By Pastor Bryce

When I read this chapter, I see many different themes, but there are two that really stuck out to me. The first one is speech. There are 4 verses that address what comes out of our mouth. The opening verse says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” It goes on to say in the second verse, “The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.” For reference sake, the other two verses that address speech are vs 4 and vs 28. For my generation, I have noticed how much social media has impacted the way Americans converse. How easy it is to sit behind a computer screen and boldly say things that one would normally not say face to face.

I have been a violator of social media slander. Whenever an argument pops up on Facebook the initial reaction is to grab a bag of popcorn and read everyone’s comments. Why do we do this?? We do this because we want to read all of the unfiltered comments! If we actually take a step back and put some thought into our actions, the Bible warns us of being quick with our tongue, and in this instance, it means quick with the words that we type! Another passage in Proverbs says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (18:21) The older I get the more I realize that it truly is important to watch our words because there are repercussions to follow. When arguments arise on Facebook I have 3 options: stay silent, respond in love, or fire back haphazardly. I hope to always either stay silent or respond with love.

The second theme that really stood out to me in Proverbs 15 is accepting rebuke/correction. There are 5 verses in this chapter that touch on correction. The first one is verse 5: “A fool spurns a parent’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.” The second one is verse 10: “Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.” Being teachable is certainly not easy; it goes against everything in our human nature. Pride always wants to rise up to say that we already know everything, however, Proverbs is full of verses that encourage being teachable and taking correction.

Many times when we see passages in scripture that discuss correction/rebuke it is followed with a positive promise. Whoever heeds correction shows prudence, will be among the wise, gains understanding, as well as promises about long life. If being teachable wasn’t hard it wouldn’t be discussed throughout various parts of the Bible. This is clearly something that humans have had trouble with from day one. I refuse to get to the point to where I am no longer teachable. I always want to be learning. I always want to stay in good standing with my mentors so that my character is protected. And lastly, I want to stay in good standing with the Father.