“A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.” — Proverbs 17:10
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Often, “coachability” is one of the most sought-after traits when coaches are determining which players to add to their teams. What they are evaluating in a player when they talk about “coachability” is his or her receptivity and response to feedback, either positively or negatively. In other words, does this player actively seek feedback from their coach and demonstrate a willingness to learn from it? Do they apply what the coach has told them in order to improve their performance? Do they elevate team success over personal accolades?
You don’t have to be on a sports team to be coachable. In fact, God calls us all to cultivate the trait of coachability. He extols the virtue of coachability in Proverbs 17:10, which says, “A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.”
This discerning person in Proverbs 17:10 is open to being corrected for a mistake. This person doesn’t seek to defend themselves or justify their actions; rather, they humble themselves, recognize the reason for the rebuke, and make changes in their life that benefit all involved. This person doesn’t require repeated admonitions or consequences in order to make changes to their life. Stated another way, this person is coachable.
We all make mistakes, sometimes even sinful ones, and it can hurt our pride when others call us out for them. But do you respond with more sin? With defensiveness and dismissiveness? Or do you respond as one demonstrating coachability?
Seek to cultivate coachability in your relationships with others, but most importantly, cultivate coachability in your relationship with God. In His grace, He has given us instruction through His eternal Word, the Bible. The Bible is so much more than a list of do’s and don’ts. The Bible is God’s fatherly message to His children — people He loves more than we could ever imagine. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
God gave us the Bible for our benefit: that we may know how to live, that we may know who we are, and ultimately that we may know God Himself. So, when the Word of God rebukes you, be coachable. Receive it as a rebuke uttered in love for the purpose of molding you more into Christ’s likeness, and then implement the necessary changes in your life.
— Kevin Mercer
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