants to rob us of the inheritance that is in their hands that we need to go forward. And if we as a people are not able to honor those that have come before us, there is no way we will be successors to what they have labored to acquire. So honor is actually something that we need.

If you don't honor a leaf, there are some mysteries about that leaf that you will never see, as a matter of fact. When the Europeans came into the Americas and they met the Red Indians, they didn't understand the way the Red Indians lived in tandem with nature. How the plants were unearthing mysteries to them, where they could heal sicknesses that all their science could never solve. Yeah, because the white man, he didn't honor the environment. Everything looked to him like a tool that was a means to his own end. Whereas you found people who had a profound reverence for the earth that produced them. Yeah, because reverence opens things up to you.

I'm saying all this to let you know that to have honor actually is a prerequisite for spiritual growth. You must have it. It's not a bad thing that you have honor. Are you following me? We must have something that is sacred to us. And it can't be something spiritual. It must be substantiated in something tangible. Because if we can't honor something that we can see, it's not possible to honor that which we can't see.

So, it's good that you have honor. But remember that man is flawed. Man is fallible. Are you following me? No matter how great your man of God is, even I wouldn't call myself great. But no matter where I am, oh, my dear, oh, my dear, man is fallible. So, be careful not to set your man or woman of God up by putting them on a pedestal that is only meant for Christ Jesus. Be careful.

Paul commended the Berean church because they didn't take his teachings hook, line, and sinker. They went ahead to do their own research to find out for themselves the words that Paul said. You can't take anybody's word. Even Jesus Christ, he wants you to be a researcher. Don't just believe it because he has said so, my friend. The truth has to become your own so that you don't always blame somebody else.

God wants partners. He doesn't want robots and automatons who only do because they are told. No, he wants people who do because they can see and because they understand. Are you following me? So that when push comes to shove, you will not point fingers at God. You will say, "Ah, oh, a tragedy came. Well, yeah, God might have been the one to have pointed me in this direction, but I made the choice myself. The choice is my own, and I stand by it." Yes, that's where God wants us to get to, so that we no longer blame people. We see for ourselves, and we move with full ownership of our decisions. Are you following me?

So I definitely will not agree with you listening to anybody more than you are studying for yourself. The Bible does not encourage that in any way. It's good to listen to teachers. It's good to stay under tutorship and guidance. But, my friend, you better come to your own knowledge, understanding, and conclusion. Until that moment, all you know is secondhand and borrowed, and it can be taken away from you at any time. So your house is still built upon sand; it's not yet upon the solid rock. Until you come to your own personal convictions and revelation of this one called Christ Jesus.

As for how leaders can ensure this, well, they have to talk like I'm talking now. And beyond just talking like this, they shouldn't encourage too much mimicry. Yes, in the beginning, people will have to mimic, and that's the truth. Because children, they look at the parents and they copy. That's how life is. Learning is through mimicry. We as human beings, we are image people, right? We reenact what we see.

So in the beginning, of course, people who listen to you, follow you, they will talk like you. They will even try and dress like you. But one has to be very intentional about checking these things so that idolatry does not come into play. And more than that, leaders ought to show their humanity more. Of course, not too much, because not everyone is mature enough to become privy to certain things, right? Show humanity. Show how God is dealing with you. Show how you are also a work in progress.

Paul, he talked about how they saw him in sickness. I can imagine how he was like, you know, the great and mighty Paul. They probably were cleaning his bum or something because he couldn't walk. They had to shower the great Paul up, you know. Those kinds of moments that he did not hide away from the people, he helped them to see that really and truly this man, the only reason why he's standing is because God is with him.

So leaders ought to show humanity more. They ought to tell organic stories of the salvation of God and how they would have been finished if not for the hand of God. You know, most of us, we grew up; all our parents came first in class. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. No, that's not true. If everybody came first, then who came second? Who came 15th? Who came 31st? So leaders have to show how even they are being helped by God. Jesus himself said, "If I bear witness of myself, my testimony is not true. But there is another that bears witness with me." And that is my father who art in heaven. So these are my little two cents to you, my friend. I hope this is of some help. God bless you.