Do rebukes knock you down?

TODAY’S PROVERBS: Do not correct a scoffer or he will hate you. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you.  Proverbs 9:8

When our pursuit of our Heavenly Father’s wisdom becomes our orientation — not just a hobby or study — we can hear the voice of wisdom in many places. Even in a rebuke.

A rebuke is correction on steroids. It implies disapproval and criticism. Where a correction helps us alter our course, a rebuke disrupts our thinking and environment. It causes us to pause or react. Maturity determines which of those we do.

When wisdom is what we seek, we understand that correction doesn’t always come in a pretty package for us to joyfully unwrap. Sometimes it comes as a dodge ball aimed at our head.

Oh, how I long to be able to pause, pick myself up, and seek God’s wisdom in a rebuke. To not react in anger or rejection or shame. That even a rebuke spoken in spite or error, can hold a nugget of truth to make me a better person.

Sometimes, however, a rebuke holds no merit. Sometimes the rebuke is intended to harm and knock us down. It may contain some truth, but interwoven in that thread are lies. Even in these sad situations we can benefit. We can go to our Father and let Him remind us who we are. To remember that He is truth and what He says is that we are His beloved child. That’s worth remembering, right?

May we hear the truth in a rebuke, not the hurt, my friends.

Proverbs 9:8 Tree of Life Bible Society, Tree of Life Version – TLV, #tlvbible, #tlvproverbs