"Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge." --- Proverbs 23:12

The one who aspires to be a teacher must first master that which they wish to teach.  The one aspiring to be a leader must know clearly to where he or she would like to lead followers.  In our society, there is so much available on leadership training and the like, that we become inundated by the volume of it.  Not only that, we come to believe that teaching and leadership are ends in themselves.  But they are not.  There has to be a destination in which people are to be led.  There has to be a topic of which the teacher desires the students to be learners.  

If there is something you aspire to be great at... and especially if you aspire to lead others to a new place and/or higher level, it begins with individual private humility.  It requires that we remain open to learn.  When we approach people/ideas/situations with a humble spirit, we will be more authentic in our response to them.  When we are more authentic, we exact more influence.  Open your mind, your spirit, and your heart and dedicate them to consistent learning and growth.

Readings:  Isaiah 15:1-18:7; Galatians 1:1-24; Psalm 58:1-11; Proverbs 23:12