As an American living in Japan for 16 years, I have had the opportunity to observe many differences between Japanese and Western culture. It is amazing that we are all created by the same Father and loved just as equally but our environments shapes the way we think, act, and respond in our daily lives.
One thing about Japan is the people are very avid readers. They have bookstores all over the place and are always reading on trains and buses on their ways to work. Even the tiny Japanese newsstands at the train stations have a variety of books, magazines and the infamous Japanese comic books to choose from.
They do watch TV, but probably not as much as we do in the U.S. They do not have the hundreds of channels that take so long to search through. (It always seems like by the time you get back to the channel you started at, a good hour has passed). I tell my children all the time that if they want to be smart, read a lot. They are the top students in their classes. Reading is the precursor to good study habits.
In both the U.S. and Japan, I have met people that feel that they have "arrived." They act as if they know everything and are usually not willing to listen to the ideas of others or even accept even when they are wrong. I have thought that, I never want to get this idea or attitude and not be open to new things, especially the things of God.
This attitude is not limited to any personality type. It is something any one of us can slide into if we don't keep a teachable spirit. What is a teachable spirit? It is a person who is willing to consider the thoughts and attitudes of their hearts and correct what needs correcting as well as learn new things that help us all to personally develop and grow. In spiritual terms, it is a person who is willing to be led by the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit-led life is like sailing in on a yacht. When you are in the water the boat is constantly moving. You cannot slam on the breaks and expect to stop on a line. When the blowing wind of new ideas blows our boat we have to be like the Berean people who immediately checked what was taught to them for themselves with the eternal infallible Word of God.
If what we are taught has two or three witnesses (2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19) in the scripture then it is going to be safe for us to accept the teaching. If it cannot be confirmed in the Word, then we could be slipping down the slope of error or worse yet—heretical teaching.
The fourth chapter of Proverbs talks about protecting our hearts because all the issues of life are dealt with in our hearts. (Our hearts are our soul area, which is our mind, will, and emotions.) That doesn't mean that we should not be open to thoughts and ideas we have never heard of. That is the whole point; we need to have teachable spirits. If we are teachable, we will be the wisest people on earth.
There are people that are dear to all of us that have financial issues, need health and healing, or are just not willing to throw down Christian traditions and teaching that are not in agreement with the Word of God.
They are not living the abundant life that Jesus said He died to bring us. Some folks are just not willing to believe in God. The root of the problem is they don't have teachable spirits and are missing God's full plans for their lives.
Walk in God's full plan life for your life. Don't be blown off course by something erroneous but stay on course by constantly keeping track of the map of God's Word and be dynamically led by compass of the Holy Spirit.
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