Daily Devotional

Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘fool’ as “a person lacking in judgment or prudence.”

Did you know the Bible has a lot to say about a fool? No one wants to be called a fool, yet many of our behaviors are considered foolish. And if we don’t guard our hearts and keep ourselves under correction, we will soon start to exhibit foolish behavior. And foolishness will keep you from enjoying the fruit of wisdom and prosperity.

Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Are you correctable? Most people aren’t. Why? Because it makes them admit they’ve done something wrong. And no one likes to be wrong. But to learn and grow in life, and to move forward and become all that God wants us to be, we have to be willing to take correction.

When a man refuses to learn it usually has something to do with pride.

A man who refuses to learn is a ‘know-it-all’. And if you’ve ever been around a ‘know-it-all’, you know, it’s not fun. A ‘know-it-all’ cannot be taught by others. He can never be told he’s wrong. That means he is prideful. And worst of all, if someone corrects him, he thinks he’s better than that person saying, “What could that person possibly teach me?

What’s really hard about dealing with a person like this is, they don’t recognize the problem in themselves. So when you try to correct them or show them a better way to do things, they become angry. You tell them they’re not receiving Godly counsel and direction, and they don’t listen, they get defensive, and may even verbally attack you for saying such a thing.

The only people who receive instruction well are those who have trained themselves to do so. And even then, sometimes that instruction hurts. We don’t like to be told that what we did or said is wrong. We walk away feeling disrespected and even a little silly. But the opposite is actually true. The ability to see Godly counsel and direction is an opportunity for learning, it’s not intended to insult you.

When Jenn and I were newly married, we got a dog. We thought, “Hey, training and taking care of a dog together will be great preparation for us as parents someday.” But, we didn’t just get one dog, we got three. I still remember Jenn’s grandma hearing we got three dogs. She said, “You guys are crazy. You have to get rid of at least two dogs. One is enough. They’re expensive. Plus, what are you going to do when you start having children?” We said, “We can handle it, Grandma. We love animals, and we’ll be fine.” But then when our daughter came along, what’s the first thing we did? We found good homes for two of the three dogs. Grandma was right.

So even though initially we rejected her counsel. Later on, we realized she was right. Three dogs and a baby are too much.

So remember, it is important to take correction and learn from others. It might hurt at the time, but it gets better. And you’ll realize that there’s no shame in taking correction because in the end, it’s all for your own good.

The interesting thing is, the older I get, the more I realize I don’t know.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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