A Teachable Spirit

A Teachable Spirit

by Becky Dietz

Don’t you love someone with an open, teachable spirit?   God does, too.  I wonder if that’s what God treasured in David, “who had a heart like God?”  

What is a teachable spirit?   It’s someone who is capable of learning...but it’s more than that.  It’s someone who is willing to listen, to receive instruction, and who is open-minded.  They’re willing and eager to learn from others. They may investigate and consider—but they’re willing to change directions, if needed.  

Maybe it’s easier to catch a vision of this person by seeing the opposite of a teachable spirit.  That person thinks they already know how to do everything.  They won’t listen to instruction.  They may appear to listen, but then do their own thing anyway.  They are unwilling to listen to someone older, younger, of the opposite sex, or to that person who has  different ideologies.  They’re unwilling to change directions.  They’ll follow their own course of action even if it leads to a dead end.  They’re hard-headed, close-minded, and...just unteachable..  

Moses learning from his father-in-law, Jethro, is a great example of a teachable spirit.  Moses was listening to the conflicts of the people all.day.long.  Jethro came to him and said, “This is going to wear you out!   Find capable, wise men and set them over smaller groups to judge the people.  You just listen to the hardest cases!”   Moses immediately changed the course of his direction and acted on what Jethro suggested.  

I believe God is looking to use people with a teachable spirit—like He did Moses and David.  Those people are willing to change direction and follow Him wherever He leads.  They have a heart like God.