i'm a scholar!

When I was a freshman in college... I was just like every freshman in college. I knew everything... and I mean everything. In fact, if you and I were in an argument about whether or not Aaron Neville was the most incredible musician since the creation of microphones... and you found a way to prove me wrong using flannel graph, the pythagorean theorem, and a rhombus... I would still deny your accuracy. I was a college student. I had taken the giant leap from the lowly depths of high school and made it to the big time. I was a scholar. 

That school year I was interning at a church. So, not only was I a know-it-all student... I was a know-it-all Christian student. That's like the cream of the knowledge crop. Not only did I know everything about life, I knew everything about the afterlife as well. I was a theologian and a scholar. 

My super expertise was challenged on many occasions that year but one incident stuck out to me more than any other. Jerry, my mentor and Youth Pastor at the time, and I were hanging out with a student. This student was passionate about hockey. He lived and breathed hockey. So, when we would hang out it was always the topic of conversation. Well, this conversation was no different,... we were talking about the different hockey moves you could use in a shoot-out. We were debating about the accuracy of a back-hand shot, and how you know whether or not to go to the glove or blocker side and of course if the Mighty Ducks favorite, the "Triple Dique," was even worth considering. During the entire conversation... Jerry would listen and say "what's that" or "what does that mean?" Over and over again like a toddler on his way to an amusement park,  Jerry would ask question after question. It got annoying. After the student had left I tore into Jerry and hurled abuses at him for not knowing one thing about hockey. I couldn't believe his ignorance. Jerry just sat there and just laughed at me shaking his head. Needless to say... I didn't get the joke. 

That night Jerry taught me something that I will never forget.  See, Jerry explained to me that he knew the answer to every question he asked about hockey... but he played dumb. Jerry played dumb because when someone is passionate about something and know a lot about it... they love to share and teach others about what they love. Teaching yields power. 

This is a nugget of wisdom that I have held onto for years now. You wouldn't believe the things it has done for my relationships with people. Most people are taught to always be aware of teachable moments... but I think we often forget that we need to be the ones being taught... not for the sake of learning but for the sake of helping others experience the gift of teaching. Nobody likes people who know everything. Those relationships are boring and short lived. If you have ever experienced the great joy involved in teaching someone, then you should understand the importance of sharing that experience with others around you. It may bruise your ego at first... but you'll live. If you want the right to be heard... you have to be willing to earn it. How do you expect others around you to listen and care about what you have to say if you don't take the time to return the favor? Who can you listen to today?