Getting Our Attention

(Proverbs 20:30 KJV)  The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.

I have a personality that wants to avoid conflict.  I desire peace but it is not always available.  One of the things I have had to learn is that there is a time to speak up and take risks.  That is the active side of learning.  The passive side also is a problem.  I don’t like to be corrected.  I find it very painful and not just because I don’t like being wrong.  I can intellectually accept the fact that I don’t know everything.  What gets me down is the insult involved.

The thing I need to learn is that the insulting part of the correction is often necessary to get me to listen.  If it wasn’t then self-help books would have made the world a perfect place.  I remember what is now an old joke about a farmer saying his mule was really smart.  He would then pick up a board and smack the mule up side the head.  When questioned he said, “That is just to get his attention.” 

So?  It may be a rough day.  If I learn to pay attention maybe tomorrow will go better.  Of course the best solution would be to pay attention to what the word says and the Holy Spirit reinforces, but I don’t have a great record on that.