Proverbs 15:10

Proverbs 15:10 "Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die."

Let's be honest - no one longs let alone likes to be corrected.  No one wakes up in the morning with excitement when they know they have a meeting with the boss to address a mistake they made on the job.  No child runs to his parent with glee when being summoned for some bad behavior.  It's just not fun to be told we're wrong.  That being said, the wise understand that correction is necessary for success.  The wise realize that no one is always correct and for that obvious reason, correction is necessary to get and be right.  Even then, however, it's not an enjoyable experience to be told you're wrong.

No one loves correction and that's okay.  The Bible doesn't command us to "love" correction.  In Proverbs 9:8, Solomon informs us that a wise man will love the person who rebukes him but he didn't tell us that the wise man will love the rebuke itself.  It seems unreasonable to expect a person to love correction or reproof, which is why Scripture doesn't require such a love.  It only teaches us to love instruction in Proverbs 12:1.  When it comes to correction, Scripture only advises us to "be not weary" of God's correction in Proverbs 3:11.  Correction is like a surgical procedure - painful but profitable.  It needs to be seen as necessary for us to get better and to get right.  We don't have to love the process but if we're wise, we'll see its value and embrace the discomfort.  A wise man doesn't love the discomfort a surgeon brings to his body but if that discomfort results in a better body, he loves that surgeon for performing the surgery.

While we don't have to love correction, we can't afford to hate correction.  While we'll never get excited about reproof, we can't afford to hate reproof.  A hatred for correction will lock us in a perpetual state of incorrection.  If we can't stand being corrected, we'll refuse to even entertain correction.  If we loathe reproof, we'll avoid hearing any reproof from anyone for any reason for any length of time.  That determined avoidance will eventually be our demise, which is why Solomon in this proverb declares imminent death for any person who hates reproof.

By pairing the two halves of this proverb, Solomon is doing more than telling us we can't afford to hate correction.  This proverb documents the road to certain failure and where it all starts is the most important detail.  According to Solomon, this particular road ends in death and no one gets off of it because everyone who travels it hates being told that they need to get off of it.  The question we should ask ourselves then is, "How does someone get on this particular road in the first place?"  That is the question we need to answer because that is the key to avoiding the failure that this roads ends in.  The answer to that question is found in the first part of the proverb - "he that forsaketh the way."  There is a right "way" and there is a wrong "way."  If we turn from the right "way," we will be getting on the road that has very few U-turns and off-ramps.

When we forsake God's way, we don't just dislike correction, we grieve it.  When we walk away from God, the preaching and teaching of God's word grieves us.  When we forsake the truth of Scripture, hearing anyone tell us where or why we're wrong sits in our soul in a deeply bothersome way.  Correction to the wise man is uncomfortable but it is embraced as a means to get right and be better.  Correction to the rebellious man is more than temporary discomfort for a few days - it is chronic pain deep in the soul.  It is likened unto grief which is arguably, the deepest emotional pain a human soul can entertain.  Grief strips the world of color.  Grief takes the taste from food.  It consumes a person's mind.  It robs a person of energy, ambition and in many cases, happiness.  Grief is overwhelming and overcoming.

This is why when Christians walk away from Christ, they're often miserable.  They're grieving the echoes of correction from their Christian childhood or their previous pastor's preaching.  They're grieving the echoes of reproof from the inner voice of the Holy Spirit or from the pages of Scripture.  Christians who abandon their faith almost always become full of hatred towards their Christian parents, church and anything remotely related to any Biblical correction.  Rarely does a Christian walk away from God quietly and cordially. 

Clearly, there is tremendous danger in hating correction since such a person "shall die."  As dangerous as that is, the greater danger is forsaking the right way.  We CAN avoid spiritual failure, emotional destruction and physical death by embracing correction.  But according to this proverb, we WON'T embrace correction when we "forsake the way."  Please get this - if we walk away from God, we will have a skewed perspective of God that will lead us to hate any spiritual correction.  That hatred for correction in itself will keep us on the wrong path since we'll refuse to correct our direction.

This is the Path - Perspective - Path Principle.  The path that we choose determines the perspective that we have.  That perspective will then determine the path or paths that we take in the future.  If we want to follow God, we'll be where He is and as a result, we'll see the world how He sees the world.  If we don't want to follow God, we'll be where His opponents are and as a result, we'll see Him and the world as His opponents see Him.  Our path determines our perspective.  That perspective then will be influential in whatever decisions we make from thereon, including where we go in life.  If I choose to abandon God, I will see Him as the world sees Him - unfair, unkind and unreasonable.  I will see His people as the world see them - hypocritical, judgmental and hateful.  I will see His word as the world sees it - contradictory, offensive and confusing.  That perspective, which was created by my choice of spiritual direction, will naturally cause me to vehemently reject and resist any efforts to get me back on the right track.  Because of the perspective my path created, I will likely remain on the wrong path for the rest of my life.  Because correction grieves me and because reproof infuriates me, I will need an act of God to help get me back on the right track.

It's very hard to help someone who is grieving and it's even harder to correct someone who hates correction.  This is why the emphasis of this proverb is on NOT "forsaking the way."  Believers need to see the danger of walking away from God.  Christians need to recognize that the danger of walking away from God is less about losing the blessings of God and more about losing the perspective of God.  It's hard to turn around when we don't see the need to turn around.  It's hard to come back to God when we hate being told we need to come back to God.  Forsaking God is accompanied by spiritual grief and a chronic disdain for the correction of God's Spirit, word and people.  That not only sounds miserable but it also sounds like a spiritual death sentence.

Earlier in the book of Proverbs, Solomon advised his son to "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established" (4:26).  Solomon didn't give his son counsel on how to turn back to God nor does he advise those who have forsaken God on how to return to God.  He put all of his effort into those who haven't yet abandoned God for that's where the real battle takes place.  We too should "ponder the path of our feet" each and every day to avoid "forsaking the way" and losing a godly perspective.  There will be always be mercy available from a loving Father should we "forsake the way" and there always be room for repentance but God knows how hard it is to turn around when we forsake Him.  Our Heavenly Father is active in correcting us so that we don't forsake Him altogether because He knows on that path, we’ll get a destructive perspective that hates His correction.  Let us focus on staying on “His way” and in His will so as to avoid hating correction and remaining hostage to that hatred.

What path are you on today?  That path is forming your perspective and you can be sure that that perspective will form the path you will travel for the rest of your life.  This is the Path - Perspective - Path Principle.