Proverbs 12:1. Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.
As far as God is concerned there’s only one way to be stupid – hate his reproof (correction, discipline). You might have called someone stupid because they did something the wrong way or make a mistake. Or maybe the stupid people are the ones who disagree with you. But none of that actually makes a person stupid in God’s eyes.
The Hebrew words for stupid here is the word for stubborn, like a donkey who won’t listen to his owner. Like a cow who refuses to budge. When we fail to listen to the reproof of God, we are acting like a stubborn animal.
But wise people love discipline. I know what you’re thinking, nobody loves discipline.
Yes, in the moment, being disciplined or corrected is tough to swallow, but a large part of growing in Christ is learning to receive the loving correction of the Lord. Being thankful that God will never give up on you, and that he is faithful to complete the work that he began in your life. And often that faithful work is the work of plowing the rough soil of our hearts until we are ready to receive the seed of his love and grace.
Here’s how the New Testament says it:
Hebrews 12:11. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
You see the Lord’s discipline is never about condemnation, rather, it is about growth and flourishing. All of God’s discipline in your life is meant to bear fruit, the peaceful fruit of righteousness. The righteousness of the indwelling Christ that has been planted into us by the Holy Spirit. But for this righteousness to grow in our lives the soil must be tilled, the rocks must be removed, the weeds must be pulled, and the birds must be scared away. All of this is the work of God in our lives, a work that we can stupidly resist, or a work that we can joyful receive as his fatherly kindness and grace.
You: Are you stupid? Stubborn? Do you receive God’s discipline, or do you shrug it off and move on?
You in Christ: God’s discipline is proof of our union with Christ. How will believing this more and more allow you to trust God’s discipline in your life more than you have been?
Christ in you: Where have you seen God’s discipline at work in your life lately? Have you been resisting it? How might you receive God’s discipline today?
Pray: Father, I am your child and you will discipline your child. Keep me from stubbornness and excuse making. I want to trust the reproof and discipline that you put into my life as your grace. Amen.
To Live is Christ 