TWO WAYS TO WISDOM
Proverbs 21:11 and 24 NKJV
11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.
24 A proud and haughty man—"Scoffer" is his name;
He acts with arrogant pride.
I heard a pastor once say there were two ways to learn. One was by experience. The other was learning from someone else's experience. The challenge with learning from experience is that experience has no mercy, and the lessons can be hard. Our verses today share a similar truth.
Verse eleven talks about the scoffer. We don't use that word as much today. The Hebrew dictionary defines a scoffer as a scorner. This is someone who boasts, scorns, mocks or derides. Someone who derides is a person who treats or speaks with contempt and an open lack of respect. One of the key indicators of a relationship in trouble is the presence of contempt.
Verse twenty-four gives us the root cause of why someone is a scoffer. The scoffer is arrogant and haughty. The scoffer acts with arrogant pride. And there we have it. Where you see boasting, mocking, and lack of respect, you see pride. And where there is pride, there are problems.
Back to our verse eleven. When the scoffer, the arrogant, prideful one, is punished, the simple is made wise. The simple refers to one who is naive and lacking insight. There can be a correlation between the one who scorns and the simple. If someone is scorning out of ignorance, they can actually learn from the punishment. Punishment comes their way, and they become aware of their pride and change. The challenge here is that they are learning via punishment, which implies a hard lesson.
But when the wise are instructed, they receive knowledge. This is why I believe this proverb is contrasting the wise and the scoffer. The wise person does not have to experience hard times to learn. This is the person who can receive instruction. Someone who can receive instruction is someone who is not proud. If you have ever encountered the person who thinks they know more than anyone, they can be hard to teach. Their pride keeps them from receiving the instruction that can greatly benefit them.
APPLICATION
Putting these two verses together we can gain instruction because we are wise people. Right? We can hear God's Word and receive instruction and knowledge. We can listen to messages and receive because we are not prideful; we are wise. We can read devotionals ( pardon the unabashed plug ). The important thing here is to be aware of the pride that stops learning. And also, be aware of the people who may scorn or show no respect for God, His Kingdom, His ways and His Word. I always want to be someone who does not have to experience hard times to learn. I have heard people almost brag about how if they hadn't gone through a hard time, they would not have turned to God. I purpose to not to do that. No need for me to hit the wall before I learn; just give me instruction thank you and I'll be on my way.
PRAYER
Lord, help me root the pride out of my life that would keep me from learning. I have the greatest respect for You and Your words to me.