Proverbs 15.31-33
“The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”
The book of Proverbs has several core messages that it repeats throughout. This passage reflects the cornerstone message of Proverbs:
Be wise … listen to and obey God’s truth.
Be humble … allow the Lord to instruct you and correct you.
This is the source of the life to which the Lord calls you.
If you ignore God’s teaching, you will not get the life he has for you.
It’s essential to understand and fully embrace the importance of the opening verse: If you want fullness of life, then you must have an ear that listens to the Lord’s reproof. God’s corrective teaching is literally “life-giving.”
Parents understand this. Every parent has talked with their children and given them instruction, and at some point children disobey. Parents then correct or “reprove” their children. But as the children get older and their decisions become more consequential, parents emphasize the seriousness of certain decisions.
Not all situations and decisions are the same. Some decisions are relatively trivial, and some are a matter of life and death. Staying with our example, when young people first start to drive, parents teach them that a car is not a toy. Driving may seem fun and exciting and liberating to young teenagers, but the reality is that how you drive has life and death consequences.
Of course, some teenagers do not take this advice seriously, because their primary goal is access to the car and independence from their parents. They simply want to use the car to have fun with their friends without the restrictive oversight of their parents.
Here’s the facts. Auto accidents are the leading cause of death for US teenagers. Last year in the United States, 5,864 teens were killed in auto accidents, and 292,742 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes.
How teenagers respond to the advice their parents give about driving is a matter of life and death. To ignore the teaching and reproof of parents is not only disrespectful to parents, but it is a desping of oneself. It is foolish, and it puts the teenager (and his/her friends) at great risk.
And so it is with our heavenly Father and us. He teaches, instructs, and reprooves us about how we are “driving our life.” As the book of Proverbs repeatedly tells us, the Lord instructs us on the right path to follow, and corrects us when we are on the wrong path. Are we listening to his teaching? Are we responding to his reproof and correction? Or do we reject his lordship and seek independence from his oversight?
How we answer is a matter of life and death.
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3.36)
