Too Proud to Listen

On Arrogance
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I remember the start of my career which was also the start of my education and my family. I hit the world with a three-barrel shotgun. I was a novice in all three. I knew I was unprepared for what was coming! However, I wasn't alone. Godly mentors were there.
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First off, who are “Godly mentors”? They were Christians who had been Christians for years and lived the life. They had made many of the same mistakes which I was headed toward. The advise of mentors are wise and can be trusted. Christian mentors use the Bible as their guide. They seek God's will in all matters. Mentors want you to be successful in life and not to follow in their footsteps. You don't have to make your own mistakes if you listen to others!
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Dad was my main mentor. Dad sought guidance every day from God's Word and taught us how to apply it to our own lives. Dad struggled to be successful, making unwise decisions early in his career and growing up in bad economic times. However, Dad wanted something better for us! He didn't want us to follow him (with his faults), but to follow the lead from the Bible. He wanted better for us than what he was. Dad was a trucker at GMC. It was a routine job, paying little and with few challenges, but he not only supported seven children, but helped scores of others with their start in life. Dad was a worthy mentor because he wasn't prideful, he wanted his children to excel over him and he was the Christian example. He was charitable! I was blessed. Many parents today encourage their children to be just as unwise as they had been!
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I listened to my mentors. They advised me wisely. No one in my family had ever went to college. Dad didn't, but he had better goals for me! Dad gets the credit for making it happen. He insisted that God would provide a way for me to attend college and due to his efforts with GMC managers, this poor country boy received a “cooperative program” with General Motors where I was able to work my way through college and graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I graduated without owing a dime thanks to Dad's teaching of frugality, responsibility and Christian values. In short, I wasn't too proud to listen to sound advice! I wasn't a know-it-all. I wasn't arrogant! I knew my own worth and that worth was that I was a novice, but was ready to listen and learn. The “Secret to My Success” (a movie) was my ability to listen to those Christians who were wiser and got their belief system from the Bible.
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Many of the young are just down right arrogant. Some have little background in anything, but being entertained, and have an opinion on everything. They've got all the answers, know all the issues and will argue until they're blue that their opinion has the same merit as an elder studied in the issues. That's arrogance! They have an opinion, but it's based on what they've been told, not on what is reality.
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While Dad directed my efforts in enjoying history, science and how our government works, others were listening to the Beatles, enjoying all types of toys and living for fun. I may have strong opinions, but they're based on years of independent study. I am not what I am because I was programmed. I was taught to think for myself. I had no problem listening to other's “advice”, and I contrast this to others “opinions”. I never ever indoctrinated my children to believe certain beliefs. I did encourage them to learn, to compare it with God's Word and to question what they're taught. Now, for the most part their beliefs are much like mine because their beliefs were formed on God's Word and a history of learning the issues.
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This is written to make two points. Younger folks should listen to those older, wiser and with a background in learning; and that the young must respect those elders and be less arrogant (prideful, know-it-all, etc.)
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Leviticus (NIV) 19:32 “'Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.'”
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Point #1: Have respect for your elders. Listen to their advise and cherish it. Listening doesn't mean acceptance, but valuing their wisdom and evaluating what they have to say. If the elder has led a Christian life, is highly knowledgeable and knows the Bible, you should be meek enough to accept what they say. True experience and study has so much more value than listening to strangers on television or others who are uninformed themselves. Remember, even your teachers at school as a rule, want to “remold” you in their own beliefs. Christians want you to listen because they love you.
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Leviticus (NIV) 26:19 “I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. “
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Point #2: Everybody, including the young, should put their pride aside. It's okay to be wrong as long as you are willing to make change. Chances are that your mentors are wiser than you because of education, life's experiences and understanding the Bible. Get over it! You don't know it all! You need to listen!
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If you put aside your pride and have respect for God and your elders and are a Christian, you will prosper. You'll be a success in life! If you look at those who refuse to listen and to change (and do God's will) they are the least prosperous. After awhile, I believe in their place, I would examine my own arrogance. Do I have a true representation of my worth? This look may change your life and your prosperity!
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Although my mentor taught me to think I still have my own beliefs. Thanks to Dad, I'm much more skeptical than him and have many differences in belief.  I believe he would be proud that I questioned things even more than he did!