JMD Devotional 151 Proverbs 26:20-28 Snare of Words

For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention ceases. As coals are to hot embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man to inflame strife. The words of a whisperer or slanderer are like dainty morsels or words of sport [to some, but to others are like deadly wounds]; and they go down into the innermost parts of the body [or of the victim's nature].
Burning lips [uttering insincere words of love] and a wicked heart are like an earthen vessel covered with the scum thrown off from molten silver [making it appear to be solid silver].
He who hates pretends with his lips, but stores up deceit within himself. When he speaks kindly, do not trust him, for seven abominations are in his heart. Though his hatred covers itself with guile, his wickedness shall be shown openly before the assembly. Whoever digs a pit [for another man's feet] shall fall into it himself, and he who rolls a stone [up a height to do mischief], it will return upon him. A lying tongue hates those it wounds and crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

**When someone hits you, you feel it. When they steal from you, you are apt to recognize something is missing and discover it. But when someone deceives you, you are oblivious. It is a stealth attack; false information like a computer virus twisting your perception. The God who loves honest weights and measures demands honest communication from us, and sometimes the best form of communication is silence when we can say nothing good.

Dear God,
Knowing how many times I have blown it, I feel condemned by my own words. Forgive me for the hurtful things I have said, the gossip I have shared, the wickedness I have propagated through careless conversation. Give me to good sense to keep silent rather than to sin further, and to challenge idle gossip that comes my way, to snuff it out.
Amen

**Douglass Weiss, PHD in the book, "Sex, Men and God".

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

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