1 Samuel 13:13 (NKJV)
“And Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.’”

Rebuke is never a pleasant experience, but it is such a critical part of any nurturing process. Without correction, error will never go unchecked, and there will not be growth and proper human development. Rebuke is painful and yet so very needful.

Over dinner last night, an American friend told me something so profound, and I want to paraphrase his summary here. He said, “The Church in West Africa has got something right. You are able to give and take correction from others easier than people from many other cultures, especially us from the West.”

There are at least four types of rebukes, and each one is very important. There’s the rebuke from elders to younger folks, there’s peer rebuke, there’s community rebuke, and there’s the rebuke from the Lord. We must be open to receiving all these types of rebukes.

In some cultures, rebuke is not often practiced. Because of its rarity, it’s not welcomed when someone tries to do it. Elders do not correct younger ones, and peer rebuke also does not exist. When physical rebuke does not happen in a society, spiritual rebuke is also not possible.

Growth in truth and sanctification cannot happen without rebuke. We all need to be corrected from time to time, and we must be open to this. As mentioned earlier, rebuke is usually painful because our egos are affected by it, but it’s a tool God uses to prune and shape us.

Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord.” That’s a hard word to say to someone, but Samuel was fulfilling his God-given mandate. He needed to speak God’s word, irrespective of how hard it sounded.

Don’t hold back from correcting those that God asks you to correct. Don’t do it flippantly and carelessly, but with great gentleness and sensitivity. Don’t correct with any other agenda except love and the benefit of the other.

Only correct when you are sure of what you are doing. And may we all, as pilgrims, be open to correction as well.