HOW TO DISCERN WHO IS TRULY WISE
Proverbs 9: 7-10 NLT
7 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return.
Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.
8 So don’t bother correcting mockers;
they will only hate you.
But correct the wise,
and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise,
and they will be even wiser.
Teach the righteous,
and they will learn even more.
10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
How do you find someone who is truly a wise person? Don’t look at their SAT scores or their IQ. How they did in school may be an indicator of their intelligence but that is different from being wise.
When the Bible refers to the wise it is describing someone who is skilled and experienced. The word wise is used to describe craftsmen, leaders, those who rule well, builders, and someone who is skilled in living. The scriptures give us the Kingdom of God’s perspective, and great value is placed on wisdom. This valuation of wisdom may be one of the reasons that in God’s Kingdom the young are lauded for their strength and the older for their wisdom. The idea is that age should bring wisdom and skill in living. But not always.
Verse 10 tells us where wisdom begins. The fear or respect of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The NLT says it’s the foundation of wisdom. So that’s where true spiritual wisdom starts. And one of the best ways to determine who is truly wise, a person who fears the Lord, is how they respond to correction. The subject of verses seven through nine is about how the wise handles correction.
The mocker or scoffer does not take correction well. The mocker is someone who shows contempt. You correct them, and insults or abuse comes back your way. Or they may not verbalize their insults, but they wind up resenting the one who corrected them. Don’t bother correcting these people; they will only hate you. I realize not everyone corrects in the right spirit, and some can be rather harsh. To those giving the correction, doing it in a way that is not demeaning can cause the one being corrected to have to deal with their error and not focus on the method. But if correction is given in the right way, and it causes a harsh reaction, you will have discovered a person who is not wise.
A wise person will love you for correcting them. A really wise person will love you even if you did not correct them in the gentlest of ways. A truly wise person has a respect for God, and that will translate into their other interactions with people. Someone who fears God will respond well to correction. They will learn, adjust and become wiser.
APPLICATION
There are a couple of takeaways from this passage. The questions we must ask ourselves are: how do I respond to correction? Especially, how do I respond to corrections from the Lord? Do I get wiser and appreciate the help, or do I bow up and become resentful? If you are like me, you may find some areas that could use some adjustments. Because we are becoming wiser, we value the correction that helps us learn, grow, and live skillfully in life.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I love and respect You. I appreciate Your correction in my life regardless of who it comes from. I value the correction that comes from Your word and Your Holy Spirit. I want to live life as a wise person.