![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Proverbs_10_17.jpg)
| “He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” |
| —Proverbs 10:17 |
How do we react when someone corrects us? Oh, I imagine, if you’re like me, it depends on how the person correcting you goes about giving you that correction. If the person does so quietly and privately, we may well respond with appreciation and do our best to implement the correction. If the person who corrects us does it publicly or harshly, we may put all our energy in to rejecting the correction, even if the correction is proper.
There is great value, as disciples of Jesus, to accepting and applying the discipline—the correction—that God gives us when He reminds us of a sin that we’ve committed or a wrong that we need to make right. The word “discipline” certainly goes along with the word “disciple.” And, we who follow in the footsteps of Jesus are most certainly His disciples. Therefore, we need to expect and graciously receive His discipline.
King Solomon, a man of great wisdom, but also one who made his own long list of mistakes, took note of the value of discipline when he wrote these words, found in Proverbs 10:17:
He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
Graciously receiving and implementing discipline in our lives not only affects us, it also affects the people around us. How many times have you observed a child acting in a way that you just know he or she learned from his or her parents? Likewise, when God corrects our behavior, the way we receive that correction can influence how those who watch our lives will react to discipline in their own lives.
As we begin a new day, let’s remain open to the discipline that God brings into our lives. As His devoted disciples, let’s receive this holy discipline with humility and also with great joy. Why joy? Because the ones that God loves, He disciplines (Hebrews 12:6).
