Daily Devotions
It Is Impossible To Humiliate a Humble Man
Reading for July 3rd: Proverbs 12-14
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.
The vexation of a fool is known at once,
but the prudent ignores an insult.
Proverbs 12:15-16
A wise man has the ability to both listen to advice and to ignore insults. Why is this? In a word: HUMILITY!
You see, in the book of Proverbs, wisdom is not about intelligence or experience but about humility. A fool is full of himself. He is "right in his own eyes." He has all the answers. He feels no need to listen. He is easy to insult because he has such an inflated view of himself.
On the other hand, the wise man thinks nothing of himself. He is open and willing to receive wise counsel. He is grateful (not annoyed or aggravated) for the one who would correct him. It is his humility that opens his ears to listen to advice.
It is his humility that also closes his ears to harsh and unfair criticism. Since he is emptied of self, there is no urge to defend his honor. He recognizes insults for what they are and chooses to ignore them. He knows it would do no good to answer the critic and so he leaves it alone and moves on to more productive things.
In short, the wise man's ability to take advice and ignore criticism springs from a humble heart that is moved solely by a desire for God's truth and God's honor. His humility frees him to evaluate advice and/or criticism based on its merit, not on how it makes him feel or how it makes him look before others.
Father, give us a humble heart that will rightly discern between constructive advice and unfair criticism.
