Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;

Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

How often do we try to share wisdom and understanding with someone only to have them respond with scorn or hatred? How often do we find ourselves laughed at, ridiculed, marginalized or just plain treated like somebody who is mentally deficient because we believe what God says matters more than what people think or what the culture wants them to believe? And how often is our response to withdraw, nurse our wounds and hide? Beloved, we must understand who we are in the process and who God is in the process, and further, we must trust that He will do what He wants to do. So the quality of the response is completely dependent upon the very NATURE of the person to whom you are speaking. If you correct a fool, you will get folly as a response. If you rebuke someone who has the Spirit of God in them, they will respond with wisdom. Consider the 3 things expressed here about the response of wisdom.

1. Wisdom appreciates truth. A wise man will LOVE the correction and the person who gave it, because truth is not about what I want or think, it is completely independent of me, truth is just truth.
2. Wisdom never misses an opportunity to grow. A wise man sees the instruction and correction as a NEED, he wants it. He desires to be improved by the exchange.
3. Wisdom and justice work together. Notice that the wise man and the just man have the same response to correction and instruction. Both respond with positive attitudes…