Pupil

[pyoo-puhl] noun a person who is learning under the close supervision of a teacher, a private tutor, or the like; a student

Men, can we have a quick, teachable moment? The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show yourself approved unto God. A workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The word study in Greek is “spoudazo”, which means to use urgency and speed, or to be prompt and diligent. In English, the word "student" comes from the word "study". A synonym for student is "pupil", which is a person learning under the supervision of a teacher or tutor. The word pupil also refers to the opening of the human eye through which light passes. There’s a lot to unpack in all of this, but for the sake of time I won’t expound much further.

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes men have a hard time swallowing our pride and refusing to admit we don’t know it all. Even in our relationships and marriages, many of us have difficulty giving up the reins to let our women take the lead in certain areas, even when they are clearly more skilled and knowledgeable than we are. I decided a long time ago that it is foolish to have this way of thinking, and it is wise to allow my wife to operate in the areas of her strengths and expertise, especially in the areas where I am a novice or unskilled. For example, when it comes to managing our finances, I flat out suck at it! For years I made the assumption that since I’m the man of the house, I have to manage everything in my house, including our bills, expenses and finances. This ideology proved to be detrimental, and I learned the hard way. Although I have always been a generous person and a giver, I would sometimes give even when we couldn’t afford to give, because friends and family needed help. I did all I could to help them out, and it took a toll on our family. I had to realize that it's not my job to save everybody, especially while we were struggling to make ends meet. I was not a good steward of our finances. After recognizing my wife was much better at managing our finances than I was (she was also better at saying no), I humbled myself and allowed her to take over managing our money and things began to work out much better for our family.

After more than 25 years of marriage, there are things to this day that I am still learning from my wife. Men, we have to remain pupils of our spouses if we ever hope to have a successful marriage. We ought to dwell with our wives according to knowledge. Teamwork makes the dream work. As long as you’re alive, you’re a student and the master class of life is always in session.

Call To Action: What is one new thing you would like to learn? Take some time to research the topic, get a book about it or watch a video tutorial about it. Reach out to someone who is in that line of work, whether they're your peer or someone older than you. Ask them to allow you to shadow them while you gain more exposure to the new skill or talent. Never stop learning, never stop growing and never stop going.

Prayer: God I am grateful for every life lesson, and for every test and trial I’ve experienced. I want to know more about You. Teach me Your ways and give me a deeper hunger for Your word so that I may be equipped for success. In Jesus’ name. Amen.