Reproof is not merely for conviction’s sake. Conviction is always for completion. The goal here is that a teachable spirit would please God as he, by the Holy Spirit and through others, brings our character and doctrine closer and closer to Jesus Christ.

From work, to education, to recreation, much of our lives revolve around discovering our faults so as to develop ourselves. We pay professors to identify our errors in math, science, and writing. We pay individuals to identify flaws in our golf swing, fitness routine, and our skiing. If I want to know how to eat better, I can get a nutritionist consultation for $100/hr. In all, we approach individuals, even complete strangers, with a teachable demeanor, and pay them to identify and correct faults.

I wonder if we are as eager to take that approach with some of the more important things of our lives. Are we as welcoming to input into our marriage and ministry as we are our golf swing and crossfit routine? Do we demonstrate the same teachability with our fitness lessons as we do with our christlikeness? Are we as open to receiving reproof about our character as we are our investment strategies?

When we enter into God’s family by faith in the Person and finished work of Jesus Christ, we enter into a life of change. God loves his children so much that he will not leave us as we are. Shaping us into the image of Christ is his unfailable goal. Among other things, this necessitates that we maintain a teachable spirit until God takes us to heaven.

The following is a brief refresher on why we need to maintain a humble, teachable demeanor:

1. If we are not God, we need to be teachable.

Understanding who we are is fundamental to understanding what we should do in life. For example, since we are sinners, we need to embrace the Savior, Jesus Christ. If we are a husband or a dad, we need to lead with servant-leadership, like Christ. If you are a Wyoming resident, you need to be a meat-eater and firearm-owner. The who governs the what.

So it is with having a teachable demeanor. If you are not God, then you are not omniscient. You still have things to learn. If you are not God, then you are not without sin. You still have specific areas in which growth is needed. If we are not God, then, by all means, we must be teachable.

2. If we are not in heaven, we need to be teachable.

If you are in heaven, then you have been glorified by the grace of Jesus Christ alone. Your character is fully formed. You have arrived at that point where you no longer have character blind-spots. No sin remains. If we find ourselves in heaven, then our character is perfected with the result that we have retired from confessing and repenting of sin.

One of the dangerous consequences of Alzheimer’s disease is that individuals can forget where they live. When we show an unteachable spirit to correction, we demonstrate a spiritual Alzheimer’s. We behave as if we live in heaven, having forgotten we are still on earth.

But if you are not in heaven, receptivity to reproof must still characterize you. A teachable demeanor needs to be one of the foremost characteristics of earth-dwellers. We haven’t arrived. We have blind spots. We have not retired from seeing and fleeing our sin. Which means we still could use some reproof now and then.

3. If we are in a position of leadership and influence, we need to be teachable.

Leadership is simply a dangerous place for any not-yet-perfected human being. We are merely clay pots among clay pots. But the position and power can do funny things to us. It can easily get to our head. We can start believing that we arrived because of our own greatness. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we are tempted to think, “Did I not do all this ‘by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’” (Dan 4:30).

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