"Lord, make me a Learner, that I may be humbled by your people"
Humility is a spectrum. It's a loaded, revealing attitude that contains such a variety of hues and colors that almost any coveted quality can be distilled to having humility at the heart. Such is learning.
You cannot grow or mature in life without learning from others. But, as odd as it may seem I'm sure, you cannot learn from others without first recognizing that they have something to teach you. This can be hard. Especially when looking at someone who may be less educated, younger, or in a phase of life you've already been through. Come to think of it, it's hard when the person is in a later stage of life than you too! In order to learn from others you have to humble yourself with one thought, they know more than you.
I've had a number of partnerships in my life where I was the mentor of someone else. The richness of a relationship like that can only be fully realized when you see it as a two-way street of information. As you are guiding them through life, they are teaching you how to communicate your thoughts. As they encounter struggles, you are learning how to be a companion.
Most people have some level of a pride issue and I am certainly a part of the fold. For whatever reason, I don't often feel like I'm at a loss in my decision making or life struggles. More often than not, I feel like the answer is obvious.
This will be my downfall in becoming like Christ.
If I cannot grasp this pride by the horns and pray every morning to learn something new and be humbled, I won't grow. I won't mature. I will remain a child of Christ, never becoming a man of God. That's why I included this line in my morning prayer. It's a recognized fault of mine that I desire to teach more than learn, to mentor rather than be mentored.
If you can't be taught, then what you teach will become outdated.
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