So I have moved on to Proverbs in my quite time and I have really been enjoying it. Learning lots and lots. I went through it a long time ago, but had a hard time with it... I would get confused really easily. I never got that at some points wisdom is talking and that is why there is a "she" talking. ;) Anyways, that is just a side note. I have really enjoyed it this time around. :)
So today I was reading chapter 9 which is all about they way of wisdom and then the way of folly. The part that stuck out most to me in this passage is verse 8-9.
"Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, reprove a wise man and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning."
So, as I was meditating on this verse I realized that it is wisdom to not reprove a scoffer. He won't receive your words and will hate you for saying them. And in the end it may have hindered rather than helped. But a wise man will reprove another wise man. The wise man will listen to your words and not just blow you off. He will instead take what you say and look at himself to see it is a true, and if it is he will work to change it.
On the other hand, as I was meditating I started to think of this situation being reversed...
What if I am the one being reproved. Do I listen and increase my learning or do I hate the one who is showing me my fault? It is a hard and convicting question, but one worth thinking through. Am I wise and listen to reproof and try to change for the better or do I blow people off, thinking that I am better than them or despising them for pointing out things that I love in my life. It is a wise person that listens to other reproof and takes what they have said to check yourself. To see if you are really in the fault and what area of your life needs change. It is wise to listen to reproof and it will make you all the wiser if you do so. So which are you? Do you listen to reproof and use it as a chance to change for the better? Or do you hate and despise those who see fault in your life and don't think you are perfect? Do you hate those who reprove because you love what is in your life and don't what to change? We need to be changing for the glory of God. And if we are not open to others reproof of us then will we really be open to Gods....?
`Proverbs 3:11-12
MY son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of His reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom He loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
~Praying that God is honored and worshiped more.
These are wonderful thoughts. Our general culture sends the message "don't let anyone 'put you down.' True friends are just 'there' for you and don't say things that hurt." However, this flies in the face of God's Word. A TRUE friend knows when and how to lovingly say something if something needs to be said! You're asking all the right questions from this verse. Any scripture on wisdom and folly must be looked at with the eyes and heart of "I am more than capable of falling into either category." Wisdom does indeed cry out in the streets, but it's only God who gives the strength and ability to choose the wise response. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" has always been true, is true, and will always be true. So glad wisdom isn't something only smart people can pick up on from a complicated text book or that it comes from some hidden code that must be cracked! It's right there!! Keep on keepin' on, I LOVE reading your thoughts on God's Word. You are making an impact and being an example to both young and old:)
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