I was in my kitchen, washing dishes and sweeping the floor. Three of my kids were helping me out. I was wearing a shirt I usually wear when I clean the house. I am sure you all have this kind of shirt. An old and rugged kind of shirt!

I was paying attention to nothing but to my work. Then my youngest son, Biruk, said, “So, Mom, you’re the one who’s hosting the modesty competition on Facebook, right?”

I was bending down to clean the floor. When I heard his question, I looked up and said inquisitively, “Yeeees!”

I mean you can tell from his face expression and the tone of his voice that he wanted to make a point. Even if he wanted to get his point across without him spelling it all out, I stared at him waiting for him to explain it. So, he said, “Well, I don’t think that shirt is a modest one!”

Trying to pull my shirt back, I said, “Hey, I’m cleaning here. This shirt is just a large size and when I bend down, it pulls itself down, – – -”

He was gone, not interested to hear my explanation!

Don’t you get mad when you get cornered like that and those who cornered you are absolutely right while you are absolutely wrong?

Well, I said goodbye to that shirt and continued my cleaning. But the whole scene stayed with me for the whole day. I kept on saying to myself, “It is always healthy to be cornered and confronted by people who love me because their agenda is nothing but love and good future for me.” Yes, it is healthy.

What is not healthy is then this: Not having people who confront me when I choose to be a hypocrite and lead a double standard life. If I always surround myself with people who clap for me ALL THE TIME AND EVERY TIME, I’m heading to destruction.

In the Book of Proverbs, we read about one young man. This young man stayed away from people who spoke truth in his heart. Then one thing led to the other, he chose to go to the city to visit a prostitute (in today’s term, he chose to watch porn in the safety of his bedroom). Then before he knew it, he got hooked. Even if his soul and spirit didn’t approve what he was doing, he kept coming back to “the dry well” which couldn’t quench his sexual thirst and hunger. He tried to stop but he couldn’t.

Then one day he woke up and began to think how he ended up there. Listen what he said,

“How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!
I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
And I was soon in serious trouble
in the assembly of God’s people.” Proverbs 5:12-14 (read Proverbs 5, 6, 7 & 9)

He realized that his fall began after he first rejected the rebuke, correction, discipline and instruction of others and God.

Let me ask you, as I often ask myself these questions: “Do you have people who rebuke you? Do you have people to whom you can go and ask advice from to see if you are in the right track? Do you have people who are not afraid to tell you the truth because they love you so much? Do you have people to whom you give a right to rebuke you when you miss the mark? Do you have people in your life who confront you when you try “to eat with two forks”?”

Being the kings and lords of our life is a short-cut to destruction.

The Bible says: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates correction is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1

Phew! This is harsh but True!

Of course it is not fun to be rebuked and disciplined by God and people who love us (Hebrews 12:11). However we always need to remember that their rebuke and disciple will, in the long run, profit us integrity and authenticity which are the most important virtues of Christianity. ///