Few of us enjoy being corrected or having our actions challenged. When a person comes up to us and says, “What you are doing is wrong . . .” or inappropriate, or destructive or unhelpful, our first reaction is often not our best. Our response may be quite defensive. Or we may withdraw and walk away.
When it comes to defensiveness, the sports adage “the best defence is a good offence” may become our guide. The attack begins. “What about you? Who do you think you are? You’re not such a great Christian (or husband or wife or friend or…) or whatever words we can use to take the focus off our failures and weaknesses.
We say we like truth that we want truth. We may even believe that “the truth will set us free,” but truth is hard to take. When truth challenges our actions or our thinking or our attitudes, we say, “Leave me alone. I am fine the way I am!”
Responding poorly to criticism is not a new thing. We didn’t invent poor responses in the 21st century. The book of Jeremiah transports us back 27 centuries. In 609 B.C., we discover people who did not respond well to criticism. They even practised the adage that “the best defence is a good offence.”
Jeremiah the prophet knew what it was like to have people respond poorly to his negative messages which pointed out inappropriate behaviour. The prophet was attacked by those God had called him to confront. Listen to his complaint in Jeremiah 20: 7: “O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long.”
Over forty years, Jeremiah’s ministry foretold and then experienced the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. by the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar. God’s assignment for Jeremiah was to warn of the end and challenge the people to change. If you have been reading the book of Jeremiah, you will note that time after time after time, Jeremiah warned the people. He complained but he did not quit pleading with the people to repent. He continued in sadness and heartbreak right to the very end.
At a recent study, one person noted that Jeremiah keeps speaking of destruction and wondered when was going to come about. What is with all these warnings and no action?
When reading the Old Testament, people frequently see God as harsh, angry, unloving, and unforgiving. The impression is that the God in the New Testament is kinder, and more forgiving. The Old Testament prophets reveal otherwise.
The negative messages given by the prophets had one purpose. God wanted to save the people from self-destruction. Year after year, God, in an amazing display of patience, warned the people of the consequences of their actions and pleaded with them to choose life. Jeremiah 26: 2-3 is an great example: “This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you: do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done.”
Notice the words “perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way.”
Only after this comes the warning, “If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.”
The people had no shortage of warnings, but they refused to respond positively to a negative message. For those who see the God of the Old Testament as harsh we might ask, “How many times does God have to warn? How many times does he have to offer mercy before we realize how gracious and loving he really is?
Take a minute to compare God’s patience with our patience. Have you ever said to a child: “I told you once. I don’t want to have to tell you again! I warned you once. You had your chance. This is it.” How patient are you with the people around you? How does it compare with the patience of the God of the Old Testament?
The problem is not God’s patience or his love or his willingness to forgive. The issue is whether his people will listen to his warnings, do what they know is right, and keep their word to follow his law.
God sent Jeremiah to speak his words to the people he loved. He sent Jeremiah to warn his people of the consequences of disobedience and idolatry. Time and time again, God held out his arms in love to his people. He invited them to come to him.
How did the people respond? “But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! (Jeremiah 26:8)”
I don’t think you would label that response as positive. “Let’s quiet the messenger by killing him. We don’t want to listen.”
Do you see some parallels between this response and how we sometimes respond to people who point out areas of difficulty in our lives? Usually we are not into murder, but are there some people in your life you have pushed away, or from whom you have withdrawn? Maybe you have attacked in some way or other the very person who wanted to help you.
The world needs correction, right? You may even know some people you would like to confront (for their own good, of course). We want to say to them, “Listen, if you don’t make some changes in your life, here is what is going to happen to you.” No doubt our children have heard these words from our mouths more than once. If we are really courageous we may have attempted to correct our spouse or a close friend or a co-worker.
The world needs correction, my spouse needs correction, my children, or my parents, or my friends need correction. But what about you? What about me? Do I need correction? When someone tries to correct me, how do I respond?
After the people who wanted to murder Jeremiah spoke, wiser words were heard. Instead of attacking God’s messenger, the elders urged the people to listen to Jeremiah and evaluate their lives by what he was saying.
The elders did a history review. They pointed to the reign of Hezekiah. During Hezekiah’s reign Micah prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem. The people listened. “Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favour? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves! (Jeremiah 26:19)”
Based on history, the elders made this suggestion, “Listen to God; make the necessary changes and experience his forgiveness or ignore God and experience judgment.” The people refused to listen to the elders. Although Jeremiah was not killed, he was ignored, mocked, imprisoned and once left to starve to death. The people of Jerusalem refused to listen and finally experienced the devastation from which God had repeatedly tried to protect them.
You and I have choices when it comes to receiving correction. We can ignore what is said. We can rationalize our behaviour. We can attack those who try to help or withdraw from them. When we do, our decisions are not wise. On the other hand, we can choose to listen, evaluate, and change, reflecting wisdom and leading to growth and maturity.
The refusal to listen, the refusal to evaluate and to change prevents growth as a person and as a follower of Christ. The refusal to accept correction also carries the long-term consequences of disconnecting us from the people around us and from God. A person who will not receive correction will not change or experience God’s best in life.
The person who lives a lifestyle of listening, evaluating, changing will grow and become a maturing follower of Christ. A disciple of Christ is called to be a learner. To be a learner, we must be teachable and learn from correction.
What are some sources of correction? A key source is the bible. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 states that “All Scripture (notice the word all) is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”
Teaching from the Bible can come through sermons, small group discussions, and personal reading. Correction also comes through our spouse, children, and people within the church, friends, employees, employers, and doctors. Difficult or negative circumstances can also give us valuable information about corrections we need to make in our actions, attitudes and relationships. God’s desire is our maturity and growth. He wants each of us to model ourselves after Jesus. It is not something that happens without us being willing to listen, evaluate, and change.
How important is it for us to be willing to receive correction? It is the difference between life and death! In 1 John 1:8-10 we read, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
Who is the person who claims to be without sin? Sometimes it is you and I. It is you and I when we refuse to listen, refuse to allow God’s word to speak to our situation, refuse to allow others to challenge us. What is the result? “We make God out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1:10)”
God’s word to us is “I love you . . . but you have sinned. You need correction. Sin is so abhorrent to me that I sent my son Jesus to die in your place and take care of your sin problem. Peter puts it this way: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed, (1Peter 2:24).”
The cross reveals the extreme consequences of actions, attitudes, and words that we may dismiss as trivial. In that act, Jesus was separated from his Father and suffered physical and spiritual agony. This shows us that God is serious about our need for correction. He wants us to listen, to evaluate, and to make the changes which will make us more like Jesus. God is speaking to us. How well are you listening?
Take time to listen. Think through the scenario of Jesus on the cross. Say to yourself, “Jesus died for me.” Ask God to identify some issues in your life that he wants to address. Think of your behaviours, relationships, attitudes, or words you have spoken. What is God saying? Are you ready to seek forgiveness and, through the power of God’s Spirit living within you, make the changes He desires?
Prayer: God, work in the circumstances and people of my life to bring me the messages you want me to hear. Help me to listen. I want to take this opportunity to ask forgiveness, renew my commitment to follow Jesus and to thank you. Thank you, Father, for Jesus and what he did for me. Thank you for your forgiveness that frees me to live a life that pleases you. Be at work in me to make the changes you desire.