The Discipline of Learning

Wisdom or intelligence is not a guarantee with age (e.g., “old fool”). Wise men don’t become wise overnight. Wisdom is accumulated by relating learned truth to experience.

A wise man knows he is not wise and has much to learn. “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning” (Proverbs 9:9). Humble people are teachable people and realize they have so much wisdom and knowledge to attain.

Proverbs 18:15 tells us, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” He is chasing after it. He wants it bad. It’s needing to have a better understanding; it’s wanting to have an answer.

Proverbs 23:12 is also relevant to the issue of learning and wisdom – “Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.” Christians cannot afford to live a “fly by the seat of my pants” kind of faith we must be grounded in the truth.

Learning is a life-long endeavor. Too often when we read Philippians 1:6, and we stop after “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” and we neglect to read the last phrase – “at the day of Jesus Christ.” Why is that last phrase so critical? What does it tell us? It reminds us that we are unfinished until Christ returns. We haven’t learned everything we need to learn in this lifetime.

How can we encourage learning as a discipline?

1. Make the Word your primary source of learning. No other book can make the claims the Word claims. No other book can sanctify you like the Word. No other book can give you all you need for life and godliness. No other book is without error and is totally sufficient. If you are going to master one book in your life, make it God’s Word. There is a lifetime of learning in the books of the Bible.

2. Be an intentional learner. Think of things in the Scripture that you don’t know enough about (e.g., why Jesus came to die, God’s sovereignty, the process of becoming wise) and commit yourself to learn them. To learn, you must be proactive about learning. You must devise a plan TO learn. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:17-19, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith -that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Our aim is intentional leaning about our Lord.

3. Vary your means of learning. Not everyone is a reader of words on a page. Audio books can be of great service to you if you struggle with the method of learning by visualizing words on a page. Taking classes gives you the ability to interact with others who are also committed to learning the same subject. You benefit from questions asked that you didn’t think to ask. Watching an educational video gives you the flexibility or learning when you have time and benefiting from the visual aid of learning. Don’t always learn the same way about the same things. If you do that, you don’t ever have to think. Challenge yourself

4. Pose questions to “smart people.” In other words, when you know you are going to be around someone who is wise or who has acquired much knowledge, prepare questions to ask them about “stuff”. Pre-think what you would like to learn from the people around you.

5. Don’t fear curiosity. I would venture to say that the most undervalued quality in any student of the Bible is curiosity. A curious Christian is going to dig and mine all he can out of the Word. And learning will be the by-product.

6. Keep the goal of learning in mind: to be Christlike. Matthew 11:28-29 reads, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and LEARN FROM ME…”