26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
so honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
a curse that is causeless does not alight.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the back of fools.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless,
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling
is one who gives honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Like an archer who wounds everyone
is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
There is a lion in the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so does a sluggard on his bed.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who can answer sensibly.
17 Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own
is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I am only joking!”
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
23 Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24 Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips
and harbors deceit in his heart;
25 when he speaks graciously, believe him not,
for there are seven abominations in his heart;
26 though his hatred be covered with deception,
his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.
28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
(ESV)
Acts 3
Acts 2
Acts 1
Luke 24
Luke 23
Luke 22
Luke 21
Luke 20
Luke 19
Luke 18
20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.
Everyone makes mistakes, but there is no sense in spreading rumors or a spreading the “report” of a so called “interesting” subject. This is called gossip. People like talking about others behind their back. They talk about what he/she did. This gossip makes things far more worse that they ought to be! Gossip does nothing good. You exchange meaningless information on a “juicy” subject about someone. Gossip seperates friends, causes tension, and causes fighting (quarrels). When you add wood to the fire it gets bigger. The more wood you add the bigger the fire gets! It is the exact same way with gossiping! The more of it you do, the more problems you are causing.
So next time you want to talk about a “juicy” subject, talk about something that is wholesome and builds people up, not tear them down.
11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
This verse jumped out to me because I have a dog who loves to eat his vomit. It is one of the nastiest things that you can witness, that is for sure! God says that when we are foolish and fall into the same sin again and again it is like a dog eating his vomit. Just as it is disgsting for me to watch my dog do this, imagine how God is disgusted when we sin again and again, despite His warnings against that. We must identify sin patterns in our lives and be sure that we are fighting those sins with Scripture, prayer, and accountability. If we continue to cave in to our sin then we are as foolish as dogs who eat their throw up.
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Its easy to see why. When we compare our knowledge to the all knowing One even our smartest thoughts look like stupidity. We need to acknowledge this and assert our dependence on God. When we live with humility God is more likely to exhalt us. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (1Peter 5:6)
27 If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
Sometimes we seem to think that the things we say or do have no impact on others, perhaps because we think they are not important. Take gossip, for example – we may easily fall into the sin of gossiping and slandering others, without ever thinking about what we are doing to their reputation. And yet, when we find out that people have been talking about us behind our back, we are outraged. We cannot have a lifestyle that aims to tear others down and live in sin without expecting it to come back to hurt us in the end. Whether it be ‘smaller’ things like lying or gossip, or sin such as adultery or murder, no one gets away with it – and even if the earthly authorities don’t catch them, God will. Plus, that lifestyle discredits our faith; when people who claim to be Christians are doing the same things as the world, we do not seem very ‘set apart.’ We need to be determined to live above reproach and to not engage in sinful activities that will have lasting repercussions.
28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
Any form of lying, whether it is outright or deception or flattery, is hatred toward the people spoken to. Sometimes we think it’s okay because the lie works to our advantage at the moment and it won’t do any damage to others, but this is wrong. If we are not speaking the truth it is hatred toward those we are talking to. A description of Christian love is that it rejoices with the truth (1 Cor. 13:6).We should be guarded around people who are given to flattery and exaggeration or have been found out in their lying.
14 As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.
Just like the lazy sluggard, we need to make sure that our lives aren’t falling into that pattern of laziness! Lets take every opportunity this vacation to expand the Lord’s kingdom and not waste the time that we have!
20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.
Good comment Mike!! this is a great example.without wood, a fire goes out…but with wood, a fire spreads and grows larger, affecting the area its burning…like a forest fire…it spreads fast and does a large amount of damage that is hard to replace.
Gossiping is the wood…when you add more and more “wood” to the firey lies, it spreads…it does much damage to those its about and its hard to replace the trust you probably once earned with the person you ‘burned’.
Whether it’s foolishness, laziness, gossip or lying, these are just symptoms of a heart not committed to following God. Not that we are perfect, after being reborn in Christ, but being known for these characteristics are evidence of a heart not renewed. It’s not about ‘works’ to be saved but a critical examination of how we lead our lives provides insight into our true condition.
During this break to celebrate God’s glory and perfection at Christmas, let’s all do a heart check! LORD, I pray that You would bring our sin to the top of our minds so we can repent and trust fully in You. Please don’t allow us to hide or bury our sin but to take advantage of Your cross and be right with You today!
wow, that was a REALLY GOOD comment from old man new heart^^^
The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.
I like this because it shows that God strongly dislikes people who are lazy. Although most of us aren’t lazy in everything, most people are lazy in at least one aspect. I know one area that Im lazy in is getting on scripture of the day.
1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.
This reminds me of a sermon Pastor Mike preached a few months ago about tolerating sinfulness in those we admire. He spoke from Romans 1:32, which talks about approving of those who practice sinfulness. Although we might not be living in sin ourselves, we admire those who are. Who are your heroes or those you admire? Are we honoring those who live sinful lives? Do we respect those who tear down our Heavenly Father and defame his name in public? This really makes me think about who I give my attention to or who I esteem. I need to make sure I am giving honor to my Lord Jesus Christ. During this Christmas season, it is a perfect opportunity to give our praise and honor to the name above all other names, Christ our Savior.
27 If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
This is entirely true. If you set yourself up for failure, that is what you will receive.
By making wise decisions and keeping your conscious clean, you will escape from falling into the devils trap,
18 Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows
19 is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
This is a proverb you’ve probably heard before, but it still makes a good point. We need to take care with our words that we don’t say stupid things and then just try to cover them up by saying, “Just kidding!” Our words can be destructive in other people’s lives. Let’s make sure we don’t joke around at other’s expense!
18 Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows
19 is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
This has happened a lot in the past, where we say something without thinking that ends up hurting someone, and we regret it and hope that saying just kidding will make it better. This verse says that playing it off as a joke won’t help anything; the damage has already been done and hurts like deadly arrows. We need to think before speaking so that caustic words won’t come out of our mouth, because once they’re said, there’s no way to take them back.
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.
What comes to mind here is name calling or cussing. Sometimes when people say really mean things to us, our first reaction is to say really mean things back. It sounds childish, but really it happens all the time! We have to learn to be the better person, and not sink to their level by responding how they would.
19 is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!” 20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.
Just like a couple of very wise people said before, We need to watch what we say and do. In our eyes it might be just a little harmless joke but to others it could really be painful. We need to be careful around others especially if they are not following God’s word. We want to be a good representaion of God and we want others to be saved and it starts by us as followers of Christ being a great examples.
first of all imso glad to be back ona nd commenting:]
18 Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows
19 is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
so these two verses really stuck out to me, some of the analigies confused me, but this one hit home. So many times i have found myself in a situation where someone is gossiping and saying mean things, then someone will stand up for the person and call them out on their gossip and they will immeaditatly say
“o im just kidding, i didnt mean it” even if they were, those words could still really hurt someone and their gossip was un-called for.
20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.
this is also a great verse…just like a fire dies down so does the “drama” when we decide to drop the situation and talk about something other than other people.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Romans 12:11
We just got to watch out we say…it’s been a little theme in the book of Proverbs about the use of our tongue. We gotta make sure that we do not gossip or decieve somebody by saying something and telling them after “I was only kidding” or cuss. Let’s make sure that we use our mouth as an instrument of righteousness than instrument of wickedness just as Romans 6:13 describes!
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
We should not think of ourselves so highly and wise. There is only one who is mighty, wose, holy, and perfect! That is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.
Avoid idle conversations. If we stoop to answer the fool, we will be just like him. We need to have conversations that glorify God.
21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
I will confess I have fallen away from SOTD latley and Im sorry! But I will start back up again! Ok anyways this was a great verse! Many times we are always want to say the last line in a fight, but we need to learn to just let it go. Avoid quarrels, they only bring trouble, and do no good. Quarrels only give a reason to hatred and grudges.
Wow great comment Old Man New Heart!!
This chapter is great to follow because it talks all about how to stay away from the evil and trouble our mouthes can get us in!
Yeee, Great Comment Old Man New Heart!!!
This chapter makes it so clear that we need to not be sluggards or lazy. We need to make sure our hearts are right and sold out for God. If we are lazy and are always procrastinating and putting things off we are really just hurting ourselves and crippling our selves to be used by God. Lets be quick to always put Him first in our hearts!
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Clearly this passage proclaims to us to not be fools. But in this verse it states that any man who thinks of himself wise has less hope than a fool. Arrogance and pride are the brands of a fool.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.
This verse also says that a fool thinks he is wiser than seven unfoolish men.
11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
This is pretty nasty imagery. But it still is a good verse. If you’ve ever been to a place where you can buy dogs, there is always that one dog who is eating it’s vomit. Yeah…. probably should’ve not mentioned that, but whatever. It’s really gross. And it should be gross. Here this is compared to someone repeating a mistake. We may not view this as SO bad, but obviously God thinks it’s nasty. If He chose a dog eating puke to compare someone repeating a mistake, it’s obviously very wrong and bad. Instead of “eating the vomit” by repeating our mistakes, let’s learn to not repeat any mistakes we have made!
20Withoit wood a fire foes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.
I thought this verse was a good reminder to stop gossip because most the time it’s not even true.
27 If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.
i love this verse…….dont put yourself in situations where you are bound to fall into sin. As a christian you try to stay away from sin and therefore if you have the choice of whether to stay away from that opportunity or not, STAY AWAYYYYYYY (=
18 Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows
19 is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!
This verse actually comes up a lot in you society. People joke around a lot (like me), but sometimes people use humor to hurt people’s feelings. You can cover it up by saying “whoops, just kidding”, but that means nothing because the damage has already been done. Whach what you say!
19 is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
Whoa this is kinda challanging for me. This phrase comes so easily as we try to cover up something we said or did wrong. Sometimes we may have been just really trying to be “funny” but most of the times deep down we ment it but we felt the need to cover it up with this frase. We need to watch ourselves from saying this too much!
As for me I watch and hope for the Lord!
24 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit.
So many people can hide who they truly are every single day, but in the end God knows the truth about all of us…inside and out.