Week 11 - Wisdom and the Teachable Spirit
MONDAY — Read the passage with your team.
10 Listen, my son, accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.
11 I guide you in the way of wisdom
and lead you along straight paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.
20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
listen closely to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to a man's whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.
Proverbs 4:10-13, 20-23
What does this passage have to say about a teachable spirit?
Why is that important?
TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.
1) In this passage the writer is expressing the importance of what virtue (v. 11)? Given what we have learned in the previous weeks of this study, how can you gain wisdom?
2) Read back to Proverbs 4:4 (“Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live”). Where does wisdom come from? What do verses 13 and 23 tell you to do with that wisdom? What do those two verses have to say about the importance of reading God’s Word? How important is that pursuit in relation to all other parts of your life (v. 23)?
WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.
3) The psalmist is pleading with the reader to gain wisdom, because he wants him to experience the rewards of following instruction. What rewards are mentioned in this passage (v. 10, 12, 22)? Think of your own life, and what those rewards might mean? How would you life be different if you commit to pursuing wisdom?
4) What is the relationship between wisdom and following instructions (v. 11-12)? Could the development of wisdom help an athlete improve? Why do you say that? How will your team benefit if, in areas where you have struggled to act wisely, you commit to valuing and following instruction?
THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.
5) Many of us struggle to “heed instruction.” Are you ever tempted to ignore what you have been taught? What temptations lead you to do so?
6) If you view your coaches’ instructions and corrections as a help to you — to assist you in learning and remembering the right way to play — how will you respond when that teaching becomes difficult? In what specific situations is this difficult for you, and how can your team pray for you?
7) If you view officials as people who help you — correcting you when you’re wrong, and assisting you in playing the right way — how will you respond when a call doesn’t go your way? In what specific situations is this difficult for you, and how can your teammates help you?
FRIDAY — Discuss sport applications of teachability, and pray together.
· Ask your athletes to briefly reflect on what they’ve learned about a teachable spirit this week, and to repeat some of those things. (Remind them of some of the Biblical truths about teachability you’ve discussed, if necessary.)
· Ask your team, “Based on what we learned about a teachable spirit this week...What does a teachable athlete do?” Do not settle for vague answers; challenge your athletes to go beyond general qualities of a teachable athlete, and to determine what those qualities look like in action.
· Add the results to your team’s list of descriptions of the “teachable athlete”, and be sure the list is displayed somewhere that is constantly visible, as a reminder to the team.
· Pray together as a team. Encourage your athletes to pray for your team’s growth in regard to the discipline of a teachable spirit — especially in relation to some of the issues and challenges that you discussed together this week. Challenge them to also ask for forgiveness, when applicable. Give time for athletes to request prayer (regarding teachability or anything else), and pray together.
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