Being teachable

I was just visiting with my neighbor for a mere 30 minutes.  That’s how long it took for my stealthy English Springer, Gracie Lou, to find the left-over Easter candy.  I had left the pantry door ajar, and there in a bag were some individually wrapped Nestles Crunch Easter Egg Candy.  Not good.  Thankfully, outside of being extremely hyper, she came out of the ordeal extremely well.

Gracie Lou, if given the opportunity to partake of chocolate will go for it every time.  Even despite the issues that arrive in her system, she rarely remembers the next time chocolate becomes available.  And of course, she has no understanding that chocolate is extremely bad, even fatal, for dogs.  She’s actually quite proud of her glorious find!  She doesn’t see the “wrong” in her behavior.

We humans often don’t see the “wrongs” in our own behavior.  We often will do everything we can to focus on our skills and hide our mistakes and faults.  Adele Calhoun writes “According to Alix Spiegel, our “optimistic” and overconfident national character accounts for our lack of accurate self-assessment.  We would rather bluff, spin and manage an image than be wrong.  We would rather be self-deceived than teachable.” (Calhoun, Invitations from God)

Admitting our wrongdoings doesn’t at all come naturally. A foul on the basketball court.  A fender bender.  A struggle in a marriage.  Admitting to an affair. A political figure caught in wrong doing.  A significant error at work. Why are we so unable to see where we are wrong?

Whether your 25 or 55, you might benefit from the beautiful quality of teachability.  To be teachable means that your willing to unlearn and relearn.  You admit you need help and guidance.  You notice when you get into arguments over details that are not that important.  You begin to stop defending yourself and admit that you made a mistake.  You begin to see how much it matters to you that you’re right.

I’m so grateful to say I don’t have everything right.  As I accept this truth, I am willing to become more teachable, which allows me to grow and truly change.  “Being teachable opens me up to learning from the ideas and opinions of others.  It does not mean I don’t have my own beliefs, but that they are open to being refined and changed.” (Calhoun) Let’s consider this question as we start the week:  How does my personal need to be right affect my relationships with other people? 

“A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.”  Proverbs 21:2

 

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio