Be Teachable - March 26

Read Proverbs 9:7-12

Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Reflect

How well do you accept advice or correction? Are you teachable?

“You just can’t tell him anything…” Have you ever heard that phrase used to describe someone? It’s not exactly a compliment. It describes someone who won’t listen to advice, wise counsel, or correction. Some people just can’t be taught. And by their refusal to learn from other people, they condemn themselves to learning things the hard way—by experience.

In general, teenagers are notorious for this. Their parents offer them advice and they roll their eyes. After all, what do their parents know? When their parents discipline and correct their behavior, they buck against it rather than submit to parental authority. Oftentimes, when teenagers become adults themselves, they realize that their parents were right. They were a wealth of wisdom and their parents were trying to pass that wisdom along. A lot of trial and heartache could have been avoided if they’d just listened to their parents.

Today’s proverb confirms that some people simply refuse to be teachable. They are like spiritual teenagers. They think they know better, so they roll their eyes and mock sound reasoning. They plug their ears and keep walking on by. They shrug their shoulders and say ”Whatever. I don’t care.” They argue with God-given authority and hate anyone who tries to challenge their decisions. These people are fools.

On the other hand, people who are wise become even more wise because they are wise enough to know that they need more wisdom. Are you following that? Today’s proverb says that wise people are teachable! They listen to instructions and they appreciate feedback, even if it is constructive criticism. They can handle being corrected or rightly rebuked because they know it is for their own benefit.

But Proverbs 1:29-31 describes the consequences of fools who refuse to listen and thus, reject the Lord: “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices” (Proverbs 1:29-31). The scoffers and the fools have no one to blame but themselves. They were warned but they did not heed the warning. Tragically, they are going to learn the lesson that they should have listened to God the hard way.

The wisest thing that you can do is choose to listen to God’s Truth and live according to His instructions. If we don’t heed the Lord, our Creator and our Savior, we are fools who have sealed our own doom. It is a lesson we certainly don’t want to find out the hard way! That’s why today’s proverbs reminds us that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (v. 10). Fearing the Lord and understanding that He is holy is where wisdom starts. All other wisdom flows from that truth.

It’s important to fear the Lord and be willing to let Him teach us through His Word. But it’s also important to be teachable in other areas of our lives as well. Are we willing to listen to wise counsel? Are we self-aware enough to know that we aren’t perfect and accept constructive criticism? Are we humble enough to know that we need to accept discipline from authority and repent when we’ve been rightly called out? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want it to be said of me that “you can’t tell her anything.” So, let’s be wise. Let’s be teachable.

Respond

Lord, I confess that sometimes, it is difficult for me to accept instruction and correction. So often, I want to figure it all out on my own because I think I know better than anyone else. Forgive me for my foolishness, Lord. Help me learn to listen to wisdom and accept correction. I want to be teachable, Lord. Amen.

Reveal

The way that we accept instruction and correction reveals a lot about our hearts. Being teachable demonstrates our humility and dependence on the Lord to those around us.