"The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.
He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility."
Proverbs 15:31-33
The "reproof of life" here might be how, often, life goes badly when we're sinning or otherwise not in tune with God. We're not happy, and we don't always understand why... but if we make that connection, and change, we'll find a way to happiness.
The second verse of the selection seems to go along with this... if we refuse instruction from God, we aren't hurting or offending him; we're only destroying our own chances at learning some of this essential life lesson stuff.
In the last verse of the selection I really like the "before honour is humility" part. We likely all want to prove ourselves worthy at some point, and recieve honor and praise, especially from God, but before that can happen, we need to be humble enough to learn. This is true throughout life, at home, at school, in the workplace, etc. Before we can be the brilliant, amazing, and super cool people we all want to be, we have to acknowledge the brilliant amazingness of others and learn from them, and especially God.
Today, let's work on the patience and faith and humility it takes to recognize our imperfections and to work to improve. Let's recognize the strengths of others and honor them and learn from them, and turn to God for help in everything that we do as well... and be willing to hear his reproof and make changes.
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