Pondering Proverbs – Discipline (14)

 

Continuing with Proverbs 15:31 – 33…

 

“He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding.” Proverbs 15:32

 

The LXX renders “despises himself” as “hates his soul,” and then “acquires understanding” as “loves his soul.” The NASB has a marginal reading of “heart” for “understanding.”

 

Now of course “self” and “himself” are a reasonable translations for “soul” for the soul is the self – yes, yes, our “innards” are complex and I think precise definitions rightly allude us; I write “rightly” because only God knows who we really how and how He really made us. But I do think there are contexts in which “soul” packs a punch that “self” or “life” lack – for example, Mark 8:35 (NASB), “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

 

I much prefer, “For whoever wishes to save his soul will lose it…”

(Note in the NASB that in Mark 8:36 & 37 that the translators use “soul” and not “life” – why the inconsistency? If this is to align with sensitivity to English readers and our dislike of repetition – is that really justification for mitigating the repetition that Jesus used?

 

Having written the above, I see that I must confess that I vary my own quotation of Mark 8:35 – 37 depending on my audience…perhaps next time I quote it in conversation or teaching I will unpack the interplay of “soul” and “life”.)

 

Regarding Proverbs 15:32, my sense is that there is a lot going on with our inner selves in this verse – we are growing healthy and mature if we pursue and accept discipline, and we are killing ourselves if we don’t. Keil & Delitzsch try to capture this with their observation:

 

“The despising of the soul is then the neglecting, endangering, exposing of the life; in a word, it is suicide.”

 

Do we think of the rejection of discipline as suicide? Do we see that we are killing ourselves by not seeking discipline and learning, and that we are also killing ourselves when we reject instruction and disciple?

 

I also think there is something in the NASB marginal reading of “heart” in that the person who listens to reproof will find himself, his soul, his heart, growing and deepening in a gravitas rooted in God and His Word – he (or she) will grow into a person of substance.

 

We live in a world so stupid that many of us actually think that “perception is reality.” Companies and organizations and lives are built on this foolishness. Some perception is based on the fleeting and temporal, and other perception is enduring with its roots in eternity. The early morning mist is reality, but when I see it I know that it will soon vanish. In the perspective of eternity perception that is fashioned on lies and short-term thinking and self-gratification has a shorter life span than the morning mist and dew.

 

We seldom value substance in people, we are dazzled by surface display, by outside appearance; we hide our hearts from one another – we extol personality and not character. We are foolish when we do this – this is self-hatred – it is the hatred of our collective souls…and we seem hellbent on our own destruction.

 

What is particularly tragic is that we are offering our children, from infancy, on these altars of destruction; we say we love our children, but we will not teach them character, we will not teach them discipline, we will not teach them to deny themselves…but we will teach them to hate their own souls by teaching them to despise reproof, discipline, and instruction. Has there ever been a society as crazed as we are? Has there ever been such collective suicide?

 

I will never read Proverbs 15:32 quite the same.

 

How is God speaking to you through this verse?