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Someone I love recently called me a “know-it-all.”
They probably didn’t realize how deeply those four words would stick with me.
At first, my feelings were hurt. If I’m being honest, I wanted to defend myself. I started mentally listing all the reasons they were wrong.
Then I did something I should have done first.
I prayed.
Not, “Lord, show them they’re wrong.”
That prayer changed everything.
📚 I’ve always been the one with the answer.
As far back as I can remember, I loved to learn.
I was the honor roll kid. The one in Gifted and Talented. The teenager whose friends jokingly called me “Mama Misty” because I always seemed to have an answer or advice to give.
As an adult, not much changed.
I’ve worked hard in every career God has given me. Before long, I usually became the person others came to with questions. Somewhere along the way, I became the subject-matter expert.
Not because I needed the title.
Because I genuinely love learning.
The same has always been true in my faith.
Paul told Timothy:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God…” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV)
And Peter reminds believers to:
I took those verses seriously.
I wanted to know God’s Word—not so I could win arguments, but so I could help someone who was searching for truth. (OK, and maybe to win the occasional argument. I was on the debate team after all. )
Along the way, my dad taught me something just as important.
“It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.”
My mom added another layer by demonstrating how to speak authoritatively with love and humility.
Those lessons have shaped me far more than any degree, job title or Bible study ever could.
Now… am I occasionally a little too sassy for my own good?
Absolutely. We all have flaws.
But being called a know-it-all forced me to ask a question I hadn’t asked in a long time.
Has my knowledge become something I use to serve others or something I’ve quietly begun to wear as part of my identity?
📖 Meet Apollos: Brilliant, bold… and still teachable.
One person in Scripture kept coming back to my mind.
His name was Apollos.
Acts 18 tells us he was eloquent, knowledgeable and “mighty in the Scriptures.” He spoke boldly about what he knew.
No one criticized him for studying.
No one told him to stop speaking because he knew too much.
Instead, something beautiful happened.
Priscilla and Aquila realized there were a few things he didn’t yet understand.
They didn’t embarrass him.
They didn’t shame him.
They “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” (Acts 18:26).
And Apollos listened.
That may be the most impressive thing about him. His humility wasn’t found in pretending he knew less. His humility was found in remaining teachable after everything he already knew.
That’s the kind of humility I want.
🌸 Maybe we’ve misunderstood humility.
I wonder if we’ve accidentally started defining humility the way the world does instead of the way Scripture does.
Especially as women.
Sometimes it feels like the world equates humility with silence.
- If we speak confidently, we’re pushy.
- If we answer a question, we’re overstepping.
- If we’ve studied, we’re showing off.
- If we know something, we’re expected to apologize for knowing it.
But that’s not the humility Jesus modeled.
Biblical humility isn’t making ourselves smaller so everyone else feels more comfortable. It’s remembering that every gift, every opportunity and every bit of wisdom comes from God.
Humility doesn’t hide God’s gifts. It refuses to take God’s glory.
The goal isn’t to become quieter. The goal is to become more like Christ.
Sometimes that means speaking. Sometimes it means listening.
Wisdom knows the difference.
❤️ So… was I being a know-it-all?
Honestly?
I still don’t know.
Maybe there was some truth hidden inside those words hurled in anger that I needed to hear.
Maybe I interrupted too much.
Maybe I came across stronger than I intended.
Or maybe it had more to do with their own heart than mine.
I can’t answer that. Only God can. What I can do is keep asking Him to search my heart.
Because whether the criticism was fair or unfair, I never want to stop being teachable, or become unapproachable.
That’s the lesson Apollos leaves us with. He didn’t become smaller. He simply remained willing to learn.
Lord, let that always be true of me.
🌿 Devotional Actions
This week, spend a few quiet minutes reading Acts 18:24-28 and Psalm 139:23-24.
As you read, ask yourself:
- Am I using what God has taught me to serve others or to prove myself?
- Am I willing to receive correction with humility?
- Have I been shrinking back because I’m afraid of being misunderstood?
- Is there someone I need to listen to more carefully this week?
Then ask God for the courage to do both: speak when He calls you to speak, and listen when He calls you to listen.
Biblical humility is not silence.
It’s surrender.
🙏 Guided Prayer
Father,
Thank You for every gift You’ve entrusted to me, including the desire to learn. Help me never confuse knowledge with wisdom or confidence with pride.
If I’ve stayed silent out of fear, give me courage.
Help me to be like Apollos—passionate about Your Word, bold enough to share it and humble enough to keep learning. May I never hide the gifts You’ve given me, but may I never seek glory for them either.
Teach me to use everything I know to point people toward Jesus instead of myself.
In His precious name,
Amen.
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