Better is Open Rebuke
The author of Proverbs 27:5 tells us “Better is open rebuke than hidden love.” This Proverb reminds me of Jesus’ words in John 14. In John 14, Jesus is comforting his disciples about the upcoming arrest, illegal trial, and crucifixion that will ultimately lead to his resurrection and the redemption of mankind. Jesus states in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” He goes on to tell them that the Spirit of Truth will come and assist them in understanding and helping others to understand his requirements for his followers (John 14:16-17). Many of Jesus’ commands concerning behavior would stay the same or similar to the ones the Jews had kept for centuries.
Our theme verse at Riverside for the 2023-2024 school year, Micah 6:8 says “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” The phrase “He has told you” is so important to our relationship with God. The Bible is the Story of God reaching out to his Creation and instructing them on the thoughts and behaviors that lead to human flourishing in this life. We know very little about the afterlife, and I think it is on purpose. God is much more concerned with how we live in this life than the one to come based on how much information in the Bible is about this life compared to the afterlife.
Micah is referencing the previous books of the Old Testament where God had instructed the Jews how they should behave or what we might call “Ethical Monotheism”. One of those books is Deuteronomy where God through Moses reminds the Israelites what makes them distinct from the Canaanites. These distinctions did not earn them the Promised Land but would help them maintain an ethical, moral, and free society. These distinctions are outlined in Deuteronomy 4:5-6, “See, I have imparted to you laws and rules, as the LORD my God has commanded me, for you to abide by in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. Observe them faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say, ‘Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.’” Dennis Prager says “Jewish achievements derive from those attributes which have rendered them distinct: chosenness, study of the Torah, and living by its laws.”
A theme in the Bible is God choosing the least likely of all to accomplish his will in the world. Over and over again God highlights this small group of people who he chose to do great things through so he alone would get the credit. He alone is worthy. This should sound familiar when thinking of your family, church and of course our school. Daily we see God’s handiwork in the hallways of Riverside Christian Academy and Riverside Church of Christ. Many of our students have gone on to do great things and just as important the small things with a focus on serving the one who gave them their talents, skills and abilities.
We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God and put an emphasis on it every day. From chapel to Bible class, we want our students to memorize and internalize the words of life. From the songs we sing on Friday to the memory verses, we want our students to have a good handle on the God-breathed Scriptures. We want them to know why they believe what they believe.
Then of course we want to give them all the evidence as to why they should live by those words so they will ultimately make the decision to commit their lives to Jesus Christ. It is not enough to know the commands but it also needs to be lived out. That starts with our faculty and staff’s conduct. We are not perfect and I’ve certainly made my fair share of mistakes but we have a perfect standard. It is a tremendous blessing to have co-workers who are living by the God given laws of the Bible. With great blessings come great challenges. We want our students to see genuine faith in us. A trust in God that even when we fail, He is not defeated. God has told us what is good and we strive to have his distinctness, even though it includes rebuke when we fall short. God’s love is worth it. So the Proverb writer is correct that “Open rebuke is better than love concealed.”
Travis