Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory. Proverbs 11:14

How do you make good decisions in life?  Even better said, "How do you make decisions that will not end in you falling on your face?  That is what is addressed in the proverb for today.  There is a way to be confident that your decisions will not come back to haunt you later.  Let's take a look at what God's wisdom has to teach us today about this.

This proverb is all about being willing to seek and take advice.  This does not mean that we cannot know what to do ourselves and do it, but it does warn against the person who thinks in all matters that what is in his own mind will suffice.  This man does not seek counsel at all.  When we read the passage it speaks of having "NO" guidance.  The problem here is that we have a decision maker with an excessive amount of pride in his own thinking.  The willingness to seek and accept advice is a plus - because godly counsel is a must if we are going to walk in God's ways.  We even need to be able to hear and consider advice that we don't want.  Some think that anyone they consider inferior to themselves is unable to offer counsel.  That is a sure way to fall.  It is when we have an abundance of godly counsellors in our life that we will have victory.  The word for victory is "tesuah" and it means to have deliverance, safety, or victory.  It speaks of a military context, of course, but goes beyond that one to also speak of deliverance from sin and from making foolish decisions that harm us later. 

When thinking about this verse two examples come to mind.  The first is that of Balaam.  He sought after and received God's counsel (even though he did it by divination).  But after receiving God's counsel - he decided after seeing the possibility of a huge payday from Balak, to ask God if He had any other ideas concerning cursing Israel.  When God allowed Balaam to go (but only speak what God says) Balaam took it as far more freedom to do what he wanted (which was to make a lot of money from Balak).  Since he would not take counsel from God - the Lord intended to kill him.  Were it not for the counsel of his donkey - he would have been killed that next day.  Balaam had what he wanted to do in his mind - and would not listen to God's counsel.  Fortunately for him the advice the donkey he had just beaten got through to him for a while.  Unfortunately for him - his donkey was not able to speak a second time to keep him from counselling Balak to send his women among the Israelites to get them to commit sexual immorality with the men - to get God to curse Israel.  In the end, Balaam's desire for money and power cost him his life - and eternity in hell. 

The second example is that of king Nebuhadnezzar from Babylon.  His pride and arrogance was leading him down a very destructive path.  He felt "he" was sovereign over his own life - and that all his power and authority had come from himself.  First God sought to counsel him by giving him a strange dream - then Daniel interpretted it.  Daniel let Nebuchadnezzar know that if he did not repent of his pride and arrogance, admitting that God alone was sovereign, he was about to experience life as a beast.  Nebby listened, but did not take the advice.  He fell from being king to being an ordinary beast of the field for 7 years.  He ended that time by lifting his eyes and finally taking counsel to admit that God alone was sovereign.  It took a while, but he learned that in the abundance of counsellors (God and Daniel) there is victory. 

Where are you?  Are you one who thinks that your own understanding is sufficient?  Do you shun the offer of advice and counsel of godly men and women?  If you are, I would encourage you to seriously consider today's proverb.  It warns of a fall that is coming your way.  It also gives you advice about having an abundance of godly counsellors to help you know wisdom - know victory - and know the favor and blessing of God.  A wise man would take this counsel.  A foolish man would seek no other guidance than that which his own mind produces - oh - and he will fall flat on his face eventually.

He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, But he who ignores reproof goes astray.   Proverbs 10:17

If we are wanting to be blessed in life - we are going to have to embrace two things.  These things are the ability to be taught or instructed, and the ability to have someone correct or reprove us. 

This proverb puts it right out there for us - the path of life is wide open for the one who heeds instruction.  This means we need to be teachable!  Note it is not just the ability to hear someone - but we learn to heed what they say.  The word instruction is important for us to grasp here.  The word means to be instructed and disciplined.  The primary instruction that it speaks of in Scripture is that of a father.  When we learn to be instructed and disciplined by our fathers - it carries over into all of life later.  There is a general ability to receive instruction in general.  The other major figure who instructs in this way is God.  Therefore - if we struggle being instructed by our fathers - it should not shock us when later in life we are unteachable - not only by others - but even by God Himself.  Remember this . . . how we deal with dear ole dad - is a precursor to how we will one day be able to deal with God or anyone else.  Rebel against dad - it is more likely that you will rebel against others and God. 

The second half of this proverb tells us that when we ignore reproof - we will go astray.  The word "ignores" is the Hebrew word "azab" which means to forsake, abandon, or leave something.  The idea is that of walking away - and not caring about someone.  The word is used of those who forsake their wives - of those who abandoned their cities in a time of battle - and of those who forsake God.  Reproof here speaks of someone giving us a rebuke, correction, or an argument that shows us where we have erred.  The erring here is when someone forsakes the warning of God and goes their own way.  They may listen - but they reject what is said - the reject the rebuke or correction.  The end though is that they reject what is said and continue in the way that they want.  We are warned that such choices will lead us away from God.  We will make mistakes when we live like this - with an unteachable and unrebukable spirit.

None of us are born as unquestionable genius' who do not need instruction or correction.  We all make mistakes and err in our thinking.  That is why it is a blessing to have those who love us enough to offer correction and godly training.  They become a source of protection and life to us.  But if we never learn to accept such teaching and correction - we will ensure that we are on a path that will fail in the end.  Therefore - listen!  But there is more to this than listening alone - there is the need to hear with understanding and with a heart that embraces change.  This, dear saints, is wisdom.

So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have taught you today, even you. Proverbs 22:19

The reason we need to heed the call to wisdom is because by living a life according to God's wisdom - we will be led to trust in the Lord in all that we do.  Seeing life from God's perspective will inevitably lead us to a point where we trust His worldview rather than any other one that is put before us.  This is what the father is seeking to teach his son.  It is what the wise man is seeking to teach those who lack wisdom.  They are trying to make it clear that God's ways are infinitely superior to those of man.  They are attempting to show the young and the old that there is a radical difference between the ways of the world and the ways of God. 

Trusting in God means having a confidence in Him.  It means standing firm in the principles we see taught in Scripture - even when many others are turning to worldly principles.  From what we've already seen in this section of verses - this is a far better way to live - one that is pleasant and good.  But ultimately to live this way we will also have to be able to speak this way - even at times defending the way that we live to those who think it is foolish and stupid.  This is why the father has taken the time to call his son to apply his heart to wisdom and knowledge.  It is why he is trying to get his son to think and to reason according to what God says in His Word.  It is why he is so adamant in getting his son to meditate and ponder the truth of God deep in his thoughts.

The man teaching either this son, or the unlearned one in God's wisdom - is teaching in a very concrete direction.  When he tells his son that he has "taught" him each day - the word he uses means not just to impart information.  He is teaching with a purpose.  "Yada" is the Hebrew word he uses - and it means to know something.  The knowledge though is not just information to pass a written test.  It is to know so as to perceive, disciern, and eventually experience something.  Thus this teaching is meant to bring his pupil to a point of experiencing God at work in his life.  One of the things that this type of teaching moves toward is that people would consider what is said.  This means they are doing far more than hearing and doing it.  They are considering what is said - it makes them think and reason.  They begin to perceive that God is at work in the world - and that He has specific wisdom for them which will teach them how to live in this world.  They begin to discern things around them.  They see that things are different - choices lead different directions - actions and attitudes lead to a way of living - a lifestyle.  They see that God wants to meet them in their everyday experiences - that He is interested in ALL that they do. 

God wants to move us from merely practicing a religion or holding religious views - to a life that considers God when they make decisions and live their lives.  He wants us to see ALL of life in His way - which we will learn is the way of Life itself.  He desires for us to see His way in the midst of all our choices - and to see His way as the very best way.  Oh that we would teach our sons - teach those around us such wisdom.  That we would call them to so much more than just a Sunday morning religion.  We need to call them to see and experience God in all of life - all that they do - all that comes their way.  This is the call to wisdom - in effect it is a call to know, love, and experience God in every day.  May we not only heed such a call - but also learn wisdom so that we may call others as well.

"I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!"   Proverbs 5:13

There are consequences for sexual sin in the lives of those who commit it.  These two verses in Proverbs chapter 5 relate to us what some of these consequences are for the immoral person.  What is fascinating is that these two things are not exactly on the what's what list for sexual immorality - and yet they are both problems that will come for those who practice this kind of lifestyle and choice in life.

It would be wise for us to briefly remember the context of these verses.  These are in the context of a father warning a son not to consort with prostitutes and with women who commit adultery.  The warnings are dire but are in no way hyperbole.  The things being said to this young man are true warnings and they contain true consequences for his actions.  This is why the one who commits adultery later laments that he did not listen to the voice of his teachers - nor pay attention of incline his ear to hear how they were seeking to instruct him.

There is very real ruin and disgrace that attends adultery.  Anyone who has watched a marriage and a family disintegrate under the weight of it knows this to be true.  Yet, even with all the examples that we have before us of these things, men and women still enter into relationships and commit adultery.  The siren call of pleasure drowns out the voice of teachers and instructors who have warned them of the rocky shores upon which they will wreck their lives and the lives of their families.  The only cry they will lift is unfortunately the one that comes from the battered survivors who cry in pain in the midst of their wreckage. 

That is what we have here before us - the cry of the destroyed.  I did not listen to my teachers!  I did not incline my ear to my instructors!  I am ruined due to my sin and my indiscretions!  The cries come from the rocks and from the ruins of lives that have ventured too far into those dangerous waters.  They have ignored the warning of the lighthouse of Scripture that tells them what will happen.  Rebellious and unteachable - their lesson will only be learned the hard way.  They will add their names to the long list of cautionary characters who faced ruin in opposing and thinking they can get past the Scriptures and God's warnings.  All this can seem like too much - but tomorrow we will see a ray of hope in what is said in verse 14.  So if you are on the verge of despair - there is hope - there is mercy - and there is grace!

A scoffer does not love one who reproves him, He will not go to the wise. Proverbs 15:12

Why is it that even when there is wise and godly counsel available, people do not take advantage of it?  A southern saying that I heard a while back may help us on this situation.  The reason a scoffer does not go to a wise man is the same reason a criminal does not hang out with the police. 

The proverb here tells us that a scoffer does not love someone who corrects or reproves him.  The scoffer is the one who mocks the things of God.  He makes fun of God's commandments and laws - and derides God Himself.  He does this because he does not believe and because in his infinite arrogance he prefers his limited little pea-brain's ability to think - rather than the mind of the infinite God as it is revealed in the pages of Scripture.  But he is not content to just reject the things of God - he scoffs at them - and seeks to get others to reject them as well.  He is the "anti-evangelist" if you will - or at least an evangelist for his own foolish thinking. 

What is fascinating about the scoffer is that we read that he doesn't love anyone who reproves him.  He is filled with pride and arrogance and therefore always thinks that he is right.  In his own mind he is irreproveable - beyond correction.  In this way it is only fitting that the one who thinks there is no God would consider his own wisdom and counsel very god-like.  He is a god unto himself - and resents it when someone would deign to question his omniscience. 

There is a consequence to this arrogant man's rejection of reproof.  As a result of it, he will not go to the wise.  He rejects them - and their much needed counsel.  This is a sad state of affairs because they could greatly use wise counsel.  Thus this arrogant scoffer will remain a law unto himself - an island of self-sought, self-taught, self-exalting wisdom - that is nothing more than foolishness and arrogance disguising itself as sage counsel. 

This is why the wise man needs to embrace and welcome correction and reproof.  Please do not misunderstand me - these things are seldom pleasant when they come.  In fact they can be very difficult to hear as they are spoken to us.  That is why I am grateful that Scripture tells me that discipline is not pleasant, but painful when it arrives.  But I am also counselled in James and in Hebrews that when received it will bear fruit - creating a harvest of righteousness, truth, wisdom, and understanding when I welcome it and learn from it.  Remember that the next time God in His love allows correction and rebuke to come into your life.  Don't be like the scoffing fool who does not love the ones who reprove him.  Be like the godly man who turns his ear to wise and godly rebuke.  It will help open our ear to wisdom itself, and will bless us by turning us from unwise, arrogant, and unprofitable ways.

Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life. Proverbs 4:13

If we want the life of God, we will have to embrace the ways in which God grants us life.  The way He does this initially is by grace through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  After God grants us His life this way - there are ways that we can experience and enjoy the life He provides in Jesus.

One of the ways that God continues to bless us with life is by us embracing His instruction in our lives.  The word for instruction here is the Hebrew word "musar" which means instruction and discipline.  Throughout proverbs this instruction and discipline comes primarily through the father and the mother in the family.  They come as a teacher to their children offering them this instruction via teaching and at times the rod.  Some might squirm a little when we speak of discipline, but the Scriptures are clear that God disciplines us because He loves us.  Hebrews 12:5-11 is an excellent passage that might help us here in seeing how we receive life through God's instrutive discipline.
 
Hebrews 12:5-11 says, "You have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."  It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.  All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. "

God's instructive discipline does many things.  First it reminds us that God loves us as His sons.  Second, we know that God disciplines us for our good - not because He is angry and disgusted with us.  Third we learn that God's discipline is done for good, that we mighy share His holiness.  Without discipline we would rebel against Him - but the discipline reminds us that we are being conformed to His image - and that involves being conformed to His holiness.  Lastly, His instructive discipline will yield peace in our lives.  As we are conformed to His image - as we are made righteous as He is righteous - there will be great blessing - as well as great peace added to our lives. 

God's instruction is not solely disciplinary - much of it is instructive as God is showing us the way to God - the things to say - the people to whom we need to minister.  But for us to get the full blessings of it we will have to follow what Solomon is telling us to do here.  We need to "take hold" of this instruction and "guard" it.  Taking hold of instruction means that with great strength we grab it.  The idea behind this word is to grab something with a powerful grip and not let go.  Elsewhere in Proverbs we are told to listen intently with a view toward obedience.  This is what we are being told in another way here.  We have such a tendency to partially hear someting - or to hear it with no intent to obey or make what we hear an integral part of our lives.  We need to latch on to whatever we are taught by the Holy Spirit - and to put a death griip on it - so it does not slip away from us. 

The proverb tells us to "guard" the instruction - the teaching - the discipline that we receive from God.  This is the word "natsar" that we have encountered so often in this book.  It means to watch, the guard, and to keep something.  It has the idea of setting a guard - a watchman - a sentry over our instruction from God.  We cannot come away from this admonition without seeing clearly God is warning us NOT to forget something - NOT to let it go - NOT to let it slip away from us as we think of other things later.  Our Lord knows how prone we are to be distracted and forget things.  If we want life, we will have to counteract this by forcefully taking hold of the things God teaches us.  Wisdom is taking what God teaches us very seriously - and taking His discipline the same way.  If we do this we will be fully embracing the life that He desires to pour into our lives. 

Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.  Proverbs 23:22

I have numerous times been asked the question of when a young person should stop obeying their parents.  Many think that just because our laws state that a person is an adult when they are 18 that they have the luxury of no longer obeying their parents.  I honestly see no such statement made by Scripture.  I believe a child no longer needs to obey his parents when he or she is married.  Once that has taken place the child no longer is beholden to do what his parents say.  But, one wise thing a person should always do is to listen to their parents - even when they are old.  That is because they are an excellent source of wisdom.

Our society does not do much to honor the aged among us.  Ours is a youth culture - and we value youth, beauty, and strength.  Nowadays we see the older among us as people who tend to get in our way as they talk about the past - or they offer decidedly outdated advice from days gone by.  Before I put that on anyone else - I will have to admit that I have been infected by those concepts over the years.  I have noticed that much of the good advice that I was given by my parents - and by those much older than me would have blessed me and kept me from problems if I had listened and heeded it. 

Here we see Solomon telling his son to listen to his father.  The natural flow of life should be for a father to offer godly advice to his son.  This should be easy for the son to receive because of the committment that he has seen over the years from his father.  The son knows that the father has nothing in mind except the very best for his son.  Having seen this over the course of his lifetime, the son has no great difficulty listening and even following his father's advice.  It is astounding how smart our parents get when we have children of our own and begin being responsible for the financial decisions and family decisions that map out for us our future.  In those hours we realize that we would joyfully listen to advice and counsel given from our father and mother. 

The second thing Solomon says to his son is for him not to despise his mother when she is old.  The word for despise here means to hold someone in contempt and scorn.  The one who acts this way is disrespectful to his mother.  I think the reason we are counselled that wisdom is NOT to scorn or hold you mother in contempt is because mothers will speak the truth to you.  They will always have that mother's instinct to protect and care for their children.  But as children get older, they can come to resent this in their mom.  Yet the wise son would never disrespect or dishonor his mom.  He would listen to her - even when she is mothering him a little.  The wise son realizes that this woman has loved him his entire life - and wants only the very best for him. 

We may not have to obey our parents once we are married - but a wise man never stops listening to what they have to say.  And if the parents are wise, they will choose their words and their disagreements wisely so that their children are able to hear all that they have to say.  This is the way that the relationship between parent and adult child can flourish - to the blessing of both parties.   

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

How can someone start on the road to becoming wise?  If we asked that question of 100 people, we might get some similarity in their answers, but if we did not know this verse at the beginning of Proverbs, we probably would not choose fearing God as one of those answers. 

The beginning of knowledge is the fear of the Lord.  We will not gain any kind of true knowledge of ultimate reality until we do.  There are a great number of truly smart men (in earthly terms) and yet many of them reject God - at least they reject the God of the Bible.  Smart they may be - but when it comes to eternal matters - they are dumb as stumps.  Their great learning in human endeavors has made them arrogant and unwilling to bend their knee before the One True God. 

The man who thinks he knows something - most likely does not yet know as he should.  Human learning manifests itself in pride.  Paul told us under the inspiriation of the Holy Spirit, "Knowledge puffs up . . . "  That is something that is dangerous in the most deadly way.  When we think we truly know something - we don't yet know anything.  For all their supposed knowledge, these scholars are facing a horrific future.  They will continue in this age as sage, wise men - only to learn that it is the fool who says there is no God.  They will be praised as men of great insight - only to find that all their genius has done nothing to save them from the wrath of God.  Never have they trembled before the majesty and glory of God.  Never have they seen the universe rightly - as His creation and as a testiment to His vastness and infinite nature.  Never have they considered that if we are moral beings, we must have been created by a moral Being - before Whom we will have to stand and to Whom we will have to give an account.

The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge becuase as creator, all things have their origin in Him.  Without a healthy respect and fear of God, we will ultimately give ourselves over to our own foolish pride - and lift ourselves to an unhealthy level in our own thinking.  That can end only in disaster at the throne of God's judgment.  God is in heaven, we are on earth - therefore we should tremble in His presence. 

To fear God means that we recognize Him as supreme and absolute.  If God is a mere concept - a thought - He is nothing more than a mere jump between synapses in our brain.  But if He is real - then He is the most powerful, most wise, glorious being that ever has and ever will be.  His power and glory are unexplainable - for they are incomprehensible.  As such, we tremble before Him for He is ultimately in power and will remain so for all eternity.  Until we know and grasp this - we are mere brutish fools walking upon the earth. 

Part of our problem with this word knowledge is that we've divorced it from the biblical context.  We have come to view knowledge as the mere storing of facts as man sees them.  This is not what God refers to when he says that the fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge.  The word used here is "daath" and it means not just a storing of facts, but an ability to know to where we can practice discernment, insight, and an experiential knowledge and experience of something - or in this case, Someone.  Just knowing a bunch of facts and being able to manipulate them on earth so that it impresses other humans - is something akin to being able to juggle a set of balls well.  Nice trick - but what exactly is it worth in the end?  The knowledge we speak of in Proverbs 1 is that of knowing God - and being able to see things like He does so that we have a discernment that will aid us for eternity.  That only comes when we see God accurately - and then in the light of His glory - see the world accurately for the first time in our lives.  Until that moment arrives in a man's heart - he is and will always be a fool. 

We are told on the back-end of this proverb that fools despise wisdom and instruction.  Here is the value of knowledge - it makes us wiser and teachable.  The fool who rejects God despises His wisdom.  Since God is all-knowing and all-encompassing, He is the ultimate source of knowledge.  If one wants to get it right - go to Him.  If one is unwilling to go to Him (as the wicked admit they are) that one is actually despising wisdom and instruction.  He only wants to exalt his own thinking and the activity of his own mind.  Since He is utterly limited compared to an infinite God - well - he is stupid.  He hates seeing the full picture in favor of his utterly parochial view.  He despises discerning the best since the only thing he considers best is his own view.  He is unwilling to be instructed by the One will absolute knowledge - thus he rejects the greatest Teacher anyone can imagine.  In every way - his lack of respect, honor, and fear toward God is evidenced by his unwillingness to sit at God's feet and learn from Him. 

So how do we grow in knowledge and wisdom?  It is by first acknowledging that God is ultimate in knowledge, in wisdom, in everything!  Then it is by humbling ourselves and learning to tremble in the presence of the One Who is Lord and God.  Then and only then can our minds and hearts be opened to receive the wisdom, the instruction, and the knowledge of God.

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you. Proverbs 9:8

Wisdom manifests itself in how we receive reproof.  Here we see two people who experience reproof or correction.  How they respond to that reproof has everything to do with whether they are a fool or whether they are wise.

First we see a person who is called a scoffer.  The word "scoffer" means one who boasts, scorns, mocks, or derides another.  The reason that the scoffer does this is to express utter contempt of the person or comment that has been made to him.  The context for the scoffers utter contempt is that of having someone reprove him.  When he faces correction he reacts with complete disdain for the one who has offered the correction.  To emphasize his disgust for the person who has tried to offer correction or constructive criticism, we read that this scoffer will hate them. 

There are those who bristle immediately to any correction or reproof offered to them.  This indicates that they are indeed a fool.  To say that one does not need any correction is to say that one is perfect.  It is indeed a sad thing to watch someone who thinks in their own mind that they are the manifestation of perfection itself.  They are above criticism - because everything they do and everything they say is without flaw.  First of all this is the highest form of arrogance and pride.  We all make mistakes and have flaws.  When someone offers us correction - whether constructive or not - it is an opportunity for us to embrace humility and see ourselves improve.  Second, when we reject correction, we are saying that we ourselves are the judge of what is right and wrong.  The fool rejects any evaluation of himself - and chooses his own horrifically flawed and prejudiced view of himself as truth.  That is the only way he or she can be deceived enough to think that they are above criticism.  Finally, the fool who rejects correction is actually rejecting love.  It is love that often motivates people to correct us.  That is the motivation of loving parents and others who only desire us to succeed and prosper.  It is the motivation of God who desires us to be a partaker of His righteousness.  But the fool who rejects all this - rejects the very ones who love him the most. 

The wise man loves the one who reproves him.  He understands that someone who is reproving him is not against him, but for him.  This word reprove means to argue and convince, and was used to speak of those who would "prove" something.  We need to see this word in this way because "proving" something was done by submitting it to the heat of a crucible - for the purpose of refining it.  This was done only for one of two reasons.  You proved something either to make it more valuable - or to make it stronger.  The scoffer sees reproof as an attack - or as inaccurate information being used to hurt him.  The wise man sees the reproof as something positive.  He is being refined so that impurities are removed from his life.  He is being refined so that weaknesses are taken out.  He is being refined to be even more valuable in the Lord's work.  He is being refined to be more valuable to God's kingdom and people.  The reproof is making him stronger - better - richer.  As he receives the reproof this way - the correction does its work - and he is blessed as a result.

It is not fun or pleasant to be reproved or corrected.  If it was - everyone would want it all the time in their lives.  The fool looks at reproof only through eyes that see the negative.  He is too focused on his own comfort and his own ego being protected at all costs.  The wise man looks beyond the possible unpleasantness of the moment.  He sees the value of refining and the blessing of having potentially harmful things removed from this character.  He knows the benefit of this experience will far outweigh its problems and difficulties.  If we want to be wise, we too will begin to love those who reprove us and help us to become more Christlike - and of greater use to our Master.