Scripture
So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.
~Proverbs 9:8, Immerse by Tyndale
Quote
Rebuke, even legitimate rebuke, is hard for our proud Adamic nature to accept.
~Ray dis Comfort
How do you respond to rebuke? Do you become defensive when corrected? When you instruct the wise, they become even wiser. When you rebuke the wise, they give consideration to the rebuke. What is its origin? What motivated it? Is it legitimate? My mother was strong when it came to rebuke: trust me, she rebuked me sternly more times than once. I was 17 years old before I realized that my mother had my welfare in mind. She was motivated by her love for me. I cannot say that I did not resent her for rebuking me in those early years but I came to understand why, and that made me grateful for her reproof. I have as much pride as you do and I don’t enjoy rebuke but how we respond to rebuke will make or break us. I miss a lot of people who have departed and one of those is Hugh Fitzgerald. Hugh was not afraid to confront; he certainly was not afraid to confront me. He rebuked me more than once but I have not forgotten the first time. He invited me to have supper at his house and then he took me outside, away from the children and Mavis. He began bragging on me and so I knew I was in trouble: Hugh was sparing in his praise for anyone. Then he said, “You are discouraged and it shows. If you aren’t careful, you are going to infect then whole church; you will get us all discouraged.” This is one of the few times, maybe the only time, that I responded properly promptly. I said, “Hugh, you are exactly right. I knew what you were going to say before you said it.” Folks, I needed an attitude adjustment and I got one. I have absolutely no ill will toward Hugh for correcting me. I guess the worse chewing Hugh gave me was over the shrubs around the church building. It was so brutal that even James Kyle felt sorrow for me. Hugh was just having a bad day and I thought nothing of it because I knew that Hugh loved me. He came back a few days later and no, he did not apologize; he insisted that I get in that old 74 chevy truck and ride up Lacon mountain. He wanted to show me that his truck would pull that mountain in high gear doing 45 MPH. I said, “Hugh, you brought me all the way out her to show me this?” That is when he took that huge hand, grabbed the back of my neck and made me face him…then he said, “You know I love, don’t you.” I said, “Sure, I know you love me.”
But, and it is a huge but, what about being rebuked by someone who doesn’t love you? What do we do when someone is motivated by jealousy, envy or strife? Solomon also said… A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding than a hundred lashes on the back of a fool. We can learn from any rebuke if we will humble ourselves and be honest with God. Not all correction is motivated by love but we can still learn if we have a mind to do so. So our response to rebuke of any sort is to consider prayerfully what the person said and then to process what was said when you get alone with the LORD. I have literally had my heart broken by unloving rebuke but when I got alone with the LORD to process what was said, I’ve had the LORD speak to me and on one occasion He said clearly– “The man’s spirit is wrong but there is substance to his words and you need to learn from this experience.” I did, I went back to school so to speak. I took two virtual classes taught by Stephen Covey {Seven Habits, What Matters Most} and the wisdom of this bald headed mormon changed my life. The truth is: I would never have taken those classes had it not been for the very unpleasant rebuke.
So don’t resent rebuke or correction. I learned form teachers I didn’t like; as a matter of fact, I was fond of very few teachers. Don’t try to wiggle off the hook by finding fault in the teacher; prayerfully analyze the rebuke and see if you can learn from it. Resentment is as bad as poison; it will destroy your attitude. Solomon said, instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. So we either learn or crash and burn: just be careful how you respond to rebuke.
EXTRA
Working on the “Holly Project” today. It is a trade off: she takes Big Mama to Nashville and I work at her place. She thinks Holly is a safer driver than I am…ha, ha, ha! Holly will be transacting real estate deals on her phone in the middle of Nashville with a million cars within a mile of her limo. Truth is, I had rather work like a dog as to go to Nashville. Too many cars, too few lanes.
Wade’s COLS is Saturday. Joe David and I plan to attend. It is going to be a busy weekend. Pray for our YOUTH RALLY–REVIVE NOW, this Sunday night at 6:00 at Brewer High. Pray also that we get the A/C working in the gym. Speaking of rebuke: I got one last night after church: Wade’s daughters are Eden and Trinity. I’ve been saying Eve.