Correct the Wise

Proverbs 9:7-9 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. 8 So don't bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.
 
HOW sad it is for those who mock the things that are right. We look around, sometimes even in the mirror, and can easily find people with attitudes that reject the common good. It could be someone who makes loud noises at night in your neighborhood when the right thing to do is be quiet while others may be sleeping. Mockers break the driving rules on the highway. The disobedient reject civil laws regarding rights of property. The thieves, liars and covetous of the world cause dismay and even fear among the lawful. How do we respond to the mockers?
   The proverb teaches us that the wise person is silent toward the mocker and instructive to the wise. Does this seem right? Rule breakers and rebels need to be told what to do. Who will instruct them if the wise remain silent? As with a number of the Bible’s teachings, this doesn’t seem to be practical or be right when we first read it. Let’s then understand this from God’s Kingdom view.
   The Living Word, Jesus, taught this same lesson in Matthew 7:6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.” And he said it this way in Matthew 15:13-14 “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” 
   The Holy Spirit teaches in Proverbs and the gospel that there are people who will never know the Truth. And there always will be people who desire to grow daily in the wisdom and discipline of the LORD. These teachings call for us to first look at our own lives. Is there some way(s) we are mocking God’s Word? Are we prone to be deaf to those parts of the Bible that offend us because they point to our sin?
   Our first step, of course, is to receive God’s wisdom in our minds and hearts. We are to also teach, admonish and even rebuke those who are wrong. Yet, there is a point when we must be quiet and allow God to work in his will.
   Our words for the mockers must be prayer and mercy. You do not have the power to change hearts. But you do have the command to pray and intercede for those who must know the right way. Keep planting the truth. Know when to move on from the deaf ears, so the listening ears will receive God’s wisdom.