Proverbs 10:17
"He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, but he who ignores reproof goes astray."
Perhaps the hardest thing for a child growing up is their ability to be told they are wrong and they need to correct their behavior. However, it is the same with adults. We tend to not like correction—whatever form it comes in. This proverbs tells us the danger of rejecting instruction. If we heed correction it puts us on the path of life. If we don’t and choose to ignore correction we will go “astray.” The word astray actually means to err, to wander about as intoxicated, or to stagger. Correction is the one thing that allows us to stay on a stable path. When we receive correction we are able to find a sure path that leads to life. The words path of life give us a picture of a road surrounded by green and fruitful fields. It is a choice based upon faith in the words of correction we are receiving. Correction, no matter how hard it comes, assists us in moving in the right direction. Choose life! Perhaps Christ was thinking of this theme or these proverbs when He spoke the following in the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 7:24-27
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
God's Word is sound counsel. When we fail to listen to it in faith and act on it in faith we will suffer for it. It is that simple.
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