"He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home with the wise." Proverbs 15:31
It is always wise to seek, receive, take to heart, and follow wise counsel. I love Proverbs because they have so much content. When I first read this one it struck me as kind of one-dimensional. You know, if you take counsel and listen when someone corrects you, you would be wise and therefore feel comfortable around other wise people. Ok.... A little obvious, but true.
Then the phrase 'life-giving rebuke hit me. Solomon isn't talking about when someone takes a 'potshot' at you, or when you get one of those 'character-assassinating rebukes', or one of those 'spirit-crushing rebukes'. He is talking about 'life-giving rebukes', the ones that you can receive when the truth is spoken in love. One, where the person has no ulterior motives, or is not being vindictive, or mean-spirited. Those kinds of rebukes are welcome, needed and should be appreciated. A question for you. Can you receive any rebukes? Even if they are life-giving or constructive or could be used by God to shape your character? Interesting. Solomon is taking the excuse out of us receiving correction by identifying the rebuke as being well-intentioned and spirit-led. Hmmmmm. We tend to think of all rebuke as negative. Not necessarily. But on the other hand if you are the rebuker and not the rebukee, your rebukes should be life-giving and not unkindly or unthinking. So I say give and receive rebukes carefully and make sure not to miss them or abuse them.
With a tender heart,
Pastor Fred
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Thanks Pastor Fred. I've not been reading the devotionals as frequently lately, but I happened to tune in tonight and this one makes me think - a lot. I'm currently on the receiving end of many "character assasinating" and "spirit crushing" rebukes with someone whom I've recently become acquainted, and the difficult part about it is that she honestly has no clue of what she's doing when she opens her mouth, so there's no malicious intent - but it still hurts! It's a tough situation, but your devotional has shed some light onto how I want to proceed, so thank you again.
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