Proverbs 15:5-7

A fool rejects his father’s discipline,
but whoever heeds reproof shows good sense.
In the house of the righteous is abundant wealth,
but the income of the wicked brings trouble.
The lips of the wise spread knowledge,
but not so the heart of fools.

We all have things to learn. I hope we understand that. However, the sad truth is – far too many of us have stopped learning. We graduated from high school or college and the learning stopped. Maybe we learned too much, or we tried to learn so much that when we finished it took us years to recover.

While it is important to learn when it comes to formal education, I don’t think this verse is only talking about formal education. In fact, it’s probably speaking of learning the things of life that aren’t covered in the classroom. Values and virtues. Disciplines and work ethic and what not. These are the things that give feet to any other idea we may have. If we don’t continue to grow in virtue and discipline, we will not be able to put any of the other knowledge into practice. And if we do, our motives will likely be out of balance.

So, we must be able to learn. We must be able to be corrected and challenged. None of us have arrived. The fact that you’re reading this tells me one thing – you’re still on this planet and you still have room for improvement. I do. I certainly do. I have lots of room for improvement. We must never fool ourselves into thinking we don’t need to learn or know anymore.

It is only through this constant process of reproof and growth that we gain true knowledge and wisdom. It is in the process that our hearts change and not just our actions. It is during times of reproof that we are able to be humble and accept that we need to work on this or that.

But if we never accept or heed the reproof in our lives, we become quite the opposite. Our hearts grow cold and hard. Our hearts get full of ourselves and the only thing we spread around is the dumbness of ourselves.

If you think you’ve arrived, let me be the one to break it to you – You haven’t. Stop being full of yourself and start allowing those around you to speak into your life!