Proverbs 15:10

Proverbs 15:10
"Severe punishment is in store for the man who goes astray;
he who hates reproof will die."

I was reading this verse awhile back and, as often happens with scripture, I suddenly saw a verse I had read so many times in a completely different light. I had always thought it a tad redundant to point out both punishment and death for sin. 'yes' I thought to myself, 'the wages of sin is death'.

But that is not really what this verse says. It starts with the standard 'sins are punished' terminology, but then the second part of the verse is not talking punishment for our sins in general anymore. It is speaking to a very specific sin.

"He who hates reproof will die" speaks to the unrepentant sinner. Jesus promises us that death has no hold on us now. But of course that promise is contingent on our behavior. Not that we are expected to never sin, but we are expected to repent and keep turning away from sin and back to God.

I have always viewed guilt as a gift from God because it keeps me humble. A virtue that is not natural to my personality. Left to my own devises I would rest content in the rightness of all my actions. It is God's reproof of my actions that allows me to hear my conscience, see the sin, acknowledge that I was wrong, and turn to God in sorrow asking for forgiveness. I rejoice in confession!

I suspect I am in the minority. So many see it as a necessary torture to keep from going to hell instead of an apology that keeps my relationship with God healthy. It comes down to motivation. Do we go to confession in order to avoid the negative consequences of our sin or because we wish to repair the damage that sin has caused in our relationship with Christ?

This attitude toward apologies is echoed all around us in our human relationships. How many of us know those who are quick to acknowledge fault and seek forgiveness? How many of us know those who insist apologies are never needed? How many of us know those who offer an apology only when discovered and then only to deflect the well earned anger and hurt of the offended party?

Those in the first category are those we count among our most cherished friends. They make us feel special to them, and more importantly, the quick and sincere apology is a balm on the inevitable hurts inflicted on all relationships between two fallen creatures.

When we interact with those in the last category, who only offer an apology to avoid some consequence, we may limp along in the relationship, but it is never quite as joy-filled as it could be. We are never as eager to share our joys and sorrows with them as we would with the first group. The relationship survives but at a minimum.

Do we ever remain in relationship with the second category of people? Can you have a relationship with someone who would hurt you and never acknowledge your pain? Never acknowledge what they did was hurtful to you? Should you remain in a relationship with someone who is willing to hurt you and let you continue hurting rather than say 'I'm sorry'?

When we think about our relationship with God do we consider His side? What kind of relationship are we creating with Him? I want to be a person in the first category. When God reprimands me because of my actions I want to be quick to say "I am so sorry, I didn't know I had hurt you so much, I will honestly try never to do that again, but please understand it may be hard and I may have to keep apologizing for the same thing for awhile".

I hope never to be in the second category and refuse God's reprimand. Sin damages my relationship with God. Unrepentant sin destroys our relationship with God. God is life and without Him there is only death.