By Don M. Aycock
Teachability
The father in
Proverbs 3 advises his son to pay attention if the Lord corrects him. In other words, "Don't fight back, don't rebel." Listen to what the lesson is trying to teach you.
Someone has suggested that the art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. God, in His efforts to educate us to live together peacefully on this little planet, assists in the discovery of life principles. One of those principles is that we never know it all, our opinion is not always right, and that maybe, just maybe, even our political opinions could stand some readjustment.
But teachability is more than that. A college administrator and professor wrote, "I believe the true purpose of education is not only to fill man's mind with knowledge and his belly with food but to deepen his spiritual insights."
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That is precisely what this wise father in Proverbs is saying. There are spiritual lessons to be learned. Sometimes we listen only when the Lord corrects us. We rebel and kick. I think Harry Truman was talking about us when he said, "I have found the best way to give advice to children is to find out what they want, and then advise them how to do it."
LIFE
"Life" here is not simply providing the child with flesh and blood. That's the easiest part. By "life," that author of Proverbs means quality of existence.
George Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Life's no brief candle -- it's a splendid torch!" That's it! That says it. How many people do you see every day who are physically alive but who are not living, in the fullest sense of that word?
We do not have to be rich to achieve this quality of living either. The most important thing is strong, healthy relationships. That is the basis of both our spiritual lives and our physical lives. A child who grows up poor but with good care and plenty of love at home will turn out okay. A child who grows up with anything less may be handicapped all through life.
There is a movie entitled, "The Four Seasons." The movie centers around the relationships of six people who are close friends. That friendship is stretched, strained, abused, shoved, and ignored. But it lasts! Many of us are so fragile that we cannot stand even the slightest strain on our relationships. But that really hurts our lives -- the quality of our existence.
All of this sounds like a last will and testament, doesn't it? A father bequeaths all the qualities and life goals to his child, and to us. Faith sustains our relationship with God. Gratitude reminds us that others have given generously to us and we need to pass it on. Teachability keeps us from being a one-trick pony. Life assures us that God intends more for us than physical existence.
These are the things I would like to give to my child, even as our Heavenly Father has given them to His children.