Cancer researcher Dr. Robert Good was a hard-driving individual with an enormous faculty for new ideas. According to an article I read about him, he had the ability to make use of any information he came across.

I was most impressed, however, with a statement that credited him with a willingness to recognize any error in his theories and abandon them faster than anyone else in medical research. An associate said, “Dr. Good never gets married to his hypotheses, so he doesn’t go through the pangs of divorce when one is proven wrong.”

Proverbs 9 puts a high premium on such a willingness to see one’s error and admit it. It describes a wise man as one who wants to learn from his mistakes. When challenged, he resists the urge to get his back up like a threatened tomcat. Instead, correction becomes a faithful friend and a necessary means to improvement (v.9). On the other hand, when a “scoffer” is rebuked, he responds with anger and hate (v.8). Because of his overinflated ego, he won’t listen when told he has erred.

We need to follow the path of wisdom by giving heed to words of reproof. To be truly wise, we must remember that at times we too have played the fool.  — Mart De Haan