Week 6 - Listening, Anger, and a Teachable Spirit

MONDAY — Read the passage with your team.

     19 My dear brothers, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

     22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

James 1:19-20, 22-25

What does this passage have to say about a teachable spirit?

Why is that important?

TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

1) Listening is not easy.  We have to “make” ourselves stop and really hear.  After you listen, how should you then speak (v. 19)?  What will be avoided if you make a habit of listening and then taking time to speak wisely (v. 19)?  What results does anger have upon you?  When you are angry, are you open-minded and able to learn?

WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

2) In what kinds of situations (or with what people) do you tend to speak quickly, then say something that you’re sorry you said?  In what ways could the habit of listening and considering and then speaking help you to respond more appropriately in those situations, and to improve your sometimes difficult relationships?

3) What difference would it make on your team if all of the players really listened to (and considered) the coaches’ instructions and corrections, before responding?  What difference would it make if every team member listened to (and considered) their teammates’ opinions, before responding?  In what specific ways can you commit to beginning to do so?

THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

4) Verses 22-24 provide a vivid description of a person who forgets God’s teaching.  Is it enough to simply listen to instruction, or is there another step that is necessary (v. 22).  In what specific ways have you listened to God’s teaching, but not obeyed Him?  What steps do you need to take now in order to stop deceiving yourself (v. 22) into believing that’s alright

5) What reward is promised to a person who listens to, considers, remembers, and acts upon correct instruction (v. 25)?  What athletic habits do you need to improve — in the way you listen, consider, remember, or act?  How can your teammates pray for you and hold you accountable in this area?

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.