Not our heart to change

Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. (Proverbs 9:7-9)

We might disapprove of many things we see or hear these days, making it almost hard to stay quiet, but does our 'disapproval' or 'condemnation' of those things fall upon deaf ears and wayward hearts intent on not changing their course? If so, we are probably rebuking one given over to making very foolish decisions based upon the wickedness they have embraced in their own hearts. It is almost impossible to correct the wicked - we can stand against wickedness, but it is impossible for us to change their hearts. That is a job for God alone!

A mocker is really a scoffer or scorner as used in this passage. One that makes light of things that are of a higher moral standing than what they pursue. They treat someone with high morals with contempt and scoff at their choices to live as they do. They don't see the value in the moral stand someone might take because it differs from what they believe or have chosen to make their lifestyle. They criticize what they don't really understand, all the while refusing to see any other view than their own.

With that understanding of a mocker, you might see how it can be a bigger than life challenge to actually change the way they see things. They just won't be convinced that their ways are wrong - at least not when we are the ones trying to do the convincing. They will need to have a 'face-to-face' with God himself in order to realize the error of their choices. Our response should be to pray for them, not to argue with them, or attempt to convince them of the error of their ways. We can 'unleash' the full force of heaven through prayer - a much more formidable force for the mocker to encounter, wouldn't you say? 

The wise will receive correction willingly. Although it may hurt to hear it, they will know it is true. They will step back, reconsider their choices, and will listen to what God has to say to them. The more we embrace the wisdom God gives, the better we will listen when he brings us that wisdom. Just sayin!