Have you ever met someone who thought that they had it all together? So confident, that after spending just a few minutes with them, they start to reek of arrogance? The stronger the smell the less teachable they are. When you do offer to teach them something, . . . anything, . . . they respond with, “Yeah, yeah, I got it” . . . No you don’t. This line of thinking is extremely dangerous because the one who is not teachable can not be lead by the Holy Spirit. Teachability is essential to living in the presence of God. In fact, it’s beyond essential, it’s a prerequisite. You must be teachable in order to abide in the presence of God.
In Mathew 19:13-14, we read:
13Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15And he laid his hands on them and went away.
Child-like Dependency
As believers, our approach to the Father ought to be like little children, with an attitude that says, “I don’t know it all, or even have it altogether, and I need your help, Lord”. It is this very posture that allows us to inherit the Kingdom. Jesus was revealing the key to inheriting the kingdom of heaven. By nature, children are born dependent. The independent are just that, not reliant on the Holy Spirit. These are the “Yeah, yeah, I got it” people, and unfortunately, this attitude is very prominent. It’s the heart of man. Pride does not lay hold of the Kingdom, child-like dependency does.
Yeah, Yeah, I got It
I once knew a man who was graciously offered an opportunity to serve in a church. He gratefully accepted this position, however, though he had zero experience , he was even offered a mentorship. After three weeks, he was fired. Why? He was not teachable and literally stated, “Yeah, Yeah, I got it”.
Let’s assume for a moment that you are an expert in your field. Let’s say that someone with very little, (if any), experience came up to you and tried to teach you something that they had just learned themselves. What is your posture? Do you glean what you can from them, even from this inexperienced newbie?
Let me put it another way. If you don’t allow the idiot to teach you, you are worse off than that idiot. At least the idiot is giving what he has. If you treat his gift with contempt, you’ve just exposed the true nature of your heart. Who’s heart is more righteous, the idiot who gives, or the one who’s pride says, “He’s not worthy of me”?
Teachability Is Not Limited To The Small Things
Finally, teachability is not limited to the big things in life. If you are not teachable with small day to day issues that you encounter, for example, accepting the counsel of a mentor, or taking advice from your Mom and Dad; you won’t be teachable when your employer offers constructive criticism, or more importantly, you will reject the voice of the Holy Spirit because you’ve “got it”. If, however, you are teachable with the smaller day to day issues that arise, when the big issues hit hard, (and they will), humility will embrace them and you will learn from them because you will accept them as your teacher. This posture pleases the Holy Spirit. Teachability attracts the kingdom of heaven.