Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Foolish people hate rebukes or instruction because to the fool the goal is being right. To the fool, validation comes in the form of approval from others, not in truth.
Truth applied rightly is wisdom. And the person of truth – Jesus – is the one we solely should seek to please and be approved by. To seek validation in Christ alone is true wisdom.
That is why a rebuke, instruction and correction is received by the wise person.
The wise person knows “this is keeping me in line with the truth”. The wise person knows I need others to gently show me where I am veering from the truth. The wise person knows left to my own understanding I am going to drift away from the truth – the person of Truth, Jesus Christ.
When we humbly live like this, we show our fear of the Lord and grow even more in wisdom, understanding and truth.
PRAYER: Father, today I humble myself. I need correction. I need others to reveal my failings that I might grow in you and stay close to you. I choose wisdom and truth Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.
[…] Being Wise (Proverbs 9) […]