Titus 2.11-12
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”
Here is a key question. Where is God calling you to build skill and get better? As you read today’s devotional, keep this in mind: The natural state for a follower of Christ is to grow and get progressively better in life and at work.
Every Christian should have a growth mindset. Building skill should be a daily focus of every follower of Jesus. Here are the key factors of continuous learning for Christians:
Mindset. Proverbs tells us that learning and building skill requires a mindset of deep respect for God and His ways. The wise person listens to instruction; the fool resists instruction. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck” (Proverbs 1.7-9).
Coachability. Committed Christians are coachable and teachable. They want to grow; they want to learn; they want to build and improve their skill. Proverbs 9.9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” Proverbs 18.15 says a version of the same thing: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
It is self-defeating to resist coaching. Proverbs 15.32: “Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.” Over the years, I have met many Christians who are not very coachable. It is a very sad thing to see. Some people fail to grow because they weren’t told the truth; others fail to grow because they won’t hear the truth.
Humility. This follows from coachability. You cannot learn what you think you already know. Proverbs 12.15: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” We must humbly submit to the skill-building process. Proverbs 15.33: “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”
Self-awareness. It is important to recognize your strengths and weaknesses. It is important to know where your skill gaps are. And gaining self-awareness requires getting feedback. It is for this reason that feedback has been called “the breakfast of champions.”
People who lack self-awareness or who get defensive in response to feedback shut down the learning process. Proverbs 12.1: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” And it is important to add that people who lack humility and who are not coachable are also those who are most lacking in self-awareness.
Process. As Proverbs teaches repeatedly, building skill is not an event; it is the disciplined process of musar. God has built a universe where skill is built by repeatedly doing a thing, not by repeatedly talking about it. This is a significant weakness in many churches; they are talking centers, not doing centers. As a result of so much talking without doing, there is a lack of focus on disciplined skill-building for impact in the real world.
The process of building skill works like this: Get instruction on the mechanics of the skill, practice the mechanics, get feedback, make adjustments, practice again, push through the barriers. The big problem for many people (unfortunately this includes many Christians) is the unwillingness to embrace the productive discomfort that is a natural part of building any skill.
When you try something new or different, there will be moments of awkwardness and discomfort. And you will make mistakes.That is how the learning process works. Discomfort simply marks the place where the old skill meets the new skill. It marks the edge of your current ability; and the real work doesn’t begin until you reach your limits. If you want to build skill in any area of your life, push through the barrier!
What is required is a kingdom mindset; a true commitment to and reverence for our God. When we hear his call and honor his claim on our life, then we will gladly embrace the moments of discomfort and push through the barriers in order to grow and build skill.
Again, the natural state for a Christian is to grow and get progressively better in life and at work. May we continuously grow and develop our competence so that we may be effective agents of the kingdom in our time and place in history. “Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.” (Proverbs 4.13)
Where is God calling you to build skill and get better?
