Proverbs 12:1
He who hates correction is stupid.
Why?
This person in not teachable. This person is not coachable.
Because this person is essentially saying, “I don’t want to improve.” “I’m fine with being stagnant.” Or, if I may borrow from This is Spinal Tap, “No thanks, I prefer to keep treading water in a sea of mediocrity.”
This is the subversive ridiculosity of despising correction. You obviously feel, on some level, that YOU HAVE ARRIVED. Which, if you attain perfection so early, doesn’t it kinda take the fun and motivation out of life? Just sitting around being perfect, turning down every single piece of advice and helpful hint given to you because you’ve already mastered it all. Sounds kinda lame actually.
Although, as we someday become one with the Father, that seems to me not to be lame. Total contentment and shalom all the time. Could be a radio station ad, “All Shalom. All the time!” But even then, we wouldn’t hate correction. We’d probably just nod and give a peaceful “Thank you.”
John 5:30
“I can do nothing alone. I judge only the way I am told, so my judgement is fair. I don’t try to please myself, but I try to please the One who sent me.” -Jesus the Messiah
Jesus was in constant, uninterrupted communion with His Father. He did only what He was told because He was ever listening. He was listening because He was all about pleasing His Father, Papa YHWH.
We too must be in constant communication with YHWH thru Yeshua and Holy Spirit in the midst of this distraction-packed culture we find ourselves in today. I still believe that that is one of our main enemies now in America–>distraction. It fosters laziness, blindness, and apathy. It’s quite an effective weapon employed by our enemy.
Scripture, prayer, and partnership.
These are our very effective weapons.
Every great mind I read agrees on these three. To follow Jesus here today, we must saturate ourselves with these three. Otherwise, we’re on our own power–like bringing a blade of grass to a laser cannon fight. Let’s use more powerful weapons.
Meditation on Scripture.
Prayer from the sincerity of our heart.
Daily communication and encouragement with spiritual partners. These are fellow followers of Jesus on this common journey, other “Pilgrims On the Way.”
These are tried and true ways to build an intimate relationship with the One who put us here and will keep us forever, as well as to combat distraction and the enemy himself.
Closely related to these three is service. This will be a natural result of following Christ. We are “Blessed to be a blessing” as the saying goes. We are not “Blessed to sit alone with our own private spirituality.” We must get beyond ourselves. God’s rescue plan is Jesus and His church. That is the healing of the nations, even tho we screw it up often. As we allow God to fill us up, we then pour ourselves out for others with the abundant overflow of the Holy Spirit in us.
The greatest gift we can give humanity is to become one with God so that everyone we come into contact with will be touched by His supernatural love flowing thru us.
Listen to Scripture.
Listen in prayer.
Listen to others.
Then do what you hear.
We can do nothing on our own.
Neither could Jesus, from what He said.