“A wise son accepts his father’s discipline…” (Proverbs 13:1-6, NASB)

As Christians, we must have a teachable spirit. We must develop a learning posture throughout our lives. This is because a successful life in God’s eyes is not about having all the answers from the start. It is about being willing to learn along the way. It takes humility on our part, and by choosing to stay humble and open to correction, we ensure our lives grow, remain strong, happy, and productive. Here is a lesson I gleaned from today’s reading. It says,

“A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. From the fruit of a man’s mouth he enjoys good, but the desire of the treacherous is violence. The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat. A righteous man hates falsehood, but a wicked man acts disgustingly and shamefully. Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, but wickedness subverts the sinner.”

To me, this passage suggests that fruitfulness in our lives is not a product of knowing everything but of a lifelong willingness to learn, be corrected, and grow. Verse 1 begins by saying, “A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.” It shows us that being willing to learn is the secret to a successful and productive life. It suggests that wisdom is not something we are born with, but a capacity we develop through the discipline of listening. To grow, one must be “correctable.” The “scoffers,” on the other hand, ignore, disregard, and despise discipline because they believe they are right and are unwilling to listen to counsel.

As Christians, we must have a teachable spirit if we are going to grow in the likeness of Christ and serve God and His kingdom properly. It begins with the courage to admit we don’t have all the answers and the willingness to let God and other believers shape our lives. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” We are all born with a natural inclination to sin, and no one has to teach us to be bad. As soon as we are born into this world, we face choice after choice in life situations. We can choose to be patient or throw a tantrum. We can choose to tell the truth or lie when we are caught doing something wrong. We can choose to be nice to the person next to us or be mean. We can choose contentment or jealousy, eat well or junk food, study hard or waste time. Naturally, however, we tend to choose paths that are easy, convenient, and trouble-free. To get better, we must take the road of discipline to shape our mind, body, and spirit to do the things we would not normally do.

One of the areas Solomon discusses is our speech. In verses 2-3, he explains that “from the fruit of a man’s mouth he enjoys good,” and “one who guards his mouth preserves his life.” It means that having a teachable spirit requires us to learn to communicate with people properly, edifying rather than harming them. Another area that Solomon talks about is the problem of laziness. In verse 4, he says that the “soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat.” Left to their own devices, our bodies choose comfort, sleep, and procrastination. However, this is a recipe for disaster, leading to sluggishness and unproductivity in our lives. This is true for both our physical and spiritual lives.

Apostle Paul saw his Christian life as a race. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, he said, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” In this passage, Paul compares the disciplined Christian life to a race. Just as athletes need physical training, believers need spiritual discipline. He himself feared he could be disqualified and worked hard to “buffet” his body toward a goal rather than take it easy. He saw himself boxing with careful aim, not swinging wildly as if beating the air. He was talking about a disciplined life as a way to win the race. Likewise, we must have a teachable spirit or live with a learning posture, for it will help us lead a great, disciplined life.

• What does the phrase “wise son accepts his father’s discipline” say about how we acquire wisdom?
• If the Christian life is like a marathon race, what kind of “discipline” would you need to finish well?