Thoughts on Proverbs 1

Hello! A couple of friends (Frank and Steve) and myself have embarked on a journey through the book of Proverbs; a chapter a day for 31 days. Each day I'll try and record my thoughts as to what speaks to me in particular. Because the Proverbs are so rich in nuggets of wisdom and not neccesarily in lengthy passages, there seems to be lots of stuff that you can grasp on to. However, for the purpose of this journey, I'll try and discern those things the Lord is emphasizing to me most and highlight those here.

Let's get started with Proverbs 1.

Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. (Proverbs 1:23)

By nature, I don't particularly enjoy being wrong. If there's one thing I like even less than being wrong it's being told I'm wrong. I've come to realize at heart this is really a pride issue. Being wrong means you don't have it right. And in our carnality, being wrong is a sign of inferiority. It's funny because I can remember back in school there were classmates who made a big stink about getting a 96 on an exam when I was happy to just get a decent passing grade. But let's stay on track here. Being wrong may mean you lack knowledge and it may also mean you've made a bad (or incorrect) choice.

As usual, Almighty God sees things a bit differently. To shrug off His rebuke or correction doesn't preserve my dignity, it makes me foolish. It becomes an obstruction to His making His words known to me. It also puts a lid on His desire to pour out His Spirit upon me. Let's remember one of the blessings of having the Holy Spirit in our lives is that He convicts us. In almost every case, we don't need someone to point out when we're wrong because He's already revealed it. But if someone does call us out on something, hopefully speaking the truth in love, we ought to regard it as a blessing rather than an injury to our pride or ego. My desire is for a more correctable spirit and the eyes to see the blessing in the One who chastens whom He loves.