Proverbs 16:26 ESV A worker’s appetite works for him; his mouth urges him on. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A26&version=ESV] Reality is reality. Sometimes that sucks. Sometimes that’s awesome. Sometimes, as here, we need to take a second and a third and even a fourth look before we understand both sides of the problem. This verse falls into the…
Proverbs 16:25 ESV There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A25&version=ESV] We’re experts at deciding the right way to go. Left, right, up, down, family, work, church, that politician, this politician, that book, this one, that medicine, this one. We develop plans, and…
Proverbs 16:24 ESV Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A24&version=ESV] Living life is a tiring proposition. At some point, be I who I may be, I will get worn down, tuckered out, even flat-out hurt. Bad things happen, we sin to our own harm, and…
Proverbs 16:23 ESV The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A23&version=ESV] Smooth-talking, silver-tongued, these are words we can easily give a negative connotation. We call it persuasion but it seems more like manipulation, and it’s hard to find the line where indeed charisma or persuasion becomes…
Proverbs 16:22 ESV Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A22&version=ESV] Good teachers are not a dime a dozen, unfortunately. In fact, on inspection, money seems to have irritatingly little to do with teaching quality; certainly the more expensive a university, the…
Proverbs 16:21 ESV The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A21&version=ESV] I’ve been in an argument or two, in my time. Siblings like them, it turns out, and not just siblings. In those arguments, I generally feel myself to be entirely in the right, and I wonder why…
Proverbs 16:20 ESV Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A20&version=ESV] In all the rush and hurry of daily life, Scripture is easily set aside. We know what it says, after all; we’ve got all the doctrine right up here in our heads,…
Proverbs 16:19 ESV It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A19&version=ESV] To be of a lowly spirit is a hard saying and, if some thought is given to it, an obscure one too. What does it mean to be of a…
Proverbs 16:18 ESV Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A18&version=ESV] Maturity is a difficult art, one in which every summit turns out to be a valley and every victory only the start. For every moment in which we are satisfied with our heart and our actions, there’ll be another…
Proverbs 16:17 ESV The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; whoever guards his way preserves his life. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A17&version=ESV] The Christian has many foes with which he contends, and they come in three flavors: the world, the flesh, and the devil (Eph 2:2-3). None of them can be treated with contempt; none of them…