DAY 71 –90 Days in Proverbs - Disciplined
Proverbs 12:1 [NIV] Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.
Do you like people to be direct? Well, the author really “tells it like it is” in this passage: if you hate correction, you are stupid.
As far as I can tell, there isn’t a lot of difference between the Hebrew word translated as “discipline” (Discipline, chastening, correction) and the one translated “correction.” (Rebuke, correction, reproof, punishment, chastisement.) Solomon isn’t talking about loving or hating some more gentle application like instruction or education. The words he selected are clear – we have to come to love being corrected.
The thing is, does anyone really love discipline, being chastised or correction? I don’t know of anyone who does. We may be able to learn to appreciate correction, even if it doesn’t come naturally. Solomon makes it clear that if I truly love knowledge, I must learn love discipline.
As Christians, we have the goal of becoming more like Jesus Christ, living as He lived, loving as He loved, walking as He walked when He was on the earth. If I cannot come to at least appreciate correction as a necessary part of Christian growth, I’d basically be saying that there is nothing wrong in me as I am. I’d be claiming that I never make bad decisions. I will admit that I cannot claim either as true.
The Word of God is our guide, our instruction book. The Holy Spirit leads and urges us to do what is right. Still, we sin. And when that happens, we will be corrected. Sometimes it is gentle correction by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it is private correction from reading the Bible.
Sometimes chastisement comes through a sermon, were I may feel the preacher is speaking directly to me, but no one else knows it. This can be difficult to swallow if we think of that preacher as a sinner who needs to “take his own medicine.” I find these easier to handle private correction than other ways that God might correct me.
The toughest to handle? When God sends a friend, family member, mate or brother in Christ to directly correct me, or worse, someone publically corrects me. In the instance of David’s sin with Bathsheba, where he didn’t just commit adultery but also murdered her husband, David received very public correction and discipline. [2 Samuel 11-12] Not only did Nathan, the prophet, publically chastise David in his court, but David’s son died and, later, one of his other sons publically slept with one of David’s wives. Ouch.
Proverbs 15:10 goes as far as to say, Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die. We all want gentle correction, don’t we? But God will use harsh discipline if we need it.
No matter how chastisement happens to us, we must learn to react like David always did – admitting the sin/wrong, seeking forgiveness, asking for mercy, but ultimately accepting any punishment God levied. Nathan was just another human being with a role to play as a servant of God. I’m sure David knew Nathan was a sinner too, but he realized the correction came from God and that he deserved it.
This is the key to learning to love correction, disciple and chastisement: to understand that it all comes from God.
2 Timothy 3:16 [NIV] tells us, All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness, so that the servant may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. If we seek to be God’s children and our lives are focused on becoming more like Jesus and the Father, we must learn to seek His discipline in the Bible. We must learn to love and accept the correction God sends to us. Whether He uses a sermon, a person, the Holy Spirit or the Bible, we must be open to correction. As we come to love and accept it in all its forms and formats.
Sweet sisters, ultimately, the goal of correction is to change us into people who need less correcting. That is at least something to love about it.
PRAYER: Father God, I don’t love correction, chastisement and discipline yet, but I do want to be more like you. Please send me correction and discipline whenever I need it, but please be gentle and merciful with me as I seek to grow more like Jesus every day. In His name I pray. Amen
Your thoughts —
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