No Explanation Needed

“A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.” (Pr 29:19 AV)

The understanding here is simple.  Servants are trained to obey without reservation or question.  The ‘correcting’ here is not a harsh correction.  This a servant can respond to.  The correction which is spoken of here is a correction based on reasoning.  It is not that he cannot understand the principles involved.  He can.  He is trained to respond by immediate obedience.  There are several ways in which we can apply this.  We can apply it as a representation of our relationship with the LORD.  We should obey without the need for an explanation.  This would go with any authority figure to which we are in submission.  A teacher, an employer, a parent, and even the government.  It should be our general attitude of compliance without the need for an explanation.  Yes, that is a bit oversimplified.  I understand that.  I am not implying we should submit to every ordinance of man regardless of the unbiblical nature of it.  However, if there is no biblical reason to which we can object against the ordinance, then we should comply regardless of whether we can understand the reasoning behind it.  However, this proverb is written from a king this his son.  It is written with the authority figure as the intended subject.  Solomon is sharing with Rehoboam the understanding that if he tries to explain his demands to a servant, he is wasting his time because the servant will not engage in reasoning and debate.  He is not wired that way. 

The LORD gave me the opportunity to serve Him in the southeastern part of the United States.  This opportunity I am eternally grateful for.  The LORD gave me close relationships there which I treasure to this day.  I learned to play a bit of gospel bluegrass along the way.  I learned what really good cooking tasted like.  I learned or at least tried to learn, the art of tactful communication.  I learned the priceless lesson of valuing one’s neighbors and the skill of hospitality.  I learned a great number of invaluable lessons in my nine years there.  There is one uniquely southern thing that stood out at me.  That is, the respect the younger generation has for the elder generation.  One of those practices was the use of ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ while responding to authority.  Sassing back was severely dealt with.  It was a joy to see young children comply with the wishes of authority with a simple ‘yes, sir’ or ‘yes, ma’am’.  However, as a pastor, this made it difficult to minister to young people because they were taught to never verbally or with their actions, disagree with authority.  It was difficult to reason with them as prove to them the ways of God were better ways.  Doctrine was something one could discuss.  Practical application or behavior was something entirely different.  I had to make an adjustment while ministering to children.

This is a particularly hard skill for this writer to practice.  As a pastor/teacher, you want those who follow to understand the principles behind the rules or expectations so as to gain the heart as well as the will.  As a husband, I want the heart of my children and wife.  Not just their compliance.  This means I tend to explain myself so obedience is something to which we mutually agree.  Part of this temptation is wanting affirmation.  We do not want those who follow to resent us for requiring compliance to our wishes.  This is a fatal flaw if we allow this desire to dictate our leadership.  Besides, people will gravitate towards strong leadership even if they disagree with it more so than weak leadership that seems to desire to gain approval before action is taken.  The point is this: to be a leader, I and others must be comfortable with the reality that some of our relationships cannot be much deeper than instruction and compliance.  Or at the very least, there are times when our relationship cannot be any deeper than instruction and compliance.  As much as we want to reason with, and gain the heart of, those who are told to follow because they are told to follow, the leader may not have the opportunity to gain the heart.  This makes leadership an awfully lonely position sometimes.  One that only a leader can truly understand.