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\u201cLet the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.\xa0 But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.\u201d (Proverbs 1:5, 7, 33)

Before I head into some disciplines which have more of an outward focus, I want to pause for a day to look at what it means to have a teachable spirit.\xa0 Teachability is also a spiritual discipline.

In a speech a couple of decades ago, preacher and speaker John VanderStelt stated six dangers he saw for Dordt College.\xa0 The first was \u201cthat we allow the beautiful to become trite by developing a posture of having arrived, getting lost in a deadening routine, or resorting to merely mouthing some shibboleths.\u201d\xa0 In short, we should not ever stop learning, growing or discovering more about our God, our world and ourselves.

There is a saying that \u201cknowledge is power,\u201d but there is a danger in becoming skilled in acquiring knowledge but becoming no wiser for it.\xa0 Information doesn\u2019t cause us to change and learning something new doesn\u2019t mean that we are teachable.\xa0 It is always possible to use acquired knowledge to simply reinforce our own opinions, beliefs, and biases.\xa0

Jesus often says in the Gospels, \u201cthe one who has ears, let him hear.\u201d\xa0 He calls those to Him who are willing to admit how much they don\u2019t know. \xa0Thus too why He is often found condemning the Pharisees and teachers of the Law who refused to change their ways. This is true in our spiritual lives, in our workplaces, in our families. We can all fall into the trap of putting on the outward appearance of \u201cknowing it all\u201d or of \u201cbeing right\u201d even when there are several options to be considered.\xa0 There is a lesson in this too.

Hopefully getting a sunburn would teach you to apply sunscreen next time you go into the sun.\xa0 If you don\u2019t, your learning in that situation has been in vain and you will again be burnt and in pain.\xa0 Being teachable doesn\u2019t mean that you won\u2019t make mistakes though.\xa0 It\u2019s possible that you will one day forget to apply sunscreen and get sunburned.\xa0 Being teachable means that when mistakes happen that you are willing to learn from them.\xa0 Both your own and the mistakes of others.

Being teachable means listening more than speaking.\xa0 Do you compose what you\u2019re going to say next when in conversation with someone or do you actively listen to the one speaking to you?\xa0 Do you need to have your thought or opinion heard, or are you able to hold back and let others have their say as well? \xa0Do you ask honest questions or are you stuck in your own way?

Having a teachable spirit also means saying \u201cI don\u2019t understand all the mysteries of the Gospel and that\u2019s okay.\u201d\xa0 The Bible is filled with paradoxes of faith.\xa0 Here are three:

\u201cMy yoke is easy.\u201d (Matthew 11:30) and \u201cHow difficult the road that leads to life.\u201d (Matthew 7:14)

\u201cLet your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works.\u201d (Matthew 5:16) and \u201cBe careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.\u201d (Matthew 6:1)

\u201cHe will be named\u2026Prince of Peace.\u201d (Isaiah 9\u201d6) and \u201cDo not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.\u201d (Matthew 10:34)

Are you willing to ask questions and open yourself to being a learner that doesn\u2019t understand all there is to know?

Learning comes not only from those in authority over us or an expert in the field but allowing our learning to take place even from unexpected people and in unexpected places.\xa0 A child, or even an infant can teach us immeasurable truths from Scripture.\xa0 There are many references to a nursing child throughout Scripture.\xa0 Their dependence and eyes are on no one but their mother, the same sort of relationship that God asks from us. \xa0A cocoon on a tree branch\u2014a reminder of the new life we have in Christ.\xa0 A friend\u2019s painful experience may teach us empathy and compassion. The Holy Spirit is our constant teacher through all people and in all situations.\xa0 Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear what He is showing us?