Proverbs 17:10
What
does it take to get you to listen? For some, it just takes a simple request.
For others it takes a baseball bat and a loudspeaker. I want to think that a
simple request gets my attention, but I am not sure sometimes.
Our
proverb tells us that the harshest of punishments won’t work on a fool. Someone
who doesn’t know the LORD and therefore doesn’t have access to His wisdom won’t
listen, even if all the facts are against him. Fools are stubborn. They never
seem to learn.
If
we have kids, we know this. Some kids will bend their will with just a look.
Some require a very different strategy to get them to yield. But it is
important to reinforce the fact that they are not in charge. They don’t make
the rules. They must learn this lesson or the penalties increase with age.
Adults who don’t follow the rules get in real trouble.
It
can be pretty obnoxious to be around an adult who must always get their way.
That is just not how life works. In order to live together on the planet, we
must learn to get along even with our enemies. We have to learn to yield.
Fools
haven’t learned this lesson. They still think they are in charge of their
world. By contrast wise people, discerning people have learned to concede a
point. They are able to acknowledge it when they are wrong. Fools keep plowing
ahead even in the face of a cliff.
How
much does it take for you to admit that you were wrong? Does your pride keep
you from coming clean when you are caught? How many strategies have you
developed in order to keep from getting caught?