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Reflection: One warning sign that an appetite is gaining authority is that correction starts feeling intolerable. You may notice yourself becoming defensive when someone questions a relationship, habit, purchase, attitude, or pattern you want to protect. That discomfort can be revealing. Peter describes people who became bold, willful, and dismissive of authority because desire had trained them to trust themselves. A growing Christian should become more teachable, not less. That does not mean every criticism is correct, but it does mean you can receive correction without immediately treating it as an attack. God often uses Scripture, friends, pastors, spouses, and uncomfortable circumstances to expose what you cannot see clearly on your own. Before you defend yourself today, pause. Ask whether the resistance you feel is protecting wisdom or protecting an appetite. Humility leaves room for God to interrupt your direction before the path takes you somewhere you never intended to go.

Application Question: Where have you been unusually defensive lately, and what might God be inviting you to examine instead of immediately protect?