I’ve always considered myself to be a “straight shooter,” and I have always appreciated people who are honest and don’t beat around the proverbial bush. The writer of this proverb doesn’t hold back. If you hate to be corrected, you are stupid.
In that case, there are millions of stupid people running around our nation. It seems one of the worst offenses one can commit is to dare attempt to correct someone else. Whether it be in the realm of politics, education, parenting, religion, sports, etc., don’t dare tell people they are wrong, or that perhaps there is another point of view to consider. Likely, you will be on the wrong end of their wrath.
I remember a time when I was serving as an elder in a church where we were dealing with the aftermath of our pastor’s infidelity. The eldership was handling the issue, but many in the congregation wanted to have a vote on whether he should go or stay. I stood up at a congregational meeting and said the church was not a democracy and that the devil was in our midst attempting to stir up division. Some vehemently disagreed and let me know it, accusing me of, among several things, of being on a power trip. One member later wrote me an excoriating letter, taking me to task on my insinuation that some in the congregation were being influenced by the devil. Although I supported my viewpoint with Scripture, they held fast to their opinions and later voted against the elders’ recommendations, which led to a split of the church.
Correction is unpleasant, as the Hebrew writer notes (Hebrews 12:11), but we all need it from time to time and are better for it. Yet, we live in a culture where we feel entitled to believe and do whatever we want. And, of course, that has a direct impact on our relationship with God. If we feel the right to believe and do as we see fit, then the authority of the Scriptures (of which one purpose is to correct us—II Timothy 3:16), is extraordinarily weakened. As a result, many don’t experience that “harvest of righteousness and peace” in their lives. They remain stagnant spiritually because they refuse to be corrected, either in their thinking or their behavior.
Today, recognize that following Jesus means having our thinking and behavior subject to correction. None of us is perfect, except Him. If we want to follow Him and yet aren’t willing to be corrected by Him, well, we’re just stupid.
© Jim Musser 2015
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