{"id":2987,"date":"2015-08-16T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2015-08-16T14:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=2987"},"modified":"2015-08-16T10:56:58","modified_gmt":"2015-08-16T15:56:58","slug":"choose-to-be-teachable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=2987","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Be Teachable"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>A Year of Choices&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara\u2019s Banter at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\">www.barbdahlgren.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Be-Teachable.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-2989\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Be-Teachable-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Be Teachable\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Proverbs has a lot to say about fools and none of it is good.\u00a0 Here is just a sample\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Proverbs 1:7 \u2013 Fools despise wisdom and instruction.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 23:9 \u2013 Fools despise wisdom.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 16:22 \u2013 Fools do not listen to instruction.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 12:23 \u2013 Fools don\u2019t know how to keep their mouths shut.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 13:16 \u2013 Fools don\u2019t know how to keep their mouths shut.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 14:33 \u2013 Fools don\u2019t know how to keep their mouths shut.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 29:11 \u2013 Fools don\u2019t know how to keep their mouths shut.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 18:2 \u2013 Fools love to give their opinions to others even when they don\u2019t know what they are talking about.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 18:13 \u2013 Fools think they know everything.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 28:26 \u2013 Fools think they know everything.<\/li>\n<li>Proverbs 12:15 \u2013 Fools don\u2019t listen to advice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/A-Fool.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-2991\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/A-Fool.jpg\" alt=\"A Fool\" width=\"223\" height=\"149\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And the list goes on and on.\u00a0 I think we can see the pattern.\u00a0 Fools are those who won\u2019t listen to instruction, shoot their mouths off, and think they know everything.\u00a0 Do you know anyone like that????<\/p>\n<p>These \u201cfools\u201d are not uneducated, stupid or dumb.\u00a0 Actually most have just enough knowledge to make them wise in their own eyes.\u00a0 However, these \u201cknow-it-alls\u201d are not teachable.\u00a0 They do not want to be confused with the facts.\u00a0 They do not want to listen to the voice of reason.\u00a0 They will gladly give us their opinions but do not value ours.\u00a0 They are a pain to be around!<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think anyone wants to be considered a fool.\u00a0 Therefore, we want to be teachable.\u00a0 We want to be open to God\u2019s instruction and wisdom. (Proverbs 3:5-7)<\/p>\n<p>God is very big on us being teachable.\u00a0 We have a lot to learn and are blessed when we let God instruct us. (Psalm 94:12)\u00a0 God instructs us through scripture. (2 Timothy 3:16)\u00a0 He has also given the church pastors and teachers with certain gifts used for \u201cperfecting of the saints.\u201d (Ephesians 4:11-13)\u00a0 This \u201cperfecting of the saints\u201d is just a way of saying as we learn God\u2019s ways we grow in grace, godly knowledge, and spiritual maturity. This equips us to minister or help others.\u00a0 \u201cKnow-it-alls\u201d have a hard time ministering to others because no one wants to be around them.\u00a0 They have no credibility with others because no one wants to listen to what they have to say.<\/p>\n<p>We have probably encountered highly intelligent \u201cknow-it-alls\u201d who think there is no God. \u00a0God calls them foolish. (Psalm 14:1)\u00a0 However I think church going \u201cknow-it-alls\u201d who do believe in God are the worst.\u00a0 They come to church out of obligation, but sermons really don\u2019t apply to them because they know it all. They are more interested in biblical genealogies, archeological findings, and prophesy rather than learning how to enhance a daily walk with God.\u00a0 Since they know it all, they love to solve everyone\u2019s problem.\u00a0 They talk a lot to share their insights with others and rarely listen.\u00a0 They are critical not constructive.\u00a0 They are impatient.\u00a0 They cannot relate to the struggles of others. \u00a0After all, they are more interested in hermeneutics, exegesis, and \u201cunpacking\u201d the latest biblical theory.\u00a0 They love feeling superior to others.\u00a0 However, the main point of scriptural knowledge is to point us to Jesus Christ, not to make us feel superior to others. (John 5:39, 40)<\/p>\n<p>Consider this\u2026 Those who think they know anything do not know what they need to know. (1 Corinthians 8:2)\u00a0 In other words we need to be teachable.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-Corinthians-8.2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-2992\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-Corinthians-8.2-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"1 Corinthians 8.2\" width=\"236\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-Corinthians-8.2-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-Corinthians-8.2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-Corinthians-8.2-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-Corinthians-8.2.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There is danger in being wise in our own eyes. (Isaiah 5:21; Proverbs 3:7)\u00a0 We can\u2019t afford to have a pumped up opinion of ourselves.\u00a0 God wants us to walk humbly.\u00a0 God wants us to be teachable.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Talk less; listen more.<\/li>\n<li>Resist the temptation to always be right or prove your point.\u00a0 Life is not a debate.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t be afraid to ask for directions.<\/li>\n<li>Being teachable does not mean being gullible.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t mean you accept every new idea that comes along or every bit of advice offered.\u00a0 Being teachable means learning how to evaluate and check what is being taught with what the Bible says.<\/li>\n<li>Study God\u2019s Word and look for ways to apply it to your life, not to the lives of others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Year of Choices&#8230; By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara\u2019s Banter at www.barbdahlgren.com &nbsp; Proverbs has a lot to say about fools and none of it is good.\u00a0 Here is just a sample\u2026 Proverbs 1:7 \u2013 Fools despise wisdom and instruction. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=2987\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}