February 24

Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
Proverbs 9:7-9

It is interesting (isn’t it?) that the one who is being “abused” in this story is not the one on the receiving end of the correction. The party described as being attacked is not the party being confronted. Rather, the divine commentary is just the reverse. The one who is “hated” is the one who does the correcting. The one who is presumably slandered is the one who is trying to help. The one who is seen as the outcast is the one who is reaching out in the first place!

The fact is, “a scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.” (Proverbs 15:12). Fools “will despise the good sense of your words” (Proverbs 23:9). It is true that gossip and insults and mistreatment and even violence may be a part of confrontation – but it is most often the “correctee” doing those things, not the “corrector.”

The reality is that trying to help others get back on the righteous track is a messy business, and pursuing those who have wandered from the path of righteousness opens us up to all sorts of unpleasantries. Take your pick from loss of relationships, loss of reputation, loss of influence, loss of status, etc., etc.

So why bother at all? Isn’t that the impression that verse eight gives us anyway? “Just don’t worry about the scoffer. Let him do what he wants. Don’t try to make him do something he doesn’t want to do.”

The reason we bother is because, simply, it is the right thing to do. It is the biblical thing to do. It is the spiritual thing to do. It is the brotherly thing to do. It is the most loving thing we could possibly do. We correct and confront one another because how we reflect God’s glory is the most important issue in the universe. We exhort and admonish one another with the living and active Word of God. We have living hope that the Spirit of God will help us to “stir up one another to love and good works.” And we remember that our patient faithfulness to the task may someday be the most appreciated thing we’ve ever done:

Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
Than he who flatters with his tongue.
Proverbs 28:23

May God help all these who are spiritual to restore those caught in any transgression in a spirit of gentleness, and may He cause the hardhearted to remember what they’ve heard and repent.