Everyone wants to be healthy, prosperous and enjoy life.  I don’t know anyone who really wants to be sick and broke.  But the choices we make determine how we will live.  The Word of God tells us how to be blessed, and spells out specific things we need to do, as well as things we need to avoid doing in order to have the blessings of God.  So if we are smart, we will be willing to listen to what He has to say.  Being willing to listen and change the way we do things is what I call being teachable.  Is everyone teachable, more importantly, are YOU teachable?
   Unfortunately, not everyone is teachable.  Now, we send our children to school so they can learn necessary skills and hopefully become successful in life.  And out of every class, the teacher soon learns there are those who really aren’t interested in learning, but would rather stay home and watch TV.  Those children go through school doing the very minimum they can get by with because they choose not to be teachable.  It doesn’t mean they are stupid, it just means they CHOOSE not to learn.  When the teacher is teaching, the student’s mind is off somewhere else, on anything but what it’s supposed to be focusing on.  I realize there are those who are impaired in their ability to learn, but I’m not talking about them, I’m talking about those who choose to ignore their teachers.  They go through life ignoring every teacher, and usually the instructions of their parents as well.  Years later, they drop out of school without graduating, yet they want to have all the nice things that others have who did graduate.  And they often have a bad attitude and think the world owes them a living, or they want you to feel sorry for them because things just haven’t worked out for them.  But in reality, they are reaping the consequences of their own choices.  Do you know anyone like that?  I’m sure you do.
   Then there are those who are hungry for knowledge.  They study hard to learn how to do things that will make their lives better.  Knowledge is only a tool, though.  It is not much help if it isn’t applied.  A person can know how to build a house, but if they just sit and talk about it, they might impress you with their knowledge, but if they don’t apply that knowledge and get to work building, they won’t have a house, will they?  Well, the same goes for spiritual things.
For example, the Word of God will show you how to eat healthy.  It tells us things to eat, and things not to eat, and if we apply that knowledge, our body will be healthier for it.  God isn’t trying to ruin your day and deprive you of foods you think you want to eat, and let’s face it, you can cook most anything, but it doesn’t mean you should eat it.  Some animals, for example, are scavengers, and have lots of toxins in their bodies, and God lists them as “unclean” in His Word and tells us not to eat them.  Not for religious reasons, but for our health reasons.  We can be teachable and use that knowledge for our good, or we can choose to ignore His instructions and pay the price for it somewhere down the line.  It’s really our choice.
   God tells us in His Ten Commandments to do this or that, and not to do this or that.  Many people today look upon them as the “Ten Suggestions”.  Depending if we obey them or not will determine how our life will go.  For example, one Commandment says “Thou shalt not steal”.  So if you do, you’re likely to go to jail for it.  You can be teachable and not steal, or you can steal and face the consequences.  Again, your choice, right?  Well, whether you realize it or not, your decisions affect others as well.  There are people all around us who are determined to do things their way, regardless of how it affects others. When we choose to disobey God, we are setting ourselves up for hard times ahead.  Sometimes the consequences of our disobedience come quickly, sometimes later, but they always come.  For example, people who abuse alcohol always end up with health problems, and usually financial troubles and family troubles as well.  Had they been teachable when they were warned not to drink, they would not be in the mess they’re in now, but they wouldn’t listen.  Most of them say, I can stop drinking anytime I want to, but the truth is, once they are addicted, they no longer are in control of their life, they just THINK they are.
   The Word of God tells us how to be blessed.  If you read Deuteronomy 28:1-14, God says if we diligently hearken to His voice to obey Him, all these blessings will come upon us and overtake us.  Did you see the “IF”?  Here’s where “teachable” comes in.  God knows what it will take for us to have His favor, but He doesn’t MAKE us obey Him.  He gives us free choice what to do with His Word.  Will we be teachable to the point we will study and learn from Him, to actually apply His Words, or will we think we already know it all and ignore Him?  If you read the rest of that chapter, you’ll see what happens to those who aren’t teachable, and it isn’t very pretty.  God REALLY prefers you obey so He can bless you abundantly.
   Everything in God’s Word is received by faith, that is, we must not only believe what is written there, but we must act upon it accordingly.  Being teachable is the key to all blessings.  You want to study His Word diligently, giving it first place in your life.  By first place I mean just that.  It means honoring God above ALL ELSE in your life, keeping His Word always in your thoughts, meditating on it day and night.  Are YOU teachable?  If so, you will learn to base every decision in your life upon God’s will, and you will be blessed and have good success.