Bishop Griswold's Meekness: The Strength of Receiving Reproof

Proverbs 13:18 declares that "he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured." One of the weakest traits in any person is unwillingness to accept honest criticism and correction. From the foolish child who refuses parental authority to the foolish man who resists rebuke, pride precedes the fall. Honest criticism, though bitter as medicine, strengthens us when swallowed with courage.

Bishop Griswold exemplified this principle through remarkable meekness. When a zealous minister visited him with harsh denunciation of inconsistencies in his conduct, the bishop replied calmly: "My dear friend, I do not wonder that they who witness the inconsistencies in my daily conduct should think that I have no religion. I often fear this myself, and I feel very grateful to you for giving me this warning."

This unaffected sincerity transformed the encounter entirely. The visitor, expecting defensiveness, instead witnessed Christlike humility. He immediately begged the bishop's pardon and thereafter regarded him as one of the most exemplary Christians he had known.

He is doubly the fool who not only flings himself into a pit but resents the friendly hand extended to help him out. The man who receives reproof regardeth it—he honors it, integrates it, and grows. Such métanoia (change of mind) leads to genuine honour, for Yahweh exalts the humble who receive His correction through others.