Sunday, December 15, 2019

Proverbs 9:8-10 -- On Reproof, Respect. and Repentance

"Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."
Proverbs 9:8-10


I think that we are often resistant to instruction because we look at it in terms of ego, thinking that correction/instruction is a form of disrespect, as though there was anyone wise enough not to need some help. :)  So, these verses could be hard to read because we don't so much want to be okay with rebuke.  ... But that right there is perhaps the lesson we need to learn from the scriptures today.  When we hear something that sounds like criticism to us, perhaps we need to take a step back and think about it, and acknowledge the fact that we might need course corrections.

This isn't to say of course that everyone that tries to instruct us, or those that we try to instruct, are always right, or even unmotivated by pride.  We sometimes like to correct others so we can feel superior.  However, with God we know that there is no such motivation, which is why a healthy respect for God is the beginning of our path to wisdom.  As we learn to accept instruction from the Lord, who we can trust completely, that will help us learn how to evaluate the advice we get from other sources, at least by comparison. :)

Today, let's think really hard about it before we rebuke or try to correct anyone.  Let's make sure that our motivations are not self-serving.  And as we ourselves are rebuked and corrected in turn, let's take the time to consider repentance, evaluating the message without automatically rejecting it as an attack.  Let's do our best to listen, learn, and change the things that need to be changed, with the Lord's help.

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