Under Gods Command
Proverbs 13:18 He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.
Failure or success? Poverty or riches? Shame or honor? Which do you prefer? Of course, you want success, riches, and honor! But it is far easier to desire them than to get them. There is a basic requirement to get them, and the vast majority of men will not meet this condition. They must humble themselves to regard criticism and accept instruction.
You are making a decision right now about your future. Some will presume they know the lesson, so they stop reading and go back to their little games. Others will read a little further and stop when the author implies they are likely a fool or scorner. Only a few will be thrilled to see an offer of honor and devour each word to gain the prize.
Most men are too proud, rebellious, and stubborn to take reproofs or accept instruction. They want to do things their way. They do not like to be told they are wrong. They love their own opinions.
There is a simple technique for success in a world doomed to failure. Find teachers that have the truth and wisdom of God and submit to their reproofs and instruction. It is that simple. God has revealed the wisdom of heaven to men. If you will find them and accept their correction and teaching, you can deliver yourself from failure, poverty, and shame.
Once you have a teacher, there is another obstacle in the way of success – your own thoughts, imaginations, and opinions. A man that arrogantly presumes he is right is worse than a fool. He is a scorner, and God will blind and punish that man. A fool is too lazy and distracted to learn, but a scorner refuses to be taught.
Learning requires change: either you must correct errors you have learned, or you must add new knowledge to your inventory. The first requires accepting reproofs, and the second requires accepting new ideas through instruction. Pride, rebellion, and stubbornness will not allow a man to do either of these two things. He is a certain loser!
A true teacher is an enemy of your thoughts and imaginations. He must destroy and pull down the strongholds of your mind, where you are holding false ideas and concepts. He must replace them with truth and wisdom, which you have not heard or accepted before. While the relationship is affectionate, the process is definitely conflict.
What keeps you from listening to your teachers – your parents and pastor? Are you too proud to accept correction? Too stubborn to admit you are wrong? Too rebellious to change by another’s order? These are marks of a scorner! You are doomed to poverty and shame, unless you repent immediately and humble yourself before God’s word.
Do you sleep in church? Do you resent being taught by a man younger than you? Do you attend the fastest-growing church in town to avoid preaching? These are marks of a fool! You are doomed to poverty and shame, unless you repent immediately and humble yourself before God’s word.
Jesus made the lesson very plain as He concluded the Sermon on the Mount. He said that hearing His doctrine and not doing it was like building your life on sand. The storms of time and eternity will wash you away! But a wise man will hear His sayings and build his life upon them. He will stand sure in both time and eternity!
Examine yourself in the light of this proverb. If you hear instruction and forget it before applying it to your life, you are a fool. You are heading for certain poverty and shame. If you hear correction and resent it, you are a scorner. You are heading for certain poverty and shame even faster. Wisdom is submitting to reproofs and accepting instruction, for that is the means of learning and growth. God and all good men will honor such a man.
Under Gods command 