Gold Nugget
Verse 12-13: 12 “And say: "How I have hated
instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13 I
have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who
instructed me! ”
Commentary
When we
were little we all played "Simon Says". I will admit it - when I was
a kid, this was one of the lamest games I ever played. I never found the fun in
this game of never ending profitless commands. I didn't see what everyone else
saw in it. How did this game survive the first few players that invented it?
The funny thing is -I wasn't really being rebellious to authority, I
didn't have a chip on my shoulder, I just didn't see the reasoning behind
standing there mimicking someone else. I disobeyed as much as any kid; it just
wasn't out of spite. My rebellion stemmed from whether or not I thought it was
of value to me. If I was told to clean my room, I may not see the value for me
and therefore; I wouldn't always clean it.
Today's
gold nugget deals with this issue. As someone who has been issued much
correction and instruction, I know what goes through the
mind of the one being corrected and instructed.
As someone who has issued correction and instruction, I have seen people that resist and reject correction and instruction. In our
nature, we hate instruction and despise correction (verse
12). Much like I described myself, we choose what instructions we
will receive based on how much value we think it
brings. We who are receiving or being offered wisdom, weigh out whether or not we think it is worthy of our heeding. Here lies the problem. Throughout the bible, it often mentions
(several times here in Proverbs alone) that a man often sees things in his own
eyes. He thinks he is wise, all while being a fool.
I have
learned over the years to have spiritual authority above me that I submit to.
When these people are correcting me, I try to receive their instruction and not
refer to my own perspective as the final authority. If you don't find
this being a part of your walk, it can be a real growth killer. God will
put people in your life to correct and instruct you in wisdom. The problem is
we usually reject them when they come.
Prayer
Lord, help me to listen and receive instruction from those you send to
me. I don't want to reject people that you send to me because they don't pass "my" test for who is qualified to instruct me. Keep me from allowing only perfect
people without any fault to correct me. This would ensure that no one will be
able to instruct me. I want to be a good follower as well as a good
leader. Amen
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