Stupid Smart

Prov 12:1 (NKJV)
1 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge,
But he who hates correction is stupid.

Prov 12:1 (NLT)
1To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.

When I first started work in the retail industry, I decided right off that I would not be a sales clerk for long. To me the sales clerks seemed to be the drones of the industry. I wanted a position, a title. I wanted be needed to be useful and not seemingly expendable. In my first job, even at sixteen, I managed to do this. I had wiggled my way into a position where there were only two of us. What I didn’t learn was that once achieved, you need to continue to learn to maintain your position. And because of this I was laid off. When I took my second job while I was in college, I vowed to learn from my mistakes I had made in my first job. I learned everything I could about the position as a supervisor I wanted. I did most of it on my own time, and I volunteered to help out whenever I could. When I was promoted, I was promoted to a level above the one I was hoping for. I was unstoppable and I acted like it. When my manager tried to reign me in, or to help me hone my skills, I brushed him off. I knew how to do my job better than he did. I was convinced there was nothing he could teach me or correct me on. I was book smart, he was people smart. He had that to teach me, but I refused.

I came across this verse and it really hit home with me. We all love to succeed, we love to achieve, we love knowledge when it helps us become better. Once we have achieved what we wanted and have worked for, we take it as ours as if it was due us; we forget that we are new to our positions and need to be honed to fit it and to administer it well. The people that are truly successful in life are those who accept that extra knowledge and correction; the ones that fail or grow stagnate are the ones that refuse to be corrected. How often do we do this with God and what He has given us? I know in my life I have done it way to often.

Father let me always be open to correction and to knowledge to help me pursue the things You want for my life.