Stay Fresh, Humble and Teachable

Posted: February 22, 2016

Read these verses from Psalm 92 slowly. Look for repetition, metaphors, and the overall thrust.

"The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him" (Psalm 92:12-15, ESV)."

We live and work in a uniquely privileged setting. We are surrounded by outstanding teachers and learning resources. As wonderful as this is, there is a risk we must acknowledge and battle against. It is the risk of thinking we have sufficient and superior understanding and this can lead to an unteachable spirit accompanied with pride –  thinking that we have somehow achieved maturity. Ken Boa has offered a sobering comment on this passage which I offer to you today. In a message he said:

A worse disease than hardening of the arteries is the hardening of the categories. Men's categories get ossified. They become brittle in their thinking; they become stubborn; they become people who are not open to new ideas. They lose the freshness of new ideas, of surprise, of joy, of mystery…When you graduate from college you know more than you ever knew before, or ever will again…The best scholars that you are going to encounter are the ones who have learned enough to know how little they know.

Today when you open your Bible, or sit under a lesson – look with fresh eyes, listen with attentive ears, reflect with "rookie smarts" (to use Liz Wiseman's phrase), and obey with a child-like, teachable trust. We never graduate from the school of discipleship – so keep growing.

Partnering together to stay fresh, humble, and teachable under God's truth – flourishing with vitality and fruitfulness,

Michael

Michael B. Pawelke, DMin
President