March 17

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates reproof is stupid.
Proverbs 12:1

Reproof: an act or expression of criticism and strong disapproval; a rebuke, a reprimand. It is to state that someone has done wrong, with the implication that there is adequate proof of such wrongdoing.

There is no doubt that we live in a world that hates reproof and those who give it. But the biggest problem with hating reproof is that hating reproof is stupid.

The Hebrew word translated "stupid" is ba'ar, an adjective that refers to being stupid, dull-hearted, and unreceptive. It has the additional idea of being "brutish," that is, "resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility."

There isn't really much to say about this verse that I haven't said somewhere else already. But the point of today's reading in Proverbs 12 is painfully obvious.

Don't be stupid!