KJV: “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he who hateth reproof is brutish.”
ESV: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” The title might have been a bit off-setting for you, but not nearly as off-setting as if I had asked “Are You Stupid?” The message here is really that it is wise to listen to negative things that others may have to say to help you. The message is also that it is unwise to fail to listen to those negative things. I’ve spent most of my life in the ministry. (fifty-three years) I have had to listen to a lot of criticisms, some of which were just to get at me, but a lot of which were meant to help me. I will say that as a seventy-four-year-old preacher, I am wiser about criticism than I was as a twenty-one-year-old preacher. It is true that wisdom comes with age. We need to listen to criticisms of ourselves and weigh whether or not they will help us if we heed them. What would cause us to be “brutish” about instruction? One thing that would cause this brutishness is what we call a “thin skin.” A “thin-skinned person” is one who is quick to take offense. With such people the merest hint of a criticism will rile and upset them. We should really learn the old maxim: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I know that people can say some awfully hurtful things to us, but we need to be strong enough within ourselves that their hurtful words can’t penetrate our hearts. But before we reject some things altogether we had better weigh whether or not even a hurtful thing said to us could be of value to us. I know that this advice is difficult to take, but it has helped me improve myself over the years. Also, I have learned to let the obviously hurtful things bounce off. Another thing that would cause this brutishness is an inflated sense of self worth. This is what was wrong with the Pharisees. One reason they hated Jesus was that he saw through their self-righteousness and pricked a pin in their inflated egos. Jesus gave the parable of the Pharisee and the Publicanin Luke 18. In it the Pharisee revealed that he thought himself better than everyone else, especially the hated publican. The Pharisee was not the hero in that parable, but the hated publican was. Throughout the Gospels we see the brutishness of the Pharisees. We want to be careful not to act like them, because they did not impress Jesus at all. We can be brutish when we feel strongly about something that we have done and someone else is critical about it. I found this to be true of my preaching. When I prepared a sermon in my early years I was sure that it must be a masterpiece. That might be an overstatement, but I did feel strongly about it. I pastored Beulah Baptist Church three years before Mary and I were married. Of course I always wanted to know what she thought about each sermon. She told me one time that the problem was that I thought every sermon should be better than the last and that this was not possible. That was good advice from my young bride and it has helped me over the years to not be overly egotistical about my preaching. Make no mistake about it, I had rather hear good things, but negative things have been a big help too. You will find the same true of your life. Don’t let what you feel strongly about ruin your joy when you face criticism for it. I have not covered nearly what could be covered on this subject, but I think that you get the idea: Have a faith in Jesus that is strong enough, and a sense of self that is healthy enough to take what people say and weigh them. When It is not wise or well meant, let it bounce off and move on. When it is something that you need to hear, really listen to it and become a stronger and better person for it. Above all, do not be brutish. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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