Humility
Comes Before Honor
An
unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all
sound judgment starts quarrels.
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in
airing their own opinions.
When wickedness comes, so does contempt, and with shame
comes reproach.
The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the
fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.
It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so
deprive the innocent of justice.
The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths
invite a beating.
The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are
a snare to their very lives.
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to
the inmost parts.
One who is slack in his work is brother to one
who destroys.
The name of the Lord
is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they
imagine it a wall too high to scale.
Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility
comes before honor.
To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.
The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed
spirit who can bear?
The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for
the ears of the wise seek it out.
Proverbs 18: 1-15
We learn of
the “heart of the discerning,” the “fountain of wisdom,” and on the downside
the folly of answering before we listen.
The Bible
is full of lessons in speech, and the importance of learning how to use it
wisely.
We can
encourage people with our speech and we can tear them down. Be careful.
Our words have the power to build up or tear down.
Our Daily Bread –