originally posted June, 2019
Who are your teachers?
As humans, we are constantly learning. Even if we don’t want to learn, it is part of our DNA for the survival of our species to learn so we can survive. We had to learn to find enough to eat without getting eaten ourselves. We had to learn to stay healthy to survive sickness and disease. We had to learn to get our farms and crops going, then make another sale and to keep our family safe from harm.
We have learned survival so well, that for many, survival is no longer the need, but now we learn to improve our leisure and pleasure. We learn to save money on an airline ticket, or learn to use an app to beat traffic. We learn to compare our 401k with industry standards and to send money without a check.
Even people who don’t like learning are still learning. It is simply inherent. Winston Churchill said, “I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.”
If we can establish that we are learning all the time, a further question should be asked, “who are our teachers?”
I was recently watching an interesting movie on YouTube about the Italian invasion of Libya titled, “The Lion of the Desert” staring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mokhtar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpEvb7gwr5c&t=2508s
The Libyans fought a resistance for many years, though they were outgunned and under-manned.
It’s a real story and a typical one of inhabitants resisting an invader by scraping together a rebel force and using their wits, courage and determination for the lack of arms, equipment and a professional fighting force. Sounds a bit like Star Wars.
In one particular scene (at the 40:00 mark) the Libyans use cunning and courage to conquer a larger Italian force. A Libyan rebel is about to shoot an Italian prisoner when Omar Mokhtar stops him and says, “we do not kill prisoners.” The Libyan replies, “they do it to us.” Then Omar Mokhtar wisely retorts, “They are not our teachers”. In other words, we are not going to let them teach us how to operate lest we become like them.
As a training professional, this statement leaped off the screen to me. It resonates with both my spiritual life belief of Matthew 7:12, “treat others the way you want to be treated,” yes even in war, but it also resonates with living in a practical society for all of society.
Are we letting people teach us how to be worse or how to be better?
So let me ask you, “Who are your teachers?”
- Is an ungrateful neighbor teaching you how to be ungrateful?
- Is a person you admire who has a foul mouth teaching you it’s acceptable to speak the same way?
- Is a parent teaching you that degrading their spouse is part of marriage?
- Are your fellow commuters teaching you how to be a bad driver?
- Is a selfish family member teaching you to look out for yourself, and everyone else comes second?
- Is bad Manager teaching you how to mismanage people, take credit from others or climb the corporate ladder by climbing on top of people?
- Are you letting bad news reports teach you that the bad guys win and good guys come in last?
- Are you letting bad politicians teach you that lying and deception are worth it?
- Are you letting a small group of the younger or older generation teach you that everyone in that age bracket is painted with the same broad brush?
- Are you modeling bad behaviors to your children or people you influence?
Let’s be honest, it’s easy to treat others the way they have treated us.
To yell at those who have yelled at us, to ignore those who have ignored us, to dump trash in the neighbor’s yard if they dumped their leaves in our yard.
Yes, payback can be easy, but our humanity speaks to us to rise above and be better. It’s just not always easy.
We are being taught something every day, so we must be careful what they are teaching us.
When looking for advice, some leaders have chosen to surround themselves with bad advisors with predictably bad results.
Proverbs 11:14 states “Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.”
But this is predicated that the counselors know how to give good counsel!
Numerous Kings in the Bible surrounded themselves with bad Counselors and in turn, either the King, their people or both suffered for it because they were being taught by bad teachers or counselors.
In 1 Kings 12:8 King Rehoboam asks the wise old men for advice. He rejects that advice and then takes the advice of the young men who grew up with him. The Bible never calls the young men wise, just young men. King Rehoboam allowed these young men to be his teachers, and Israel immediately revolted against the King.
8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
Lawrence J. Peters said, “if you can tell the difference between good advice and bad advice, then you don’t need advice.” Most people have good instincts, but occasionally we all need advice for something. We all need the discernment to tell the good advice from the bad advice.
You are being taught something every day.
What will you do with your teachers?
Can you identify those who are giving bad advice or are teaching you wrongs?
Have you listened well to Professor Experience?
We are better off, and our society is better off when we rise above, and when we don’t take advice from bad teachers.
