“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” – Proverbs 19:20
If you want to live a life worthy of the calling of God, you are going to have to come to terms with the fact that you are not perfect. At times, no matter how hard you try, you WILL mess up. You will fail.
No one, outside of Jesus Christ, that has ever stepped foot on this earth has done so without sinning. We are imperfect human beings, incapable of being perfect. You can try as hard as you want to make all of the right choices, but at times, you will fail.
The question is not if you will always get it right or not (you won’t). The question is, how will you respond when you get it wrong? More specifically, how will you respond when others correct you after getting it wrong?
See, sometimes, we don’t even realize when we have made the wrong choice. Sure, sometimes it’s obvious. But other times, we might be making small choices that will lead to big consequences down the road. And while we might not see it in the moment, someone else close to us will.
When they try to correct you, how do you respond? Proverbs 19:20 directs us in how we should respond to this type of situation. It says, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”
God doesn’t tell you to always get it right. He knows you are incapable. What He does tell you is to listen and accept instruction when you get it wrong because it can help you out down the road.
None of us like to hear when we are wrong. But it is important that we have the humility and grace to accept when we have done wrong and improve upon our poor choices. Don’t let one bad decision become two.
When you make a mistake, own it. When others critique you, listen. That is how you will gain wisdom so that you can continue to make the right choices in the future!