08/12/2020
9:8 Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke the wise and he will love you. 8 不要责备亵慢人，恐怕他恨你；要责备智慧人，他必爱你。 9:9 Give to a wise one and he will become more wise; teach a righteous one and he will increase learning. 9 教导智慧人，他就越发有智慧；指示义人，他就增长学问。
In contrast to the scoffer, the wise person accepts rebuke. Throughout Proverbs, the wise person exhibits wisdom by humbly looking to increase in wisdom.
When we are criticized. there is no point in replying to those who are merely mocking us. If we do, they will hate us even more. But it is worth replying to the ‘wise’.
Our response to criticism should never be to ‘insult’, ‘abuse’ or ‘hate’. Rather, we must learn from it in order to become ‘wiser’ and to ‘add to our learning’. Indeed, our response to a rebuke should be increased ‘love’.
This is far from easy – my natural reaction to criticism is often to be tempted to lash out verbally or try and justify myself. Yet the wise path is to seek to learn from the rebuke or instruction, however difficult that may be.
08/16/2020
9:17 “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread of secrecy is pleasant.” 9:17 “偷来的水是甜的，暗吃的饼是好的。” 9:18 But he does not know that the dead are there, in the depths of Sheol are her guests. 9:18 人却不知有阴魂在她那里，她的客在阴间的深处。
The tragedy of mankind is that illusion often seems more plausible than truth, and folly often sounds more pleasing to the ear than wisdom; the lies are all well-founded, but the truth may not be explainable in layman’s terms. It is not easy to lead a life of integrity in relationships. Temptations abound and the lure is strong!
08/28/2020
10:25 With the passing of the tempest, there is no wickedness, but the righteous have a foundation forever. 10:25 暴风一过，恶人归于无有；义人的根基却是永久。
Lord, I pray for wisdom today and that you would put a guard over my lips so that my words may be used to feed and guide others.