Proverbs 23:12 

12Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. 

As a father and leader of a company I often find myself needing to have answers, it’s almost expected of me. Whether my son is looking to understand playground politics at school, or my leadership team is looking at me to pinpoint the direction of our company. There is an expectation that ‘this guy’ will not only have the answer but will be able to guide the way forward. Pretending to know all things becomes habitual and second nature and I sometimes forget to pause and ask myself, “do I even know this answer?” Answers begin freely flowing and it isn’t until later, in silence and solitude, that questions appear in my consciousness. Once those questions appear, self-doubt decides to visit and begin a conversation. His best friend, second-guesser, shows up alongside him and the party begins.  

Part of any relationship, father, son, leader, or husband requires us to open our hearts to instruction and have a willingness to put down the habit of knowledge. As Proverbs 2:6 states, ‘For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Once we accept Christ and invite Him into our life, we are essentially inviting Him to dwell within us. For me He took His holy chisel to my heart and softened the hard edges and made room for a new way of living. A personal transformation that is still ongoing. Breaking a lifetime of knowledge, mainly of good and evil, requires vulnerability. Humbling myself I’ve opened my heart and my ears to receive instruction not only from my peers, but from God Himself through the Holy Spirit.  

Once I was dethroned from the kingdom of knowledge and self-righteousness, the self-expectation of knowing slowly departed. Learning from other men, opening my mind to God’s instruction and applying what I’ve learned to my life has been transformative to say the least. As a father, showing my son vulnerability and a willingness to learn has been the ripest fruit of God’s wisdom thus far. Knowing that his dad doesn’t have all the answers opens his heart to receive from others, God included.  

As men, we are raised to be strong and capable, yet my father never taught me that I’d find my greatest strength in being weak. I’m not speaking about physical weakness, rather my ability to admit being wrong or not knowing the answer. I’ve been building the same wall of knowledge around myself that my father built around him. How are we supposed to form intimate relationships with those people closest to us, Jesus included, if our hearts aren’t open to learning or growing? No one person knows and fully understands all things, pretending that we do doesn’t make it a reality.  

To be successful in spiritual, home or work life we must become pupils of our Father in heaven, open to learning and growing, just as our children (sometimes) look up to us for wisdom. I think Jesus said it best, we are to become like little children again, where we look up to our Father and cry out Abba. It’s His faithfulness in us as His children, and our acknowledgment of His love for us that reveals the doorway (Jesus) for Him to speak wisdom to us, and only through His grace and mercy will we be able to receive His instruction and knowledge and apply it to our lives. God Bless.

For further insights on spiritual growth and embracing God’s wisdom, check out Faith Over Fear and Patience in Suffering