The book of Proverbs is a guide for pursuing godly wisdom in our daily lives. In this four-week study, we will read a selection of topical proverbs covering different aspects of wisdom, from how to interact with our friends, families, and neighbors, to fearing God and keeping His commands. No matter the subject, these proverbs urge us to wrestle with and reflect on our own response to them. To help you better engage with the proverbs in this reading plan, we have provided you with a short introduction and reflection questions for each day.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to be open to correction from God’s Word and from people in our lives who love us. Receiving correction requires the humility to openly admit that we do not know all there is to know. Consider how these proverbs dealing with correction are working to correct you even as you read them.
Reflection Questions:
From whom do you welcome correction? Why?
Consider Proverbs 15:12. Describe what a mocker is and does. What motivates them to do so? In what ways are you a mocker?
How would you explain the meaning of Proverbs 27:6? What are some wounds good friends have given you in the spirit of this proverb? What do you think the phrase “kisses of an enemy” means?
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45 thoughts on "Correction"
Spiritual mentors have corrected me when I have not addressed a mistake in my life according to Gods word. For me I prefer this correction than the support and encourage of enemies or people who I know do not live a life I deem as honourable or led by by the HS.
I accept correction from any spiritual leader who has my best interest in mind and who is submitted to the Holy Spirit and follows the Word. Also my parents because they are doers of God’s Word.
I believe it is a proud spirit that leads mockers. They mock because they ultimately want to avoid what they probably do know is better or truth and do not want to submit to God. They do it to ignore the real issue and sometimes the addressing of whatever needs to change. Mockery is a way to deflect and to make something less serious than it is.
I accept correction from any spiritual leader who has my best interest in mind and who is submitted to the Holy Spirit and follows the Word. Also my parents because they are doers of God’s Word.
Humility and correction indeed go hand in hand. I have had to learn the hard way to embrace correction- by that I mean falling from pride. But now I would have it no other way, to know that you do not know it all is the best knowledge one can have.
Yes – Steph. I agree with everything you said.
I can definitely deflect when I’m feeling upset or hurt or “wronged”.
I need people who are willing to help me grow instead of tell me what I want to hear and enable my bad behavior or decisions.
I have those people now. ❤️
Correction isn’t easy, but when it’s given with love, it doesn’t sting quite so bad.
A scoffer is one who makes fun of or mocks others, usually for their religious beliefs or moral values. A motivational factor for it is to deflect an issue going on in their own hearts & lives. When I don’t want to face an issue or problem I have, I can definitely deflect and downplay the severity of it so it doesn’t seem so bad.
I think it’s meaning in 27:6 is that a true friend will give it to you straight and speak the truth even if it hurts, whereas an enemy, or someone who is not for you, will tell you whatever you want to hear.
I think what stops us from receiving correction is pride. I love how the psalmist puts it: “When my thoughts were bitter and my feelings were hurt, I was as stupid as an animal; I did not understand You.” ~ Psalm 73:21-22
Correction has always been hard for me. When someone corrects me, I have always felt such shame and it makes me feel as though they are attacking me as a person rather than the action. But I think that’s because I never felt securely loved. My husband and his family have been so incredible and it took me awhile but I know they love me and I know everything they say has good intentions behind it. Feeling secure in my relationships with them has opened me up to correction when it comes from them.
We must be corrected and through of christ we will grow.
Many years ago as a youth we had Coffee hour as a 14 and over Sunday School/bible study. We worked our way through Proverbs and the one I have always remembered is Anyone who loves Knowledge wants to be told when he is wrong it is stupid to hate being corrected. We each chose a proverb to use as a rap in the Sunday School YP anniversary. ( yes I am Salvation Army). So this has been something I took forward from the Good news version and use it in daily life that if you are wrong or need redirecting it is best to take the correction and move forward. It applies very well in my workplace.
Sorry, meant for that to be three hearts ❤️❤️❤️
I am also a perfectionist and struggle to receive any correction since I often take it as an indictment on me as a person and feel shame rather than taking it as correction in love regarding a behavior because they love me for who I am and not what I do. Hope that makes sense. I’ve really had to work on receiving my husband’s feedback with a spirit of humility rather than defensiveness. The Lord has truly used him to help me grow so much throughout our marriage; I hate confrontation/conflict yet I know he longs for me to lovingly correct him as well. Praying for wisdom and strength and insight for how to speak the truth in love to him especially but ultimately to all of my family and friend and whomever the Lord brings my way.
I am the same in SO many ways, Angela Sutherland! Thank you for sharing and articulating so many of my own thoughts and feelings. Also working on being better at receiving correction.
Thank you, Haven! ♥️
Back when I was in college, I spent my summers working as a camp counselor, and then later as the program director’s assistant for one of the age groups. The director and his assistant work very closely together all summer, which means seeing each other’s strengths and weaknesses up close. During one evaluation session with our boss, he asked each team of program directors and their assistants what one thing they would like their partner to work on. Every other director praised and flattered their assistant. But mine was honest. He said the truth, even though no one else was bold enough to do that. That man ended up being bold enough to tell me that despite my flaws, he saw the beauty and strength of character I showed that summer and in the years following that, he asked me to marry him. Now, he and I have been married for 7 years with 3 kiddos, and he still to this day tells me the truth in love. And I am so incredible grateful. I have a few other mentors in my life who have that kind of relationship with me, and it truly is a blessing. My husband and these ladies bring things to me and don’t let me get away with trying to hide them. They have helped me grow in my walk with the Lord, and I thank God constantly for them. It’s not always easy to hear, but I would much rather have genuine care and honesty than empty flattery.
A mocker is definitely a hurting person. Having been a victim of mockery I don’t feel like I have that spirit in me, but this has not always been the case.
Bridget, I’ve never posted anything on here before but I just want to acknowledge that this is a similar struggle for me too, and I also see its roots in my parents’ strict nature when I was a child. correction so quickly begins to feel like evidence that I am bad and will not be invited to stay in relationship with the person offering the criticism. This is something I am working on in my own life and I just wanted you to know you are not alone!
Happy Birthday Ladies! This last question is really speaking to me this evening. I dont have a hard time receiving correction, esp when its done from a place of good intention and love. I do hesitate to give correction tho, for fear of offending friends, losing friends, and I just dislike confrontation in general. But I see how staying silent can be even more damaging and is a disservice to those I love. Praying for boldness to speak the truth in love!
I feel I welcome correction from most people. But when it’s people I love and trust my immediate reaction is to become defensive. Afterwards I understand why they said what they did (usually right). It’s something I’m trying to work on. Especially with my husband. A mocker is someone who makes fun of others, or in the Passion translation is a “know-it-all”. They may do those things because of known or unknown insecurities or hurts from the past. Or as a reaction to feeling attacked. I think I struggle with sarcasm A LOT. Especially with my coworkers, friends and husband. It’s usually light hearted but sometimes it can come across as cruel from the outside. I think “kisses” from the enemy are ways friends or others do superficial things to make it seem like they like us or something, when in reality its not authentic.
(1) I welcome correction from the Holy Spirit, people who have authority over me at work if they are right and wise and gentle. People who know me on a deep level family, friends, and godly people. People who have my best interest in mind when they’re correcting me.
(2) A mocker makes fun of people while they’re hurting. They pour salt on an open wound. I think it comes from a place of their own personal wounds and heartache. I mock others by talking back to people and arguing with others when I think I am right.
(3) Hearing the painful truth is better than a feel good lie. Good friends have let me know when I blame others. They’ve also let me know when my family doesn’t treat me “normal”. It hurts my pride but at the same time I know it’s true. Kisses of an enemy to me means lies and misleading instead of truth and guidance.
Love that film! And I totally remember that scene. But I never thought of it that way until you commented on it. Yes I agree confrontation can be hard. Especially hard when you’re the one that has to the confrontation or call something out on somebody.
I am open to correction from the people I trust and am close with. That doesn’t mean it is always easy to hear or that I don’t get my feelings hurt at times. I need to remember, in the moment, that they are only correcting me because they love me.
I am grateful for dear friends and family that correct and counsel me in wisdom and truth when I need advice or feel bad about something I said or did. I also listen to God when I mess up and remember he forgives me and wipes my slate clean to do better. Blessings and a very Happy Birthday to Stephanie and Taylor!
I can never read Proverbs 27:6 without thinking of Mr. Knightley from Emma. Emma makes a unkind joke at the expense of Miss Bates in front of everyone and Mr. Knightley calls her out on it later in private even though he knows Emma will be angry with him. He has motivation to stay in Emma’s good graces because he is secretly in love with her; yet by confronting her he proves he is a true friend. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
Correction for me is something I am good with some days and others I feel
attacked. If that makes sense. I think it stems from some deep insecurities and depending on the day, being corrected or told a specific truth about myself allows those insecurities to flood my emotional boat. I think it also depends on who is correcting me… something I need to work on personally is taking correction or personal truths from is my husband. My defences go up and I end up not wanting to hear what he is saying, and I think it’s the same for him. Something I pray for in our marriage is for the execution of our “correcting truths” to each other. We need to understand more how each other reacts to certain things. This is why it’s so important for couples to be in the word together and pray together so that they understand more where the other is coming from and that they can receive it with love. It’s a tough one .. human nature can steer us to “always wanting to be right” … but we genuinely need to sit back, pray and talk it through.
“Kisses of an enemy” .. how often this happens in relationships of all kinds. I’ve been guilty of it myself because it’s easier. Put a bandaid on it instead of truly taking the time to talk something out , even if it’s a hard conversation. The last few years I have been challenged with this with a specific friend in my life. She doesn’t know the Lord and she struggled with many things in her life. Every time we talk I feel the Lord tugging at my heart .. and I am so thankful for that. I have had some really hard but truthful conversations with this friend and we both have grown from
It. I don’t want my fear of having the hard conversations be a reason she stumbles … I want to be a light for her! ♥️
I feel the same way sometimes with my husband of 52 years. We have tried to work on this in recent years oh, but it’s still difficult. He’s a Godly Man and I know he loves me totally, but he can be a debater. And I don’t like to debate. And sometimes when I’m upset, I don’t want to hear him. The Lord has been helping me, but it’s an ongoing struggle since I hate confrontation. And thankful for the relationship I have with my six children, who often speak truth in love. My prayer, when I have to exhort someone, is that God will fill my mouth with his words. He has never failed on that account.
I got to get ready for work so I’m going to get to the point. I welcome correction from my very close friends whom I know love Jesus and genuinely care for me. I wrote their names down in my journal. And today I’m so excited I meeting with this wonderful lady who I consider a proverbs 31 woman. She was the head of our women’s ministry a few years back. Someone I have always admired. She reached out to me and we’re meeting today.
I struggle terribly with correction or criticism because I can equate it with rejection. My parents were super strict and I never experienced being disciplined out of love or with love. My parents yelled, emotionally reacted and shamed. There wasn’t a “coming together with love” after the discipline… they didn’t know how to to that. So consequently, I didn’t have an example of knowing I was LOVED despite needing to be disciplined.
There is a big difference in situations that require correction. Taylor touched on this speaking of her training and we know correction comes with new job training. Spiritual correction goes so much deeper and is a bit more intimate making it harder to receive, I think. Like Paula, I am a perfectionist and strive to be above the need for correction/improvement in my daily activities. In my spiritual life, however, I KNOW there will always be a need for correction this side of heaven and I welcome that correction because I know the LORD is for me.
The MESSAGE uses the term ‘know-it-all’ for mocker. In that sense, I realize I am, indeed, a mocker at times – not involving sin, rather how well I do something. God and I have had some moments with that issue!
The last one really speaks loudly to me because I don’t feel comfortable correcting a friend, but this verse reminds me that tough words given in the spirit of love and concern are much better for our good than words that say that what we do wrong isn’t a big deal and doesn’t do any harm. A true friend should always speak THE TRUTH in LOVE. Be blessed in your correction, ladies!
Angela, thank you for your insight on Proverbs 27:6. I was having difficulty getting my thoughts clear and you captured it perfectly for me.
Praying everyone has a blessed day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TAYLOR and STEPHANIE!!! May you have a great day of celebration! God loves you!!!
I’ve lost several friends and family members along the way because I choose not to partake or uphold the sins in their lives. At one point I was in some of the same sins. It can be hard when you grow closer with the Lord and want those around you to grow as well but they are at a different spiritual place. I try not to judge and condemn others but whenever I mention the Lord they put me into a “holier than though” box. I realized I sin just as well but the Holy Spirit convicts me daily and I am thankful and continue to try and spread his love and word to others around me who may try and run and hide from the shame.
Being open to correction. Yes! We do not know all there is to know. For me, pausing with an open heart and mind to observe and absorb the lessons before me is where I try to ground myself in all facets of my life. For me it’s a knowing and I try to stay present inside of it. It’s okay not to know everything. We have much to learn and I’m listening, staying open to receive. The message is SO good today! Exactly what I needed to wash over me and in prayer and meditation, “read Psalm 28” came to me, and again… I was given what I needed in the moment. My heart is open. So good! So much grace. ❤️
Happy Birthday to you, too, Stephanie. Praying for a lovely day for you.
Happy Birthday, Taylor. I hope and pray you have a lovely day. Thanks for sharing – your candid comments are encouraging.
Happy Birthday!!! It’s my birthday too!! I’m much closer to 50, though…it’s number 46 for me. Lol
Total transparency…I bristle at correction. It’s something the Lord and I are working on, and I know that it comes from deep insecurities, but regardless of why, I know correction is needed in every believer’s life, including mine! I want to be humble and open to godly correction as I grow in my faith. I think it takes more love to correct than to just say what people want to hear. A true friend will long for your good today and in the future, so will say what needs to be said. Kisses from the enemy would mean (to me) that it’s just those people in your life who will say whatever fluffs the ego, or just adds fuel to the fire rather than bringing wisdom to a situation. Those kinds of friends are actually “enemies” because they keep you stumbling in your own errors. I can see how my desire not to offend people can make me be the enemy and not the true friend. So I see in my own life where I need to graciously receive correction, but also be willing to bring correction, if needed in a friends life. And at the heart of it all is love…God’s love. We must love as He first loved us.
I don’t take correction well. From anybody. It’s just the truth. Thankfully God is usually very gentle with his correction of me ( it’s like he knows me or something!) But honestly, I just don’t take it well.
Who do I welcome correction from? The Lord and honestly God uses so many things to bring correction stranger, family friends anything I just need to be sure I’m able to hear. I’m going to be honest tho I struggle with hearing people who can’t hear me or someone the picks at everything you do. I’m not saying that God can’t use them but at time the approach of their heart feels judgemental. I have a mentor and host of friends that we have been in each other’s lives for over 30 years and are quick to check but in a loving way. I get that and can respect it to!
Happy Birthday Taylor!! May God bless you!
It’s good to know what you don’t know. It’s also good to seek wise counsel. Being open to counsel and correction is one of the hallmarks of a mature Christian. Seek meat, not just milk.
Who do I welcome Correction from and why? The Holy Spirit and whoever/whatever He decides to use… My thinking is that if God can make a donkey talk, then He can speak & correct through anyone and anything… I need to pay attention and be in-tune with the Holy Spirit and what He wants… my biggest lesson has been NOT to set my hand to it.. Let GOD do the work!! Defending/Excusing a correction or trying to “fix” it in my own strength doesn’t work. It ends up being fake and surfacey and not thorough at all. In other words it manifests or shows itself again and again… where, if I let GOD do the work, which is very humbling and painful.. it is THOROUGH and COMPLETE. The work is done and the change permanent. ❤️
Dictionary definition of Mock: to tease or laugh at in a scornful or contemptuous [beneath consideration, worthless] manner. Not authentic. Artificial.
What motivates a mocker? Insecurity. Hurt. Anger. Jealousy. Pride.
Ways I am a mocker? My first thought was I don’t mock people… I see how much correcting and purging I need, the last thing on my mind is mocking… Reflecting on it though I realize that I do mock… I mock myself and other people. I quickly judge from past mistakes & repeated behaviors and I don’t allow for change/growth. Which is in essence, doubting and mocking God. VERY SOBERING and extremely humbling. God, please forgive me and help me not do this.
Proverbs 27:6 “ The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.”
I think this is pretty self explanatory. Good, true and Godly friends don’t “tickle/kiss my ear” with things, they point me (my eyesight) to God. They tell me the truth no matter how much it may sting or suck to hear it, I don’t see these communications as wounds. I see these communications (which are sometimes very hard) as ways that the Body of Christ is encouraging me and calling me up to a higher place with Our Father. An enemy of God “tickles/kisses” excessively so that we are distracted by our own ego and pride…our vision shifts from God to ourselves… which is NEVER good.
Lord, thank You for these revelations and insights. ❤️
(1) Who do I welcome correction from?
I would say I can definitely struggle to receive correction. Being a perfectionist most of my life has meant I pour out a lot of energy trying to prevent that very thing from happening, EV-ER! But… as I’ve walked with the Lord He has been so gracious to deliver correction in just the way I can hear it. It’a hard to describe but before I ever read Job He talked to me like He talked to Job. And for me it reminds me that the burden of perfection is not on me and I am both secure in God’s authority AND able to see my own limitations, mistakes or sins. Out of this soil has birthed my ability to hear correction from others. I can own my short comings and hold my sins loosely, letting them be known and fall away without a fight. And it makes me capable of hearing correction from leadership, my closest friends, work associates, etc. I especially want to hear it from my husband and daughter, as those relationships are incredibly valuable to me.
(2) What is a mocker? Why do they do it? When am I a mocker?
Mockery! I can’t tell you what other people are up to when they mock but I can tell you what I am… I am puffing myself up with pride. Usually because I am angry or insecure and hiding shame. Mockery is a lot about out grouping, identifying an outsider who isn’t me. So correcting a mocker is a problem. They are clearly feeling insecure as it is. And when you come for their mockery, you come for their sense of belonging. It just doesn’t end well. Seems like a strike when the iron is cold kinda situation. Which is good advice for these times in deed.
(3) When has the wound of a friend been trustworthy? What does it mean that the kisses of an enemy are excessive?
I think it can hurt to hear that you are behaving foolishly or arrogantly or to have one of your shortcomings acknowledged. But those corrections are LIVE GIVING. If I’m honest with myself, my husband has helped me grow as much through acknowledging the parts I’d rather over look as he has by nurturing and appreciating the parts I want to grow. The kisses of an enemy being excessive is about flattery I think. Enemies flatter to encourage you to let your guard down or make an error out of over confidence or recklessness. The enemy, for example, flatters are ego and then presents us with temptations. If we are sober minded about ourselves we would run the other direction, but his flattery makes us arrogant.
(1) I feel like I’m pretty open to receiving correction, especially in my current clinical placement where the correct is regular and sometimes feels non-stop. In terms of my sin, I have 3 solid Christian friends I know I can go to when I need some loving rebuke/correction. I know they’ll call me out on my sin because they love me and want what’s best for me which is walking in God’s will and not my own.
(2) Sometimes when I’m not ready to hear correction, I’ll specifically not tell those friends what I’m doing and keep it a secret from them until I’m “ready” to hear their rebuke. I think my actions in those situations closely aligns with Proverbs 15:12.
(3) Truth hurts sometimes. And I thank God for dear friends who aren’t afraid to hurt me in order to tell me the truth. Enemies, as Kris stated below, encourage the sin because they want to see you fail/don’t love you/are living in the same sin and want to drag you down with them.
Also, just wanted to share with everyone here that today is my 25th birthday :) I’m half-way to 50 LOL!
It is better to hear truth and correction from a friend. A friend does this because they see the wrong path you are on and can foresee what this could lead to. An enemy will encourage your destructive behavior because they don’t want what is best for you. Maybe, they encourage it, because they are in the midst of doing the same things. They don’t want to be convicted of their own actions and that want company in their ways. It can hurt to be corrected, but it is wise to heed the advice. Don’t let pride stop you from receiving correction. Be open to rebuke when it is necessary. I’ve foolishly defended some things or shifted blame and made excuses. You can pay a price for not admitting your wrong doing and praying for help to change. I don’t want any of you to suffer like me. Please listen when wise counsel is given. Remember all the destructive things about pride! Turn from it, humble yourself before God, and seek His help. Be wise. Hope this helps.