Cease listening to instruction...

For many years I was a tennis coach, instructing those who were just starting to play tennis, all the way up to players who were top 50 in the world on the professional tour. Looking back on my those days, I'm amazed that people were willing to pay anywhere from $50-$200 an hour for instruction. When looking at education, people are willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for instruction. As a parent, one of the most valuable things I can instill in my child is a desire to receive instruction and to be teachable. Proverbs 19:27 warns us "Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." Instruction is something that we must value and desire. One of my favorite verses on this is Proverbs 4:13 which says, "Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life." Something tragic I often see is people who do not value the wisdom of verses like this. They do not like instruction, especially the receiving of it. Why is it that people are willing to spend huge amounts of money for some kinds of instruction, or make it a priority in their children's lives, and yet often they don't value it in their own personal life? The Bible is full of examples, for our benefit, of giving the benefits, value and rewards of receiving instruction. I am so thankful for instruction and have personally experienced the blessings of receiving it. I'm so thankful for the faithful men, women, young people and children who have instructed me. They have helped me become the man I am today. I have benefitted from them greatly. One of my daily prayers is that I would stay teachable and be willing to learn and grow. How will you respond to instruction today? Will you be teachable today? Proverbs 9:9-10 tells us "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." What an incredible promise to us :) Today you will have opportunities to be receive instruction, will you choose to become wiser and increase in learning? The ball is in your court...