READ: Hebrews 12:5-15
Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.
Zephaniah 3:1-2
You could decide to view correction and rebuke as a special line of relationship, which you have with God. Correction will open up a new dimension of your relationship with the authority figure in your life. Rebukes and correction are the stamp of ownership and the stamp of the love of a father.
You will learn how love is mature and not just full of praises and deception. One man of God said the people who did him most good in his life were the people who told him what was wrong with him. A good response to being rebuked is to think or believe that someone is loving you. Unfortunately, when people are corrected, they think they are being hated, rejected and disliked.
People who don’t receive correction well can become like devils. They become one of the worst kinds of Christians ever. The Bible is full of warnings about how important it is to receive correction and rebukes.
For your own sake, you must never allow unforgiveness and bitterness to grow in you because it may develop into hatred, especially toward those who have ministered to you and done many good things for you.
Jesus asked a question that revealed that hatred is a high-level, spiritual thing that has no logical basis. Jesus asked why people hated Him so much and wanted to kill Him (John 10:32).
Hatred does not make sense! It is an intense dislike for a person and an equally intense desire to destroy someone. Hatred is a desire for cruelty to be inflicted on someone. Hatred is satan personified! Perhaps hatred is borne out of a desire to revenge on a person for daring to correct or rebuke you.