LifeTrac with Chuck Swindoll is a presentation of Insight for Living Canada.
Isn’t it lovely to come across great, dignified,
well-traveled, wise women who still listen and are still willing to learn from whomever?
Some of you are wonderfully gifted teachers.
You have the ability to stand before a group and to open the Scriptures or to open the subject of
your field and hold an audience in rapt attention. Others of you have distinguished yourself
in public ser...service. You have served some prestigious roles and offices in the community.
A few of you are well-traveled and you have sat in exclusive circles and you could drop the names of
powerful men and women who know you personally. May I ask, has that changed your teachability?
Do you now see yourself as the consummate authority? Or has it simply made you aware
of how vast your ignorance really is? I hope the latter.
Someone has said, “Education is going from a unconscious to conscious awareness of one’s
ignorance.” I think that’s true. You have no corner on wisdom. All the name-dropping in the
world does not heighten the significance of your character. If anything, it reduces it.
Your need now, more than ever, acute need, is to learn and to be teachable.
Learning from your children. Learning from friends. Learning even from your enemies.
How beautiful it is to find a teachable spirit in a significant woman.
I smiled the other day when I came across a Carolina publication that was the result of a
survey that was taken. In the survey it was found that 15 percent of the ladies tinted their hair,
22 percent wore false eyelashes, 38 percent periodically wore wigs, 80 percent wore rouge
or some kind of facial cosmetics, 93 percent used nail polish, 98 percent wore some kind of
eye makeup, and 100 percent of the ladies voted in favor of a resolution condemning
any kind of false packaging. (laughter) Thought that was interesting in this particular article.
You know what? I think, without making that illustration walk on all fours,
I think that the woman who uses the cosmetics is not interested in appearing false.
Cosmetics done well will help enhance the beauty that is there.
It is not an attempt when the woman’s motive is right to hide something that is not there.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we know it all.
That’s especially true as we get older…along the way we lose our teachable spirit. But the
reality is that none of us…no matter our age or education or status…has the corner on wisdom.
Chuck Swindoll says “No matter how fast the promotion…or how high the exaltation may be…we
are never to lose our teachability. We never reach a level where we are above criticism…or
we no longer need the input of others. And,
frankly, there are times when our best lessons can be learned from our enemies.”
Chuck’s right. There’s so much to learn. And everyone has something to teach us…
our kids…friends…co-workers…those younger than us…those older than us.
We can even learn from our enemies. Teachability is a willingness to
learn…it’s being quick to hear and respond to criticism. It’s being open to advice.
Proverbs 21 verse 11 says…The wise learn by listening.
This is Steve Johnson of Insight for Living Canada.
Listen to more of Chuck Swindoll's LifeTrac messages at lifetrac.ca
LifeTrac: Where Life and Truth Meet
The preceding LifeTrac presentation was brought to you by Insight for Living Canada. The original
message "Strength and Dignity on Parade" was copyrighted in 1989 and this LifeTrac sound
recording was copyrighted in 2012 by Charles R. Swindoll Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.