Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. (Proverbs 9:8-9, ESV)
Once upon a time (though this is not a fairy tale), I was privileged to meet and take a lesson from the great Jim Flick. I flew out to Phoenix from Chicago, stayed at my mother-in-law’s place, and drove to a remote northern outpost called Desert Mountain to meet Jim, who was the man in golf instruction.
Today we have a thriving Links Fellowship at Desert Mountain, under the leadership of Jim Scotti, and the seventh private course there will open in early 2019. Back then there were only three courses, no Links Fellowships in Arizona, and the Nicklaus/Flick golf school was years away.
He responded, “More than 30 years of doing this for a living has proven that I know how to teach. The question is, do you know how to learn?”When Jim learned that I had been a tennis pro, our conversation briefly turned to the teaching profession. As we shared stories, he told me of a fellow who booked a lesson, showed up on the range and said, “I’ve been to this pro and that pro and another pro, and none of them could fix my slice. Do you know how to teach?”
Jim knew the pros he had named were all very good, so he responded, “More than 30 years of doing this for a living has proven that I know how to teach. The question is, do you know how to learn?”
He said the man dropped the club in his hand, left the rest of his clubs there, said a few choice words, and stormed off. “One of my best lessons ever,” Jim told me.
In today’s verses from Proverbs, Jim’s student fit into the first category. But most of his students, and most of the students I have had—both as a tennis pro and a Bible teacher—have fit into the second category.
What, I wondered, about me?
The truth is that I have been like that scoffer student. I haven’t physically walked off in a huff, but I have checked out mentally. I should have announced, “Elvis has left the building,” though I suspect the good teachers knew.
And what did I learn when I did that? Only, in hindsight, that I had it within me to be a prideful, pompous, scoffer. What might I have learned in the moment? Perhaps something that would have made me “still wiser” and increased my education.
So when you read these verses, don’t just see yourself in the role of the teacher, see yourself in the role of the student as well. Whether in church or in Links Fellowships or with your pro, be eager and willing listen. Your golf game and your life will both improve.
—
Lewis Greer
August 2, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.