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We have the Scripture which contains God's words and everything we need to Live a good spiritual life. We have our Lord Jesus Christ who has lived among us and has set an example for us to follow, and we have the Will-power which helps us to do whatever we set our hearts on. No Guru nor teacher can offer anything better different from what we gain from the Scripture and the Life of Christ. Nevertheless, for faster spiritual growth, we need not just teachers but also mentors to assist us in certain things. Their knowledge is an edge they have over us, which we should try to gain from them.
Today, Everyone wants to be a spiritual teacher because the ministry business as I call it, is a lucrative one, especially in Africa. Most people's minds have been destroyed such that they believe they cannot live a good spiritual life on their own. We see our prayers as less of a value than that of spiritual teachers, Pastors, and the likes. Most of us grew up in an environment with this kind of mindset which makes us subscribe to it even without seeking the truth.
**Truly, Spiritual Teachers and Guru are very effective in our spiritual growth but their role shouldn't be placed so high that we begin to see ourselves as weak vessels incapable of understanding God. Yes, teachers, like priests, are intermediaries between us and God. In the Catholic rites, the priests during the Holy Sacrifice Of the Cross ( Mass) stand as the sacrificial Lamb ( Christ) and the one who makes the Sacrifice. They were exhorted by Christ Himself during the Last Supper which to an extent, makes them special.
One may out of humility decide to subject himself to the guidance of the priest ( which is not wrong though) for his spiritual growth, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT ONE CAN NOT LIVE A GOOD SPIRITUAL LIFE WITHOUT THESE TEACHERS.
God might be incomprehensible but He shares with us the knowledge of Himself according to our deposition, and our love to know Him. In the Scripture, He made us understand that He is not too far from us.
The laws are there for us to follow and live a good life. The life of Jesus Christ is also there for us to look up to. The life of the saints, especially those who have lived a good life and died a happy death are also there. With all these things, we have everything we need to live a good spiritual life on our.
Notwithstanding, there is a great difference between someone who out of humility subjects to add more to his personal spiritual life from the teaching of a Guru or a teacher and someone who practices spirituality on his own. Both will certainly succeed if they keep up with the good practices, but one has more advantage, learning from someone who has been trained to teach spirituality. Sadly, many fake scholars are misleading people which even makes it risky to subject to spiritual teachings. Most people have also lost their faith in church and God because what these people preach is either different from what they live.
I remember a debate that went live on Facebook some weeks back where a Pastor misinterprets a scripture to suit his preaching. He used Proverb 31:31, "Give her credit for all she does. She deserves the credit of everyone" to enjoin men to give credit alert ( money ) to their wives for everything they do. Many comments were not just criticizing his interpretation but were also pointing out that there is no need to have these people teach you the scripture when they can read and understand on their own.
It is the situation like the one above that makes people devalue the role of Spiritual Teachers in life.
Again, most of these teachers have learned many things from the stories of those who have come to them for counseling. They are part of the tools with which they guide people away from similar evils.
In the end, We may not necessarily need to have a spiritual teacher to live a good spiritual life since we have the law of God and his words, His son who has set an example for us, and the will-power to do good, but having them in our life adds extra advantage and knowledge in different perspectives to us.