Daily Devotionals

Voice of the Lord

Devotional: 14th of Elul

Give to a wise man, and he grows still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will learn still more (Proverbs 9:9).

Over several years in the ministry, I've encountered two different kinds of people. The first respond like the disciples did when Yeshua told them that one of them would betray him. Each of them humbly asked, "Is it I?" The second type of person would give a different response, something like "How dare you suggest I'm capable of that?" I have found that the first kind make good disciples; the second do not. There are many reasons why some of us respond more defensively than others to loving instruction and correction. Explanations can range from childhood extreme overcorrection to extreme undercorrection, from a distorted sense of being unjustly persecuted to a distorted sense of superiority. Whatever the reasons, the Scripture tells us that such people lack wisdom.

How does one change in this area? After all, habits don't die easily. Some sincere believers have spent a lifetime closing their ears to correction whenever it was directed at them. I believe the answer starts with the biblical definition of wisdom: "The fear of ADONAI" (Proverbs 9:10). When we respond to God as David did in Psalms 139:24, asking him who sees all to search us and reveal anything hurtful within us, then we will be more open when the answer comes through one of God's servants. In this way, we can cultivate teachableness in our lives.

...open my ears as someone well taught (Isaiah 50:4) when a fellow believer has a loving word of instruction or correction for me.

MW