Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
reprove a wise man and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, teach a righteous man and
he will increase his learning. 

Proverbs 9:8-9

There is a reason wise people increase in their wisdom. It’s because they value the wisdom they already have and enjoy the benefits of the results of using that wisdom. So, when you give constructive criticism to a wise person, they increase in their wisdom. In other words, they learn for that reproof, even if it is challenging to hear and act upon. In the end they will love and respect who challenged them to do better and they will do better.

Conversely, a scoffer is unteachable. They think they already know everything about everything and if there does happen to be a little something that they don’t know, then they don’t need to know it anyway. So, when someone tries to correct a scoffer, they are hated. They are resisted. They are disregarded. And in our culture, there will probably be an attempt to “cancel” them. 

Sadly, our world is filled with many more scoffers than wise men and women. On every side of the political aisle and in every ethnicity and subculture and in corporations and schools and even in churches, scoffers rule the day! It is no longer a matter of what is the wisest course of action for any given situation or for any human need. It just matters who shouts the loudest and gets the most media attention. Right vs wrong is blurred. Evil vs good is vague. True vs false is comatose. Everyone, truly, is doing what is right in their own eyes, what is best for them and in their own truth. And the end result is the chaos taking over our world!

But, Wisdom still calls! And understanding and discernment and knowledge and righteous are still available to all who will place themselves within God’s authority and accept His Gospel of Salvation.  

When we do that, Wisdom is freely given and we can rise above the absurdity surrounding us and thrive in a world that lives in futility. Of course, we must realize that God’s definition of thrive is much different than the culture’s definition of thrive. Wisdom shows us that difference.

Will we remain teachable and learn from God’s wisdom? Will we gain understanding and grow in our discernment? Will we love the reproofs God gives to us and continue to grow ever closer to Him and His perfect place for us? 

The choice is always ours!