Your Words Matter II

Friday, July 15, 2022

6 The words of a fool start fights;

    do him a favor and gag him.

7 Fools are undone by their big mouths;

    their souls are crushed by their words.

8 Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;

    do you really want junk like that in your belly?

9 Slack habits and sloppy work

    are as bad as vandalism.

10 God’s name is a place of protection—

    good people can run there and be safe.

-Proverbs 18:6-10 The Message

6 A fool’s lips walk into a fight,

    and his mouth invites a beating.

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

    and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

    they go down into the inner parts of the body.

9 Whoever is slack in his work

    is a brother to him who destroys.

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

    the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

-Proverbs 18:6-10 ESV

Verse 8 study: Who turns down gossip when it is good? It’s hard to do; it’s like trying to turn down your favorite food or dessert. Eating just one turns into one more, then more. Same with gossip. You can’t resist rumors the same way a dieter fights candy. Don’t open the box. If you go for gossip the first time, you can’t shake the second and third time, following one by one. It is a part of our sinful nature to have an appetite for gossip. Gossip is relished by the gossiper himself. He feeds on words that aren’t good.

Verse 9 study: Laziness destroys time and opportunity. The time wasted could have turned into something successful if you were active.

Verse 10 study: The Lord protects by strength and height. Safe implied here is “lifted out of reach.”