Sample Chapter: Am I Teachable?

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“Not until we have become humble and teachable,
standing in awe of God’s holiness and sovereignty...
acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our
own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned
upside down, can divine wisdom become ours.”
—J. I. Packer

I RECALL AN evening years ago when we had some friends over at our house. After dinner the plates were cleared, and the topic turned to politics. What followed next turned into an interesting debate of everything from taxes to abortion. One friend dominated the discussion and forcefully argued that if Jesus were alive, He certainly wouldn’t pay taxes. In fact, He would stand up and encourage others to stop paying taxes.

Oh, really?

While I didn’t have a chapter and verse handy at the moment, I responded by noting Matthew 22. Jesus answered the question of taxes by pointing out the correctness of paying taxes to Caesar (representing the government). “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (v. 21).

My friend craftily responded, “But what does ‘Caesar’ own? Nothing! God owns everything; therefore, we owe no taxes!” This startling claim was followed by another: “Jesus never told His disciples to pay taxes!”

“Actually, He did,” I replied. In Matthew 17:24–27, Jesus explained to Peter that in order not to offend others, it was right for him to pay the temple tax. He even made miraculous provision for this tax and instructed Peter to pay the tax for both of them. Nevertheless, this news had no effect whatsoever on my dear friend’s attitude.

His intention was to justify wholesale tax evasion for the entire Christian community based entirely on the fact that many of our nation’s leaders have proven to be morally bankrupt. I responded that all our human arguments can’t get around the fact that God has set up all authority over us and that we’re bound to that authority even though God is aware of the corruption that often accompanies high office. But even after considerable discussion of these Scriptures, he resolutely defended his claims, ultimately concluding that he had no problem “lying like a dog” to the IRS (his words, not mine).

I share this account for a reason. The fundamental issue here is not one of political or philosophical preferences but of whether we are teachable. I don’t exaggerate when I say that during the solid hour or more of this conversation, everyone around the table spent at least fifty-five minutes listening to this one man speak. It wasn’t out of simple politeness that we remained silent; we could hardly get a word in edgewise!

A sincere believer in Jesus Christ, I am thankful today that this wonderful man has grown enormously in his relationship with God. But there was a time when I wondered if he was teachable. We’re unteachable when we would rather air our opinions than participate in honest discussion. We’re unteachable when we cling so tightly to unscriptural or unbalanced teaching that we can’t see the Holy Spirit gently nudging us toward a healthier, more balanced approach.

As the famous mime Marcel Marceau has quipped, “It’s good to shut up sometimes.” Indeed, we cannot learn when our mouths are open but rather when our minds are open. Are you teachable?