Rebuke.

Have you ever rebuked anyone? Ever told friend he was wrong? Ever spoken up for what is right?

You can tell a lot about a person by the way he responds to rebuke. Wise people accept it, humble themselves, and listen. Foolish people are not able to accept rebuke; they will be angry and defensive.

“Don’t rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will become wiser still.” Proverbs 9:8-9.

Do you have that kind of wisdom? Can you accept rebuke and grow wiser? Can you be thankful for rebuke? When a teacher, coach, or professor corrects you, can you accept it? When a boss gets on you, can you smile and admit where you may have failed, and try to do better? That is wisdom.

If you are unable to accept correction, you are doomed. Good employees who can’t accept correction lose jobs. Yes, I said “good employees.” Because even the best employees will be corrected, whether they deserve it or not. Some bosses just have to fuss at people periodically, and even perfect employees need to accept that.

But nobody is perfect. You will be corrected sometimes and it will be necessary. Be the wise man in this verse. If you get in trouble on the job, the boss should be able to say about you, “I instructed a wise man and he became even wiser. I rebuked a wise man and it made him love me.”

That’s a tall order. Can you love someone who corrects you? A teacher? Coach? Boss? Mother? Friend? Ask the Lord to give you an attitude that welcomes rebuke.

Pray. Dear Lord, give us hearts willing to learn no matter who You send to teach us. Fill us with humility. May we be kind, polite, and godly in our responses to authority figures, whether we deserve rebuke or not. I pray that after a confrontation, our bosses would go away impressed by our amazing, humble, and godly attitude.

ΑΩ