Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise. – Proverbs 15:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 8, 2013): Proverbs 15

The first century historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus wrote that “to show resentment at a reproach is to acknowledge that one may have deserved it.” The idea is that the only reason to be angry with someone who is trying to help us is if we recognize that we have a deficiency in that area of our lives. The criticism then comes in contact with a tender spot that has been created by our own weakness – it is an area that needs to be protected because the correction causes pain – and those that give the correction end up being resented. This situation is complicated by the fact that we seem to have the idea that we can be proficient at everything. We have built a society where minimal knowledge seems to be accepted as expertise. We have become a civilization where it seems that everything is our core proficiency – and how dare anyone say anything otherwise.

So we walk around pretending that we know, and hiding from anyone who might prove us wrong. And if they do make a suggestion that would make us more proficient in an area, we walk away hurt – and often quit what it is that we have been doing.

I recently had a chance to sit down and play guitar with an excellent violin player. In between the songs we talked. Violin was not his only instrument; he was also an accomplished piano player. And as we talked, he spoke of the early days of playing the violin – a time when even the cat and dog shunned him. But he persisted through that time in his life; every day getting just a little better. Now his violin playing was beautiful – but the playing had not been automatic and it had not been achieved with minimal effort.

I think that Tacitus was wrong. It is not those that deserve correction that resent being reproached. It is those that do not want to become excellent in the various areas of our lives that resent the correction. The idea that we can be experts with minimal effort is a shortcut only leads to mediocrity. In the beginning of any task we will not be proficient. But over time – and especially with a wise and proficient person walking with us and correcting us as we go, we can become proficient. A friend commented to me after a recent production that if the task is not challenging; it is just is not worth doing. I think he’s right. But it is also a path to doing things better – and when we receive reproach and are able to grow through it – it is excellence that hangs in the balance.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 16