Responding to Rebuke

Proverbs 1:23 - If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.

A ritual on the bus ride returning from a cross country meet, even the following practice, our high school team discussed our race. I was full of questions, probably nearing the edge of annoyance. We conversed about our individual races, how we felt, where we made a move, or failed to make a move, where we may have allowed one of our teammate(s) to pull away from us. Additionally we evaluated how we felt physically, and how we responded to fatigue at various points in the race. We learned from one another. Occasionally we and / or our coach would rebuke our willingness to fully exert ourselves on that particular day.

The group of guys on our championship teams always responded to rebuke. One runner, Mike, chose to eat honey at the starting line of the Regional meet, the State qualifying race. Dr. Schneider DVM, explained the science behind Mike's poor race, he ran very well for the first half mile. Mike's adrenaline was consumed following the first 880 yards. We rebuked Mike's poor choice of sugar overload at the starting line. I never saw Mike eat honey before a race again.

When we responded to the rebuke of our teammates and coaches, they shared additional wisdom for improvement. A few (not many) of those on the JV, "C' teams, and on down failed to accept rebuke; consequently they did not receive the tips and advice of the more experienced varsity runners.

Who wants to share ideas with someone who believes they know everything, who fail to respond to rebuke?

One of the advantages of having little talent as did I, is the necessity of getting as much advice from those more successful as possible. I constantly sought the thoughts of those who were more knowledgeable than I was.

Proverbs tells us this is a Godly behavior. God says when we respond to His rebuke, he will pour out His heart and thoughts to us. Would you agree God is smarter than we are? His thoughts assure success in any endeavor. Having God's heart poured out to us is a major advantage regardless of our profession.

We must respond to God's rebuke! When our thoughts and actions contradict anything in scripture, God's Word; we are to hear the rebuke, correcting our ways. This is often difficult, sin is pleasurable, and our minds easily justify our wrong behavior.

Do you believe the spiritual, intellectual, and physical effort is worth having God's thoughts and heart poured out to you?

Make it a Great Day in Christ!
Rick
www.rickemeyer.com