“Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” – Proverbs 9:8-9
Proverbs chapter 9 holds great truth for us as both a disciple and as one who is discipling others. As a disciple, we should always be conscious of how we respond to the one who is mentoring us. There will be times when we need corrected or even rebuked. When this happens, do we respond with love or with hatred? It is hard to hear things about yourself that need to be changed, but responding to this correction in a positive way is a sign of a godly and righteous disciple.
From the perspective of one who is discipling others, we must take a good long look at how those we mentor are responding to our correction and rebuke. Self-centered discipleship always fails, because, if we are concerned about whether someone is going to love us or hate us for our correction in their lives, then we will only tell them the things that will make them happy; and this does them no good at all. We must speak the truth in love, and understand that a negative response does not reflect poorly on us, but only speaks to their level of maturity and wisdom. And most importantly, we must pray that, even those who hate us for giving godly rebuke, will continue to grow in righteousness until they are able to accept correction and change behavior.
Lord, give us the strength and wisdom to be both a good disciple and a good disciple-maker in order to further Your Kingdom and bring You glory.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Shane Cannon