I once coached a guy who had more natural ability than anyone around. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do on the baseball field. Seriously. He was a five-tool guy.
But he was an idiot.
He listened to no one. He was uncoachable, on and off the field. Sure, he played along and made you think you were getting through to him. In reality, though, he was on his own page.
It was a shame, really, both for his athletic potential and for him as a person.
Players like that always make me think of Proverbs 12:1–“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.”
I love that. God just calls it out. If you are undisciplined in life, if you won’t listen to godly advice, if you won’t pay attention when someone corrects you, you aren’t noble, or admirable, or someone people should associate with. You’re stupid.
Those who love discipline, those who practice discipline, those who seek out correction, they are the ones God uses. They are the ones who advance in the long run. They are the ones whose knowledge and wisdom never stops increasing. You can be disciplined or stupid. Your choice.
Lord Jesus, train me in your school of discipline. Make me a disciple in every sense of the word. Don’t let me go through life stupid and uncoachable.
