Sadly, it seems, many of the opportunities we have to grow spiritually are sabotaged before they can bear fruit. They are sabotaged by a pattern that is inherent to our human nature. This pattern is reflected in the Apostle Paul’s admonition to the Thessalonians: “Do not despise the words of the prophets” (1 Thessalonians 5:20).
The catalyst to spiritual growth is learning to think differently. We move from an old way of thinking and living (the old self) into a new way of thinking and living (the new self) by learning to think differently (Ephesians 4:22-24). We are transformed by “the renewing of the mind” (Romans 12:2). We learn to think with the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 2:7) and the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) under the guidance of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). (See the previous two blogs.)
This catalyst is the work of the Spirit. The Spirit teaches us spiritual truth that confronts what we think and how we think. Prophets played a key role in this work of the Spirit. (In the New Testament, the term prophet was commonly used to refer to those who proclaimed God’s truth – what we would today call preaching) Thus, Paul urged the Thessalonians to not despise or reject what the prophets proclaimed.
Which brings us back to the pattern, inherent to our human nature, that sabotages our spiritual growth opportunities before they can bear fruit.
We humans commonly reject those things that challenge how we think. We use what we believe to judge what we hear. If it aligns with what we believe, we accept it. If it is different from what we believe, we reject it as false — not valid and not true. This pattern is so common that social scientists have given it a name: confirmation bias.
This common human inclination prevents us from hearing — much less accepting — the truth the Spirit seeks to teach us. It blocks the transformation process before it can begin. It sabotages the work of the Spirit.
The Apostle Paul seemed to understand this reality. In his exhortation to the Thessalonians, he wrote "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20). We quench the Spirit — pour cold water on the Spirit’s work — by rejecting the truth the Spirit is seeking to teach us through the prophets.
One of the characteristics of discipleship is a teachable spirit – an open mind that is willing to think and learn. The word disciple means learner. As Jesus’s disciples, we are students who are studying the ways of God Jesus taught — the ways of the Kingdom — so they can shape how we think and live. One dimension of the Spirit’s work is to teach us what Jesus taught (John 14:26).
Living with a teachable spirit does not mean we accept everything we hear. It means we are open — willing to think — yet discerning. Paul taught this in his exhortation to the Thessalonians: “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of the prophets, but test everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).
Paul taught the Thessalonians to examine what they heard — to be discerning. Did what they heard reflect the character of God? Did it align with the life and teachings of Jesus? Was it an expression of grace and forgiveness or of merit-based thinking and living? Did it use power to serve or to control, to seek the other’s spiritual growth and maturity or conformity to a moral standard or religious law? Did it view and value, accept and embrace all as beloved children of God or was it an expression of us-them, better than-less than thinking and relating? Did it lead to the transformation of heart and mind (the interior realm) or focus on behavior (the external)? (These questions reflect the seven markers in God’s plumb line that I identify in my latest book God’s Plumb Line: Aligning Our Hearts with the Heart of God.)
Having examined what the prophets proclaimed, they were to “hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). The truth they discerned was to determine how they lived … even when that truth called them to change what they thought and how they lived.
A teachable spirit, coupled with discernment, keeps us open to the Spirit. It makes us receptive to the Spirit's work. It keeps alive the opportunity for spiritual growth the Spirit offers us through the renewing of the mind. It prevents us from sabotaging our own growth in Christ. It is the antidote to prolonged spiritual immaturity (Hebrews 4:12-13).
A
teachable spirit, coupled with discernment, is how we avoid quenching the Spirit
and despising the words of the prophets.
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