Petrified Wood?

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Albert Einstein

What specifically would you like to learn today? I imagine some will quickly report their desire to learn how to make their money work well for them so their future income is well-established. Others will quip they need to learn how to save in the first place! If we are honest here, there are great deal of things we'd desire to learn, but take very little time or invest very little effort into learning. I would have loved to learn to play the piano, but I never learned a note on those ivory keys. It wasn't for the lack of seeing pianos - there were lots in my immediate associations who had them. It wasn't for the lack of affording lessons - I could have even trades my services cleaning a yard or washing windows if that was considered a fair trade. What I lacked was the 'want to' behind the desire. Sometimes we have a lot more desire than 'want to'!

To learn, you must want to be taught. To refuse reproof is stupid. (Proverbs 12:1)

We must want to be taught - this means we have more than a 'want to', though. We need the commitment behind the 'want to' that actually gets us involved in learning. If I want to learn to knit, I need to buy the needles, yarn, and a few books on various knitting projects from beginner to intermediate that help me learn the process of 'twisting' those yarns together. I could possess all of this and still not learn to knit - I would still have to put into practice the skill! I need to actually pick up the needles, wind that yarn according to the instructions and bring those stitches all together into a row before I will ever be able to move onto the next one. It begins when we begin - there is no substitute for beginning! There may be fits and starts in our process of learning, but let me assure you there is no end to it!

To be taught we must have more than an idea - we have to make an investment. Ideas minus the investment don't really help us develop much character. In fact, where there is no investment, there is seldom any return. To refuse to learn is still another thing. Refusing to learn suggests to us that is possible to actually resist learning - to dig in our heels and just pull back with such a force it almost makes it impossible for us to grab hold of what is beckoning for us to be 'schooled in'. The refusal to learn stems from a heart that resists change. We all know how futile it is to resist change - change is inevitable. If we don't engage in the process of change, we will simply not move on! We will petrify in place! Just sayin!