Proverbs 9:7-8

The book of Proverbs gives us a lot of instruction on a lot of different subjects. One subject that can keep us in God’s wisdom is Godly Follower-ship. Who we follow; where we follow; how we follow are all spoken about in Proverbs. Here is one of them abut correction someone who rejects wisdom:

Proverbs 9:7-8

" He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself,

And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. 

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,

Reprove a wise man and he will love you."

When you work with, lead or are in a position where you have to have a relationship with a scoffer, you are in a hard spot.   Scoffing in our society is often defined as an act of jeering or mocking something.   And, even though the Old Testament uses a similar meaning Solomon carries an additional aspect of the scoffer's life in that he/she is often tied to the rejection of wisdom, sound advice, or correct counsel.   The scoffer DOES mock and jeer, but the reason they mock or jeer is because they reject the truth being spoken.   Scoffers are like fools in that they reject truth, but the scoffer is the outward, verbal or aggressor of this rejection.    The scoffer has passed the point of the fool and is certainly far more advanced than the naive one.   The scoffer not only can't handle the truth and doesn't like the truth, they want to attack and ridicule the truth, thinking that promotes them.  In the above two proverbs the scoffer is seen as a the one who attacks the one correcting him and actually brings dishonor on the person speaking the truth.  You WON'T win an argument with a scoffer.   He will hate you in the end.   In contrast, a wise man looks for and desires correction.    You can tell if you are talking to a wise man or scoffer by how they handle correction.   You will walk away with honor or dishonor depending on the person you are talking to, not the truth you are talking.   Odd, but true.

Every day we come across those who make fun of God or of Christ's resurrection or of belief in general. They "scoff" at God's sovereign rule as though they are in charge and have their own destiny in their hand. It is not humorous but we might see how funny it is when they are faced with death or pain or suffering or troubles. The same people who scoff at God's rule and believe they are "in charge" have no hope when things turn tough. The typically blame others ... still not taking personal responsibility for anything. Our temptation is to correct them; to bring them to the knowledge of the truth. But, Solomon, probably surrounded by his own lot of scoffers, warns us that if we try to correct one we will in turn become someone we don't want to be. Dishonor and insults are in line for those who try to correct a scoffer. Solomon gives very little hope to correct a scoffer. Don't expect them to change if you try ... rather it will come back upon you.