At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)
“Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: And he that hateth reproof shall die” (Proverbs 15:10).
When both halves of this proverb are placed together, the result is a rudimentary argument. The first premise is that correction is a grief to the one who forsakes the way. The second premise is that a person who hates reproof—which is synonymous with correction being a grief—is a person who is going to die.
We can then produce the conclusion on our own. When correction is grievous, that man shall die.
The person who forsakes the way did so for a reason, and that reason, boiled down, amounted to that’s what he wanted. It might have been gold, or glory, or girls, but there was something that was off the straight and narrow path, and it was something that he wanted. Because he wanted it, he departed from the way. When someone corrects a man in such a moment, what he is doing is crossing that man’s desires. And who likes being crossed?
The same is true with reproof. It is easy to hate the feeling that happens when someone else thinks he is better than you, and comes to you with a reproof. But the end thereof is death.
There are different ways to be inhospitable to correction or reproof. One is to erupt at the person who dared confront you. This is the method of making a scene. Another technique is to go cold on them . . . cut them off, having nothing to do with them. It is the opposite of making a scene. The temperature of the relationship approaches what you might find in a produce cooler. But a real mastery in this sin is to exude an attitude of unapproachability on any topic that is likely to be touchy. Such a person gives off the vibe of a granite wall, but can also honestly say that “no, nobody ever talked to me about that.”
