The Fine Art of Learning - Asking Questions.

There is a Chinese proverbs that says "He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever."

There are 63 verses in the book of Proverbs that have the word 'fool' in it. Here are some of them as food for thought. The texts are from NIV. The lines in red are from "The Message Bible"

Prov 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

Prov 12:15 The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.

Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice.

Prov 12:16 A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. 

Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults.

Prov 13:20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. 

Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.

Prov 17:16 Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom? 

What's this? Fools out shopping for wisdom! They wouldn't recognize it if they saw it!

Prov 17:28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue. 

Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise; as long as they keep their mouths shut, they're smart.

Prov 18:2 A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.  

Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse; all they do is run off at the mouth

Prov 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

See that man who thinks he's so smart? You can expect far more from a fool than from him.

Learning usually passes through three states. 

In the beginning, you learn the right answers. 

In the second state, you learn the right questions. 

In the third and final stage, you learn which questions are worth asking.

There must be a hunger for learning. Someone once illustrate learning with thirst. When someone is thirsty, he will automatically go to the jug and pour himself a glass of water. In fact when you drink only when you feel thirsty, you are already at the initial point of dehydration. We should all be drinking adequately even before we feel thirsty. I can tell whether a person is a learner by the way he states a problem he has observed in others or himself.

A non-learner merely complains about it. A learner learn new skills to solve it.

Why do I need to continue to learn?

• For your Sake (Maturity )
• For Other's Sake (Love)
• For God's sake (Delight)

HAPPY LEARNING --- AND ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS!