The Song of Fools

“It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.”  Ecclesiastes 7:5

No one likes to be chastised.  There is something in human nature that causes irritation and/or anger to arise in our souls when we are corrected or rebuked, especially if the rebuke is deserving.  For those who are conscientious about staying on the straight and narrow, I think sometimes the anger that arises is because we know that we deserved the scolding, and the anger is actually directed at ourselves for doing something that we knew we shouldn’t have done.

Humans don’t like to be proved wrong.  We always like to think that we are in the right, but we can’t always be right because of our sinful nature.  We are benefited, though, when, in the wrong, to receive correction from one who is wise, who may have been where we are and has learned from experience a better way to react, respond, or to repent.  It is never a good policy to follow the advice of those who couldn’t care less about our welfare.  Their advice may be based on other than Biblical principles and could lead us down the wrong path.  There are some folks who will tell us whatever they think we want to hear rather than what we need to hear.  They may praise us even though we are in the wrong, but they are either trying to “get on our good side” or only trying to impress us with their “concern”.  The thing is the next day they may turn against us and sing a different tune.  They can’t be trusted.

We correct our children and grandchildren because we want them to be the best that they can be.  It is the same for us.  God wants us to be the best that we can be because we are His children and His representatives on earth, and this sometimes means getting a scolding, or worse, a whipping.  (I  remember my mother sending me out in the yard to get a switch for my whipping.  Do kids even get whippings anymore?)  Punishment hurts in the short run, but can be very beneficial in the long run.

The best way to weigh advice from others is to compare it to scripture.  While rebuke is not pleasant, it can bring the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” to those who receive it (Hebrews 12:11).  It is good to be sincere when we use the old saying, “Correct me if I’m wrong”, but don’t be surprised if he or she does.  Just be glad that someone cares enough about us to steer us in the right direction and not leave us on the path to error.