A Good Talking To

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 17:10

A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.

There is a lot here.

·       While Proverbs does teach corporal punishment for children (“foolishness is in the heart of a child, but the rod drives it far from him”), this proverb indicates that maturity or manhood is evidenced by the futility and unnecessity of physical punishment for corrective purposes.

·       Being wise isn’t being perfect or beyond the need for correction. Being wise is being mature to the point that when you err you can be corrected with a rebuke.

·       Correction that is effective is correction that sinks into the soul and heart of a man. This isn’t surface level and the changing of behavior to pacify the person who is bringing the correction. That kind of change doesn’t last. The wise man takes it to heart and makes the change from the inside out.

·       Finally, you can’t beat sense into a fool. Again, the writer isn’t talking about children for whom corporal punishment has some corrective effect. He is talking about a person who is grown into adulthood but doesn’t have the wisdom to receive correction. You won’t be able to beat it into them.