Don't Be Stupid

by Kimberly B. Southall

How do you feel when your parents, a teacher, or someone else with authority over you corrects your behavior? Does it make you angry? Do you try to think of an excuse for your actions or blame someone else? Do you think that you should always be right, even when you really aren't? If so, you ought to think again.

Parents, teachers, and others correct us because they care about us and want us to be the best people we can be. And the Bible teaches us that we should not only accept discipline, but we should love it:

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. --Proverbs 12:1 (NIV)

Also notice what that scripture in God's Word tells us about anyone who hates being corrected. He or she is stupid! Yes, that's what the Bible says.

And do you know what the word "stupid" means? Some definitions are "slow of mind," "acting in an unintelligent or careless manner," and "lacking intelligence or reason." Think about that. Are you stupid? If you hate being corrected when you are wrong, then the Bible says that you are. Surely you don't want to be.

Don't be stupid. Listen and obey when your parents, a teacher, or someone else in authority corrects you.