[moldbreakers]

I love my parents. When I was growing up, though, I was really bad at showing them I loved them.

I was one of those kids.

Disobedient doesn’t even begin to describe me as a child. It was really bad. Case-in-point: I was the kid who touched the stove just because my parents told me not to. If you combine extreme mischievousness, a rock-solid hard head and unrestrained wildness, you might scratch the surface to uncovering the ball of sin that I was. I just really enjoyed being my own kid and I behaved like it. Add a bit of cleverness and bam! – you get me – a kid version of a super-villain let loose among an innocent town that was my home.

Whenever I was caught doing the opposite of whatever I was just told to do (which happened pretty frequently), my mom would always say to me: “You’re so unteachable!”

Definition – Incapable of being instructed. First off, I never thought unteachable was a word. And of course I was teachable! I was a pretty smart kid (Do you see the unteachability coursing through my veins!?). Every single time I heard that phrase, but I never listened. I wrote it off.

Then, the other day I was studying Ephesians 5 in my quiet time. I read, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

My first thought was, “Well good thing God’s grace is there. I’m pretty sure I don’t live out love on a daily basis, but I have faith, so it’s all good. I’m not that bad. In fact, there are people I know that aren’t as righteous as me, so at least I’m not that bad.”

And God said, “You’re so unteachable.”

Gulp. At least the spanking didn’t come when my Dad got home.

No, much worse. My Father in heaven gave me the spiritual once-over.

In my pride, I began to believe that I had things figured out. I saw the Christian life as a checklist. Trust Jesus for forgiveness of sins. Check. Work really hard for Christ and even though you don’t earn salvation, just give God the glory. Check. And go to church, worship, and pray a lot. Check. And that’s about it!

I’m pretty sure that résumé will get me into heaven. But I also know that I will never experience the fullness of my union with Christ if I don’t continually grow in my head’s understanding and my heart’s submission to Him.

Furthermore, being unteachable is flat-out sinful.

When I am unteachable in my walk with Christ I am in direct rebellion to how he wants me to live – I’m stunting my growth in Christ. There is no more dangerous place.

Being unteachable is a guaranteed way for me to become entrenched in whatever sin I am currently struggling with.

“God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

The Bible doesn’t say to try harder or rely on self to overcome sin. It says to submit to God, who will show you a way out.

The very second I think I know it all is the very second I counterfeit God’s grace for me. When I think that I “know” how to become righteous or that knowledge trumps a relentless pursuit of Christ, I’m dead wrong:

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1 ESV

Pretty simple. Listen to anything that seeks to set you back on track to Christ. But so often I think I have things under control. That is a lie.

The very second I think I can handle a situation on my own is the very second I reject God’s power and presence in my life.

“This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 ESV

Do I want to be known by God? If I do, I won’t rely on my knowledge. Instead, I will embrace my weaknesses knowing that only when I am emptied of self can Christ come alive in me. I will let him lead, putting his guidance before anything I could ever reason. That journey continues for all of life. That’s being teachable.

Being teachable means:

• Allowing God to speak to you about every situation in your life. This should be through reading the Bible, listening to God prayer, a sermon, or an individual word from another person. We should ask God to teach and grow us through all these devices. This shows his love for us: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Hebrews 12:5-6

• Arming ourselves daily by praying that God continues to teach us, and asking him to help us carry out those instructions. It’s never what we know, but only what God shows us: “But it was to us that God revealed [wisdom] by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 NLT

• Humbly turning away from self by putting others before ourselves. A daily recalibration away from selfishness reorients our posture before God: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:6-8

Are we working against God by listening to our own knowledge rather that his all-knowing guidance? God wants to show us what it means to be teachable. When we are, and we submit to his wisdom, we grow closer to him and his plan for our lives. I want that. I love God – my constant prayer is that he teaches me how to show him.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6