Proverbs 15:31-32, "The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding."
These two proverbs clearly belong together and when paired, they show us the full path to understanding. We are all born with little to no understanding. It is something we must learn if we are to live. If we don’t learn that we need food to live, we won’t keep living. If we don’t learn that our bodies can’t survive falling off a cliff or walking in front of a car or being mauled by a grizzly bear, we won’t keep living. Understanding is crucial to living, let alone thriving. If we don’t understand that ingesting antifreeze is not the same as ingesting green Gatorade, we won’t live very long. If we don’t understand that jumping out of airplanes with parachutes is not the same as jumping out airplanes with pillowcases, we won’t live very long. The more we truly understand, the more likely we are to live healthier, happier and longer. The less we truly understand, the more likely we are to find ourselves in serious trouble. These two proverbs when combined, show us the path to obtaining understanding.
This path to understanding begins with instruction. Because a child knows nothing at birth, he needs a massive amount of instruction. Accompanied by teachers, grandparents and other family members, parents have the awesome responsibility to instruct their children about everything and anything in a systematic and convincing manner. If that child receives the instruction of his parents and elders, he will accrue understanding. If that child refuses the instruction of his parents and teachers, he will surely struggle living in a world full of physical, emotional and spiritual danger. Any person of any age who refuses instruction from any source demonstrates a disregard for their own soul. Because instruction is given only to help produce safety or success in a person’s life, the refusal of instruction is a blatant act of self-destruction.
This proverb isn’t condemning the act of forgetting instruction or failing to fully follow instruction; it is condemning the act of REFUSING instruction. From our youngest days to our oldest days, we all struggle applying instruction but this proverb is addressing those who are defying instruction. If a boy defies the hygiene instruction he is given, he is demonstrating a hatred for his own soul. In such a case, he would rather punish his body with bad odor and with a propensity for infection, illness or disease than listen to his mother. If a girl defies the relational instruction she is given, she would rather punish her soul with selfishness, bitterness or loneliness than listen to her father. If an employee defies the safety instruction he is given, he would rather risk his eyes, ears or extremities than be subject to his employer. If an athlete defies the legal instruction he is given, he would rather risk his wealth, career or reputation than listen to his lawyer. In all of these cases, refusing instruction reveals an ignorance for the value of instruction and more importantly, it reveals a disregard for the well-being of their own life.
If a person can’t handle instruction, they’ll never handle correction. If a child refuses instruction, that child will never accept correction. If a teenager or young adult defies instruction, that young person will never receive correction. The reproof of life only comes to those who have already heard the instruction of life, or that which leads to a successful life. Those who refuse instruction willingly but foolishly enter the way of death. The reproofs of life are not heard on the path of death. The reproofs of life are only heard on the path of life by those who have gotten on it by heeding instruction. The reproofs of life are reserved for those who have demonstrated a desire for life, or more specifically, a successful life. These reproofs are not shared with those who don’t evidence any sincere interest to actually succeed within the soul.
To succeed in this life, we all need instruction and we all need correction. Because no one is perfect, no one perfectly follows instructions. If we’re willing to follow instructions, then we should be willing to hear corrections. A reproof is a gift because it is meant to get us back on the path where instruction is given. This is why reproof is only offered by the wise. In this proverb, Solomon tells us that the person who consistently hears reproof is the person who consistently remains among the wise. The wise are invested in the person who is invested in the wise. The wise are willing to correct the man or woman who is willing to listen to them. When we listen to instruction, we are acknowledging the value of those who know more than us. When we fail to perfectly follow the instruction we’ve been given, we need someone to correct us; to redirect us. When the wise redirect us with reproof, we recognize it is for our good and we gladly hear what we need to hear. It is here among the reproofs of life given by the wise where we obtain and accrue understanding.
Instruction does provide direction but it doesn’t always provide understanding. It is very possible and frankly, quite common to follow instructions but not understand what you’re doing or why you’re doing it. Often, it isn’t until you deviate from the instructions in an attempt to do it faster or better when you then understand why the instructions were what they were. Instruction can bring understanding whereas reproof always brings understanding. Nothing makes more sense of a situation than doing it the wrong way and learning to do it the right way. Great craftsmen of any trade understand their trade both by instruction and correction. The best plumbers, electricians, carpenters, machinists, painters, metal workers, arborists, farmers and accountants all understand what works best often by experiencing what doesn’t work. There is something about doing the wrong thing and having someone point it out that opens our eyes to what went wrong so that it doesn’t happen again. When we make a mistake on the job that costs our employer a lot of money, there is something about that reproof that brings serious and permanent understanding. When we make a marital or parental mistake in the home and experience some relational reproof, there is something about that reproof that brings long-lasting understanding. Instruction is critical for a successful life but it lacks the spiritual punch that reproof offers.
A refusal of sound instruction at any point by any person is the beginning of the end of a person’s potential success. Refusing instruction doesn’t give the wise any material to vet or prove. Refusing instruction doesn’t give the wise anything to look at to correct or to redirect. A reproof is the act of re-proving or proving someone again and again; it is the act of re-searching and re-directing. For that reason, a person who offers nothing to prove or nothing to redirect will never hear a reproof and as a result, will never get understanding. Throughout his writings, Solomon teaches the wise to leave the scorner and the wicked be. To Solomon, those who refuse instruction don’t have enough appreciation for their own success to actually invest in. If they won’t accept instruction, they’ll never accept correction. If they don’t want help doing something, they’ll never want help fixing something. If they can’t handle an education, they’ll never handle a confrontation. The path to understanding starts with an appreciation for instruction but ends with an appreciation for correction.
Before we leave this important pair of proverbs, let’s appreciate the relationship between instruction and reproof by comparing them to brushing our teeth with having our teeth scraped with a dental pick. In fact, let me rephrase the two proverbs with dental language this way:
The tooth that feels the scrape of the pick abides among the dentist.
He that refuses to brush his teeth despises his own mouth: but he that welcomes scraping gets a good mouth.
We can all appreciate the importance of our teeth and the hesitation most of us have with going to the dentist. If we’re going to have a healthy mouth, we have to have healthy teeth. To have healthy teeth, we have to first brush our teeth. If we don’t brush our teeth, why would we go to the dentist? We don’t go to the dentist to do what we can do – we go to the dentist to do what we can’t do. We pay them to do what we can’t do and frankly, to do what is uncomfortable for us – to scrape the plaque that gets in tough nooks and crannies. No one likes to get their teeth scraped with a metal pick near their sensitive gums. If you’re like me, you get embarrassed when you get out of the chair and see the sweat marks from where your body was. Despite no one enjoying having their teeth scraped, the person who brushes and flosses their teeth on a regular basis appreciates the value of the dentist scraping his or her teeth. In fact, the tooth-brusher makes regular appointments with the dentist to do what he or she fears they are missing on a regular basis. In the wordage of the proverb, the tooth-brusher “abideth among the dentist.” He welcomes the uncomfortable reproof of plague. He values the cringy sound of the pick scraping the teeth. Why? Because he knows it brings a healthy mouth. The person who doesn’t value brushing their teeth doesn’t value a healthy mouth. That person certainly won’t value enduring the uncomfortable scraping of the dentist’s pick and therefore, will never experience a healthy mouth.
So too, the man or woman who heeds the instruction of life will make regular appointments with the wise to re-prove or re-direct the areas of their lives that need correction. It’s uncomfortable for them and it leaves the chair sweaty but they value the reproofs of life because they desire a healthy life. Heeding instruction provides a life worthy of reproof by the wise. When the wise speak correction and redirection to us, we gain lifelong memorable understanding. Understanding is what makes a life successful but it comes in the form of reproof.
How do you do with instruction? Do you embrace instruction or do you resist instruction? The answer to these questions will reveal how you do with reproof, which will then determine if you get understanding or not. Do you surround yourself with wise men and women who will graciously provide the reproofs of life when necessary? Understanding is found by sitting in the chair of these wise souls and hearing their reproofs of life.
This path to understanding begins with instruction. Because a child knows nothing at birth, he needs a massive amount of instruction. Accompanied by teachers, grandparents and other family members, parents have the awesome responsibility to instruct their children about everything and anything in a systematic and convincing manner. If that child receives the instruction of his parents and elders, he will accrue understanding. If that child refuses the instruction of his parents and teachers, he will surely struggle living in a world full of physical, emotional and spiritual danger. Any person of any age who refuses instruction from any source demonstrates a disregard for their own soul. Because instruction is given only to help produce safety or success in a person’s life, the refusal of instruction is a blatant act of self-destruction.
This proverb isn’t condemning the act of forgetting instruction or failing to fully follow instruction; it is condemning the act of REFUSING instruction. From our youngest days to our oldest days, we all struggle applying instruction but this proverb is addressing those who are defying instruction. If a boy defies the hygiene instruction he is given, he is demonstrating a hatred for his own soul. In such a case, he would rather punish his body with bad odor and with a propensity for infection, illness or disease than listen to his mother. If a girl defies the relational instruction she is given, she would rather punish her soul with selfishness, bitterness or loneliness than listen to her father. If an employee defies the safety instruction he is given, he would rather risk his eyes, ears or extremities than be subject to his employer. If an athlete defies the legal instruction he is given, he would rather risk his wealth, career or reputation than listen to his lawyer. In all of these cases, refusing instruction reveals an ignorance for the value of instruction and more importantly, it reveals a disregard for the well-being of their own life.
If a person can’t handle instruction, they’ll never handle correction. If a child refuses instruction, that child will never accept correction. If a teenager or young adult defies instruction, that young person will never receive correction. The reproof of life only comes to those who have already heard the instruction of life, or that which leads to a successful life. Those who refuse instruction willingly but foolishly enter the way of death. The reproofs of life are not heard on the path of death. The reproofs of life are only heard on the path of life by those who have gotten on it by heeding instruction. The reproofs of life are reserved for those who have demonstrated a desire for life, or more specifically, a successful life. These reproofs are not shared with those who don’t evidence any sincere interest to actually succeed within the soul.
To succeed in this life, we all need instruction and we all need correction. Because no one is perfect, no one perfectly follows instructions. If we’re willing to follow instructions, then we should be willing to hear corrections. A reproof is a gift because it is meant to get us back on the path where instruction is given. This is why reproof is only offered by the wise. In this proverb, Solomon tells us that the person who consistently hears reproof is the person who consistently remains among the wise. The wise are invested in the person who is invested in the wise. The wise are willing to correct the man or woman who is willing to listen to them. When we listen to instruction, we are acknowledging the value of those who know more than us. When we fail to perfectly follow the instruction we’ve been given, we need someone to correct us; to redirect us. When the wise redirect us with reproof, we recognize it is for our good and we gladly hear what we need to hear. It is here among the reproofs of life given by the wise where we obtain and accrue understanding.
Instruction does provide direction but it doesn’t always provide understanding. It is very possible and frankly, quite common to follow instructions but not understand what you’re doing or why you’re doing it. Often, it isn’t until you deviate from the instructions in an attempt to do it faster or better when you then understand why the instructions were what they were. Instruction can bring understanding whereas reproof always brings understanding. Nothing makes more sense of a situation than doing it the wrong way and learning to do it the right way. Great craftsmen of any trade understand their trade both by instruction and correction. The best plumbers, electricians, carpenters, machinists, painters, metal workers, arborists, farmers and accountants all understand what works best often by experiencing what doesn’t work. There is something about doing the wrong thing and having someone point it out that opens our eyes to what went wrong so that it doesn’t happen again. When we make a mistake on the job that costs our employer a lot of money, there is something about that reproof that brings serious and permanent understanding. When we make a marital or parental mistake in the home and experience some relational reproof, there is something about that reproof that brings long-lasting understanding. Instruction is critical for a successful life but it lacks the spiritual punch that reproof offers.
A refusal of sound instruction at any point by any person is the beginning of the end of a person’s potential success. Refusing instruction doesn’t give the wise any material to vet or prove. Refusing instruction doesn’t give the wise anything to look at to correct or to redirect. A reproof is the act of re-proving or proving someone again and again; it is the act of re-searching and re-directing. For that reason, a person who offers nothing to prove or nothing to redirect will never hear a reproof and as a result, will never get understanding. Throughout his writings, Solomon teaches the wise to leave the scorner and the wicked be. To Solomon, those who refuse instruction don’t have enough appreciation for their own success to actually invest in. If they won’t accept instruction, they’ll never accept correction. If they don’t want help doing something, they’ll never want help fixing something. If they can’t handle an education, they’ll never handle a confrontation. The path to understanding starts with an appreciation for instruction but ends with an appreciation for correction.
Before we leave this important pair of proverbs, let’s appreciate the relationship between instruction and reproof by comparing them to brushing our teeth with having our teeth scraped with a dental pick. In fact, let me rephrase the two proverbs with dental language this way:
The tooth that feels the scrape of the pick abides among the dentist.
He that refuses to brush his teeth despises his own mouth: but he that welcomes scraping gets a good mouth.
We can all appreciate the importance of our teeth and the hesitation most of us have with going to the dentist. If we’re going to have a healthy mouth, we have to have healthy teeth. To have healthy teeth, we have to first brush our teeth. If we don’t brush our teeth, why would we go to the dentist? We don’t go to the dentist to do what we can do – we go to the dentist to do what we can’t do. We pay them to do what we can’t do and frankly, to do what is uncomfortable for us – to scrape the plaque that gets in tough nooks and crannies. No one likes to get their teeth scraped with a metal pick near their sensitive gums. If you’re like me, you get embarrassed when you get out of the chair and see the sweat marks from where your body was. Despite no one enjoying having their teeth scraped, the person who brushes and flosses their teeth on a regular basis appreciates the value of the dentist scraping his or her teeth. In fact, the tooth-brusher makes regular appointments with the dentist to do what he or she fears they are missing on a regular basis. In the wordage of the proverb, the tooth-brusher “abideth among the dentist.” He welcomes the uncomfortable reproof of plague. He values the cringy sound of the pick scraping the teeth. Why? Because he knows it brings a healthy mouth. The person who doesn’t value brushing their teeth doesn’t value a healthy mouth. That person certainly won’t value enduring the uncomfortable scraping of the dentist’s pick and therefore, will never experience a healthy mouth.
So too, the man or woman who heeds the instruction of life will make regular appointments with the wise to re-prove or re-direct the areas of their lives that need correction. It’s uncomfortable for them and it leaves the chair sweaty but they value the reproofs of life because they desire a healthy life. Heeding instruction provides a life worthy of reproof by the wise. When the wise speak correction and redirection to us, we gain lifelong memorable understanding. Understanding is what makes a life successful but it comes in the form of reproof.
How do you do with instruction? Do you embrace instruction or do you resist instruction? The answer to these questions will reveal how you do with reproof, which will then determine if you get understanding or not. Do you surround yourself with wise men and women who will graciously provide the reproofs of life when necessary? Understanding is found by sitting in the chair of these wise souls and hearing their reproofs of life.
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