THINK TOGETHER.
Can you think of a time you learned a lesson from someone else’s punishment?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 21:11. When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
Solomon is showing us three different people and how they respond to punishment. Ask yourself which one am I?
The first person is the scoffer. Notice that the scoffer is punished but it has no effect on him/her. This is what makes a scoffer a scoffer – they don’t care about anything or anyone except themselves. You can’t punish a scoffer and hope they do better. All you can do is kick a scoffer out.
The second person is the simple. The simple person is still deciding if they want to be a fool or wise. There’s still hope for the simple. They see a scoffer get punished and they become wise – they learn to do what is right. Sadly, the simple person often only obeys from fear of punishment and not from love.
The third person is the wise. The wise person is punished or instructed and they gain knowledge. They don’t see punishments as bad or fearful, but as good and helpful. They see everything as an opportunity to be wiser and wiser, smarter and smarter, more and more faithful and loving.
Which are you? With Jesus and his love, we can be wise. How? By trusting that all of his instructions for us, and even his punishments, are all for our good and are making us more and more like himself. When Jesus loves you, you don’t have to obey out of fear, and you definitely don’t have to scoff at Jesus, instead you can trust him and his discipline as producing good in your life. Here’s how the book of Hebrews says it:
Hebrews 12:11. For the moment all discipline seems painful…but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Because of Jesus no punishment is ever meant to hurt us.
With Jesus we can be wise and learn from his discipline.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Make a list together of the character traits of the scoffer, the simple, and the wise. Ask: which do you see in your own life?
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, I trust your instruction and discipline. Teach me to trust you more. Amen.
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