Skip to main content

Learning

             All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (II Timothy 3:16-17)

 

            I have kept journals for years but reading them is frustrating and disappointing. The things I whined about years ago are what I’m whining about now. How can I be such a miserable failure that I somehow never learn? Shouldn’t I be past that by now? I mean, come…on… Oh, there are some things that I seem to be past, but they seem inconsequential compared to the stuff I just can’t learn.

            I have a school mentality of learning.  You learn that 2+2=4, and chances are that even if you forget it you can figure it out. The capital of the United States is Washington, DC. Got that. Somewhere in the records, I earned my diploma and two degrees.   But they don’t seem to have certificates in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Nor do they have them in faith, hope, and charity. For that matter, they don’t even have them in adulting!

            To make things worse, there are “alternative education facilitators” out there who want to sell us the three steps needed to power, love, peace, self-control, or something else that looks good. They might even give us a certificate, but then life does what life does, leaving us with no idea of what to do when what we learned doesn’t work, and they’re either nowhere to be found or holding out their hand for payment, again.

            What today’s passage tells us is that Scripture is a handbook that we get to keep. In any circumstance, we can find something that will do the following:

Teach: Show or explain to (someone) how to do something.

            Rebuke: Express sharp disapproval or criticism of (someone) because of their behavior or actions.

            Correct: Free from error; in accordance with fact or truth.

            Train: Teach (a person or animal) a particular skill or type of behavior through practice and instruction over a period of time.

           

            Put another way… Here’s how to do it. Here’s what it looks like.

            No, that’s not right.

            This is what you need to change and how to change it.

            Let’s try it again.

 

            The nice thing is that there’s something that’s not included: “You’ve failed….”

           

           

           

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more