Walking with the Wise #53: Rebuke and Response

“The wise of heart will receive commandments,

but a babbling fool will come to ruin.”
—Proverbs 10:8

Those who are wise in heart will receive rebuke and make changes in their lives so as to do what God desires. But those who do not listen, who babble on and on defending themselves and their actions, will find themselves destroyed.

The Christian life is one that is lived both externally and internally. Some sins are obvious, like drunkenness, theft, or sexual immorality. Others are less obvious—such as pride, materialism, greed, and lust. Any believer can speak to the external sins, but it takes those to whom we are really close, to see the hidden sins of the heart. The more that we live in community with others, the more transparent we become, and others see who we really are in our heart. But what do we do when brothers and sisters in Christ point out our sinful behaviors? What do we do when others come alongside us and speak the truth in love about areas of our lives that are starting to slide spiritually?

The first thing we must do is sift the rebuke and examine our life to see if it's true. If it is, then we must make the necessary changes in order to be above reproach and do what God wants us to. If it’s not true, then we must be ready to stand with a clean conscience, testifying to our innocence in the manner. What we must not do, if the rebuke is true, is always be ready to defend ourselves or make excuses for our actions. The more we try to defend ourselves, the more we are deceiving ourselves and allowing ourselves to further descend the downward spiral of disobedience.

Those who seek to walk with the wise must learn to receive a rebuke. Pride is the root of all sin and none of us is without sin save Christ. He is the only one who lived the perfect life. Even when He was accused, He didn’t defend Himself or respond in anger (cf. Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32-33; 1 Peter 2:22-23). 

We must consider carefully what is said and then act accordingly. I pray that we all might have the humility of Christ—dying to self and growing in righteousness for the praise and glory of God. Amen.