Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 12:16-20
Prov 12:16-20
The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult. Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.
Eph 4:25-27
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.
We often make (or hear) jokes about what we say and how we say it. A lot of them center around the idea of getting our brain working and in gear before we open our mouth and let the words flow. I saw one the other day where an old lady said she liked to speak without thinking so she could be as shocked as everyone else by what she said. While some folks say things for the “shock effect” most of us just say things that we shouldn’t have said because we didn’t think about it first.
Patience is a virtue. Listening is a much-needed art. Thinking is too often rare. It is not acceptable to people or to God for us to be rude, unkind, unthoughtful. We do get our feelings hurt at times. We do get angry and that is not wrong, but the results of that anger can be wrong. We need to learn to not let things that others say (either to us or about us) get to us or hurt us. We can choose to ignore it.
We are to always be honest. Being untruthful is lying. Deception is just another form of lying. Telling little lies that don’t hurt anyone is still lying. As Christians, we are to put away falsehood and speak truth to each other. There is never any justification for lying, big or small.
One of the glorious attributes of Jesus, as the Son of God, is given when he said: “I am the truth.” As a child, he didn’t lie to his parents. As a teenager, he didn’t lie to his friends. As an adult and as a teacher, he didn’t lie to his audience, even when his answer was not what they wanted to hear. We are to be like him, truthful.
O God, give me wisdom to be patient and to listen, to have self-control so that I don’t let my feelings get hurt and so I think before I speak. Help me be like Jesus and always be honest in everything I say. These are high goals, so I need your help in trying to reach them and your forgiveness when I fail. Thank you for loving me enough to show me how to live my life as I seek to imitate Jesus. Thank you for your patience with me. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus my Lord.
Robert
