Red Pencil Rules
My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof Proverbs 3:11
Loathe – “God is good all the time.” Have you seen the stickers and T-shirts? What do you think when you read that statement? Do you believe it? Is God really good all the time? If He is, then why do you struggle so much with His correction? Solomon exhorts us to remember that God is good even when He disciplines.
Are you thankful when God shows up with the red pencil and starts correcting your life? Do you praise Him all the more because He cares enough to keep you on the straight path? Or do you find yourself prickling under His hand, anxious to get away from the pressure to repent and reform?
Solomon uses a word that any Hebrew would immediately recognize: quts. It’s used to describe God’s revulsion at the religious practices of pagans, Israel’s disgust with manna and Rebekah’s attitude toward her foreign daughter-in-law. It carries the nuance of separating oneself from something because it is revolting. Why does Solomon use such an emotionally charged word? Because we are so susceptible to breaking away from God’s chastisement. We try to ignore, justify, rationalize or negotiate ourselves out of the place of judgment. What a mistake! God is good all the time, especially when He demonstrates His unfailing mercy by bringing us up short. He could lower the hammer. He would be entirely justified in His righteous pronouncement. But He doesn’t do it. He patiently prods and plans for our confrontation with disobedience – all for the purpose of bringing us back to Him.
The more we fight or flee from His correction, the more He has to exercise active grace. Sometimes that grace comes in very strong forms. We get thrown overboard. We lose our health. We find ourselves in the lion’s den or the fiery furnace. We get blindsided on the road. God will use any means necessary to accomplish good for us. Of course, the force of the correction is really in our hands, isn’t it? If I were just immediately available to God’s smallest re-direction, no lions would have to show up at my door. If I don’t like red pencil marks all over my life, then I need to adopt an attitude of instant recognition of reproof and discipline. Instead of trying to separate myself from the discomfort of personal confrontation, I should be welcoming it with open arms, not embracing the error of my ways, but rather the God Who is willing to correct me.
Today, you will see red. Somewhere, someplace God will arrive with a small red pencil in hand. Are you ready to welcome His marks? Swallow that pride and let Him do what He does best – exercise goodness on your behalf.
