REFLECTION:

I was out to lunch with a friend recently, and during our conversation the topic naturally turned to work. As we talked about employees, leadership, and team dynamics, he shared a statement that stayed with me: "I'd rather work with someone who's teachable than someone who's entitled."

If you think about it, it's true.

A teachable person may not know everything, may make mistakes, and may still have much to learn. But because they are willing to listen, grow, and receive feedback, they become better over time. An entitled person, on the other hand, believes they already deserve more than they have. They resist correction, expect special treatment, and often believe the rules apply to everyone except themselves.

As I reflected on today's reading from 1 Kings, I couldn't help but think of King Ahab. Earlier in the chapter, Ahab behaves very much like an entitled person. He wants Naboth's vineyard. When he doesn't get it, he sulks, pouts, and acts like a spoiled child. Rather than accepting Naboth's decision, he allows a terrible injustice to unfold so that he can get what he wants.

Entitlement is dangerous because it convinces us that our desires are more important than truth, justice, or even other people. It can appear in the workplace, in schools, in our families, in parish life, and even within our own hearts. We may think we deserve a position, recognition, appreciation, or control simply because we want it.

Yet the surprising part of today's reading is what happens after Elijah confronts Ahab. The king who had been acting entitled suddenly becomes teachable. He tears his garments, fasts, and humbles himself before God. For perhaps the first time in this story, Ahab stops making excuses and starts listening.

God notices.

Ahab's repentance does not erase the consequences of his actions, but it does reveal something important about God. The Lord is always ready to work with a humble and teachable heart. God can shape, mold, and transform a person who is willing to listen. Pride closes the door to grace; humility opens it.



Perhaps that is the question for us today: Am I teachable? Am I willing to receive correction from God, from Scripture, from the Church, and from the people God places in my life? Or have I become entitled, believing that I already know enough and that I do not need to change?

The saints were not saints because they were perfect. They were saints because they remained teachable. They allowed God to correct them, challenge them, and lead them where they needed to go.

May we ask the Lord today for the grace not to be entitled disciples, but teachable ones—disciples whose hearts remain open to learning, growing, and being transformed by His grace.