How do you respond to reproof?

"Reproof" and "reprove" are not words that we use a lot. But they are things that should happen between disciples of Jesus who love each other. To reprove someone is to scold or correct them, to rebuke them. While most of us would rather be on the giving, rather than the receiving, end of reproof, the Bible tells us that the way we respond to reproof says a lot about what kind of a person we are.

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you.

Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

- Proverbs 9:8

When someone reproves you, how do you respond? Do you get angry? Do you hate them for it? If so, it shows that you are a scoffer, rather than a wise person. Do you love a person for reproving you? If so, it shows that you are a wise person. May God grant us the wisdom - and the humility - to love those who love us through their very important, reproving work.