If you want to gain wisdom, become a learner. To be a learner you must assume that you don’t know everything. You must also recognise that you may be mistaken about some things you claim to know. If you want to be right about everything you will be unteachable. If you will only learn from people whom you deem to be faultless then you won’t find anyone to learn from. Find people with a bit of wisdom to share and learn from them, because, as the proverb says, “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life” (13:14). Wise people may not have university degrees and titles, but they will certainly have experience in walking with God. The simplest soul who has walked with and learned from God may have more to offer than the most highly qualified scholar. You will find wisdom in unexpected places, so be a seeker. Find those with something to give and hang around them a while for, “He who walks with the wise grows wise” (13:20). Though I am a teacher in various forms I have always considered myself a learner primarily. If I am qualified to teach anyone it is only because I am first a learner. I have learned to learn from all sorts of people, and it has been the key to my growth. Cynicism, intellectual pride and dogmatism have only ever obstructed my growth. It takes humility to be a learner. You must recognise your limitations and consider others better than yourself.
Ask God to develop a soft, open, humble and teachable heart in you.
Read Proverbs 13:13-25
