2024-02-04
Proverbs 8:11 NLT
To keep learning and growing, you must recognize these: (1) Successful people view learning differently than unsuccessful people. Joshua learned from Moses. Timothy learned from Paul. Who have you chosen to learn from? Author Sydney J. Harris wrote: “A winner knows how much he still has to learn, even when he is considered an expert by others. A loser wants to be considered an expert by others before he has learned enough to know how little he knows.” It’s all a matter of attitude. It’s truly remarkable how much a person has to learn before he or she realizes how little they know.
(2) Nothing is interesting if you’re not interested. In Quality Is Free, Philip B. Crosby writes: “There is a theory of human behavior that says people subconsciously retard their own intellectual growth. They come to rely on clichés and habits. Once they reach the age of… personal comfort with the world, they stop learning and their mind runs on idle for the rest of their days. They may progress organizationally, they may be ambitious and eager, and they may even work night and day. But they learn no more.”
The Bible says, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52 KJV). He didn’t just grow physically; He grew spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. It’s a tragedy when you let yourself get into a rut and never climb out; you miss out on the best that God has to offer. By contrast, teachable people are completely engaged in life. They are enthusiastic about things. They’re interested in discovering, discussing, applying, and increasing. So, never stop learning and growing!
Soul food: Exo 20:12; Jer 35:1-19; Prov 1:8; John 19:25-26
Spreuke 8:11 NLV
Om aan te hou leer en groei, moet jy die volgende oplet: 1) Suksesvolle mense leer anders as onsuksesvolle mense. Josua het by Moses geleer. Timoteus het by Paulus geleer. Wie het jy gekies om by te leer? Sidney J. Harris het geskryf: “‘n Wenner weet hoeveel hy nog moet leer, selfs wanneer ander mense hom as ‘n kenner ag. ‘n Verloorder wil as ‘n kenner gesien word voordat hy genoeg geleer het om te weet hoe min hy in werklikheid weet.” Dit is alles ‘n kwessie van gesindheid. Dit is werklik merkwaardig hoeveel ‘n persoon moet leer voordat hy of sy besef hoe min hulle weet.
2) Niks is interessant as jy nie geïnteresseerd is nie. Philip B. Cosby skryf in Quality is Free: ‘Daar is ‘n teorie oor menslike gedrag wat sê dat mense hul eie intellektuele groei onbewustelik vertraag. Hulle maak staat op clichés en gewoontes. Sodra hulle die ouderdom bereik waar hulle gemaklik met die wêreld is, hou hulle op leer en begin hulle gedagtes stilstaan. Hulle mag dalk bevorder word, hulle kan ambisieus en gretig wees en hulle kan selfs dag en nag werk. Maar hulle leer nie meer nie.’
Die Bybel sê: ‘En so het Jesus grootgeword en in wysheid toegeneem…’ (Lukas 2:52 NLV). Hy het nie net fisies gegroei nie; Hy het geestelik, verstandelik en emosioneel gegroei. Dis ‘n tragedie as jy jouself in ‘n groef laat verval en nooit daaruit kom nie; jy loop die beste wat God het om te bied, mis. Daarenteen is onderrigbare mense heeltemal by die lewe betrokke. Hulle is entoesiasties oor dinge. Hulle stel daarin belang om te ontdek, te bespreek, toe te pas en te vergroot. Moet dus nooit ophou leer en groei nie!
Sielskos: Eks 20:12; Jer 35:1-19; Spr 1:8; Joh 19:25-26
2024-02-03
Prediker 2:13 NLV
Die belangrikste vaardigheid wat jy kan kweek is om aan te hou leer. Talentvolle mense kan soms optree asof hulle alles weet, wat dit vir hulle moeilik maak om aan te hou groei. Onderrigbaarheid gaan nie soseer oor bekwaamheid en verstandelike kapasiteit as oor jou houding nie; dit is ‘n ingebore honger om te groei. Die bekende voetbalafrigter, John Wooden, het gesê: ‘Dis wat jy leer nadat jy alles weet wat saak maak.’ Jy kan slegs deur onderrigbaar te bly aanhou groei en aanhou om ‘n impak op die wêreld rondom jou te maak. Lewenslange onderrig is ‘n voortdurende daaglikse aktiwiteit.
Die Romeinse geleerde Cato het op tagtigjarige ouderdom begin om Grieks te leer. Toe iemand hom vra hoekom hy so ‘n moeilike taak op sy ouderdom aanpak, het hy geantwoord: ‘Dis die vroegste ouderdom wat ek oorhet.’ Anders as Cato, sien baie van ons onderrig as ‘n gebeurtenis, in plaas van ‘n lewenslange proses. Daar word geskat dat slegs een-derde van alle volwassenes ‘n hele boek lees nadat hulle die skool verlaat het. Hoekom? Omdat hulle onderrig as ‘n fase en nie as ‘n manier van lewe sien nie.
Die wetenskap bevestig dat alhoewel jou fisiese liggaam kan wegkwyn, jou verstand baie van sy kapasiteit vir voortgesette groei behou. Elke stadium van die lewe verteenwoordig lesse wat geleer moet word. Jy kan kies om onderrigbaar te wees en aan te hou leer, of jy kan kies om jou gedagtes te sluit en op te hou groei. Probeer hierdie eenvoudige eksperiment vir ‘n week: vra ander vir hul raad en weerhou doelbewus die raad wat jy normaalweg sou gee. Skryf aan die einde van elke dag neer wat jy geleer het deur oplettend te wees. Jy sal verbaas wees!
Sielskos: Num 16-18; Matt 11:1-9; Ps 107:33-43; Spr 3:27-28
Ecclesiastes 2:13 NKJV
The most important skill you can acquire is learning to learn. Gifted people can sometimes act like they know it all, which makes it hard for them to keep growing. Teachability isn’t so much about competence and mental capacity as it is about attitude; it’s an innate hunger to grow. It’s a willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn. The famous football coach John Wooden said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” Only as you remain teachable will you keep growing and continue to make an impact on the world around you.
Lifelong learning is an ongoing daily pursuit. The Roman scholar Cato the Elder started studying Greek at eighty years old. When asked why he was tackling such a difficult task at his age, he replied, “It’s the earliest age I have left.” Unlike Cato, many of us regard learning as an event instead of a lifelong process. It’s estimated that only one-third of adults read an entire book after graduating from school. Why? Because they view education as a period in life, not a way of life.
Science confirms that while your physical body may atrophy, your mind retains much of its capacity for continued growth. Every stage of life presents lessons to be learned. You can choose to be teachable and keep on learning, or you can close your mind and stop growing. Try this simple experiment for a week; ask others for their advice… deliberately withhold the advice you would normally give… and at the end of each day write down what you have learned by being attentive. You will be amazed!
Soul food: Num 16-18; Matt 11:1-9; Ps 107:33-43; Prov 3:27-28
2024-02-02
Proverbs 5:1 NLT
Solomon told his son: “Pay attention to my wisdom… the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword…. Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house! If you do, you will lose your honour and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved. Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor… You will say… ‘If only I had not ignored all the warnings… now I must face public disgrace'” (vv. 1, 3-4, 8-10, 12, 14 NLT).
It’s always easier to dispense good advice than to follow it. Solomon’s life proves it. He tells us repeatedly and with great conviction that only fools fall into adultery. Yet he failed to heed his own advice and God’s explicit warning about taking too “many wives, or his heart will be led astray” (Deuteronomy 17:17 NIV). Solomon married seven hundred women. And what was the result? “His wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord” (1 Kings 11:4 NKJV).
Here is an interesting question: Was the reason Solomon had so much to say about this particular subject because it represented an area of struggle and vulnerability in his own life? Sometimes leaders do that; they speak out against areas of weakness they see in their own lives. One thing is certain; if Solomon had taken the advice he gave his son, his life story would have been very different. So, the word for you today is – heed your own advice.
Soul food: Num 14-15; Matt 10:32-42; Ps 107:23-32; Prov 3:25-26
