What Can I Learn Today?

I love the idea of blogs! Blogs are so democratic. They are based on the premise that everyone can say what they wish and disseminate it as broadly as they wish. Whether or not it is read is pure consumer choice… “I like, I read… I don’t like, I don’t read”.

That said, why would someone need or desire to read what I have to say? Good question! First, whether from good experiences or bad experiences, everyone has important lessons to share. Often we fawn over highly successful people… what I would call the “I’d really like to spend a day with Donald Trump syndrome”. In truth, lessons learned from failure are often as valuable, perhaps even more valuable, than lessons learned from success. The significance of this fact is that we need to be extremely careful about “blowing people off” because we feel they have nothing to offer. I remember counseling a young man some years ago and in the course of the discussion I said, “Bob, if you can’t respect me for my successes, respect me for my failures”. Everyone has something to offer. Our job is to seek it out.

I have not always done that very well. In fact, I have generally been very quick to judge and make a decision on whether a person was someone from whom I could learn…or was someone who needed to learn what I knew. As a result, in my younger days, I was viewed as a pretty arrogant person… which was quite correct! I still have a need for growth in this area… and will until the day I die. However, now when I meet someone, I always seek to learn… as opposed to “sharing my infinite wisdom".

The model I would like to emulate is Jesus, “ Your attitude should be that of Jesus Christ, who being in very nature God, did not did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Phillipians 2:6-8

That’s a tall order, but I think it is what I am called to do... and if you are a Jesus follower it's what you are called to do also.