"Correction" is not a dirty word

No one likes correction. It doesn’t matter who you are. No one wakes up in the morning and says to themselves, “Wow. I hope I find out how wrong I am today and that someone will correct me for it.”   Then you read books like Proverbs in the Bible and it seems like every other verse is about not only the importance, but the power of correction in the life of a believer.
 
There is no greater book on the face of the earth than the Bible. God set it up and structured it to give us advise, comfort, direction, purpose. To give our lives and walks with Jesus meaning and eternal value. If we are not reading the Bible everyday then we are missing out on wonderful opportunities to be challenged to grow beyond what our mind can conceive.
 
I read Proverbs 10 today and there was a verse (and word) that stuck out to me.
 
Proverbs 10:17
17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,
    but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
 
That word “heeds” means to pay attention to or pay CLOSE attention to. To recognize that something is important enough to pause and consider how that information needs to be integrated into life.
 
So the emphasis and importance is not just on BEING corrected but in HEEDING correction/discipline in life. Anyone can be corrected but the value from that correction comes from taking to heart and applying what we are presented with in life. Being in church ministry for over 25 years I have seen lots of people who are good at saying they recognize the need for correction and even say they receive correction but don’t do anything practical in their lives to prove a change. If we receive correction then we will be intentional about letting that discipline modify our behavior. I have even been guilty of saying that I understood correction in my life but not doing anything to prove that changes had been made.
 
Even taking a step back further, the lack of heeding correction can ultimately come from thinking that you are above correction and that you already know just about everything in life, which is impossible and destructive.

I can remember my first interaction with Marilyn Hickey as the services and communications pastor for our church. Part of my duties as the service coordinator was to do reviews for her when she would preach. I can remember our first interaction after a sermon she had preached and she asked me how she did. I told her, “Marilyn, you have been preaching for longer than I have been alive. What am I going to tell you that you don’t already know?” She proceeded to tell me that everyone can get better at preaching/public speaking no matter their age and once you feel like you don’t need that help is the first day you started getting worse at presenting. That was over ten years ago and it has stuck with me to this day. If the world evangelist Marilyn Hickey (who is now 89 years young) thinks that SHE can get better at her presentation skills and is not above correction, then surely I can keep an “open mind and closed mouth” when it comes to correction in my life.
 
Today, look to the power and importance of correction in life. In fact, maybe even seek out ways to get better at what you do personally AND professionally. When we are people of correction, we put ourselves in a place of being the best version of who God created us to be. Reading the Bible is a huge part of that equation but so is listening to the people around us that love us and want us to succeed in life. Have a great week and know that God is for you and not against you ~ in everything you do. 

Brian Morris
General Manager- Rocky Mountain CTN
Enjoy Life. Consider Eternity.