Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 511 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
A Lying Tongue Hates Its Victims – Proverbs 26:15-28
Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 511 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails, we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will explore the 2nd half of Chapter 26.
We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. 2017 has begun. Paula and I invested several hours in planning, preparing, and setting goals for this New Year and are excited to see how God moves within our lives and for the opportunity to positively impact the lives of many people. Even with this planning, which is very important, we also realize that what we do on a daily basis, which most of the time is not exciting, will determine the success we have during this year.
Most days will be mundane and considered boring. We do not live extravagant lives and are fairly common people. We do understand, though, that success consists of doing the common things of life uncommonly well. Our prayer and hope is that when 2017 ends, we can look back with satisfaction and say each day was lived well. If we live each day well, then the entire year will be successful overall.
On our trek for today, we will explore several examples of how not to live. It is important to know this, so that we can avoid these situations and habits. One of those bad habits is lying to others. As verse 28 tells us…
A Lying Tongue Hates Its Victims
Let’s start our trek as we explore verses 15-28.
More Proverbs of Solomon
15 Lazy people take food in their hand
but don’t even lift it to their mouth.
A person who is habitually lazy feels a sense of entitlement. He feels that the world owes him something, or everything. To show the extreme of his laziness, this verse uses a word picture of a lazy person who took hold of something to eat, but was so lazy he would not lift the food to his mouth.
16 Lazy people consider themselves smarter
than seven wise counselors.
Laziness and foolishness go hand in glove. A foolish, lazy person feels that he is so smart that he has no need of advice from others. Even if he meets the wisest people alive, he would refuse their wisdom, because he is too lazy to implement their suggestions for improvement.
17 Interfering in someone else’s argument
is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears.
When you observe someone else in a discussion or argument, it would be best to avoid getting involved. Even if you feel that you have a solution to their problems or an answer to their arguments. The analogy is how foolish it would be to yank the ears of a mad dog. The only thing that will happen is that you will get bitten physically or verbally when interfering in someone else’s argument.
18 Just as damaging
as a madman shooting a deadly weapon
19 is someone who lies to a friend
and then says, “I was only joking.”
Lying is never wise, especially to those you consider friends, even when said in jest. The result will be the killing of your friendship. The damage will be no less than if it was with physical weapons.
20 Fire goes out without wood,
and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.
Just like a fire needs a continual supply of wood to keep it going, quarrels will usually continue when there is a continual supply of gossip. The best way to end quarrels is to stop fueling them with lies, deceptions or gossip. Be kind and honest at all times.
21 A quarrelsome person starts fights
as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.
You probably know a person or two who just seems to be always quarreling and fighting about something. His life is filled with drama. It seems to be his very nature and is a habitual part of his life. It is the same way as hot embers, or fire continues to fan the flames of a cooking pit or bonfire.
22 Rumors are dainty morsels
that sink deep into one’s heart.
23 Smooth words may hide a wicked heart,
just as a pretty glaze covers a clay pot.
24 People may cover their hatred with pleasant words,
but they’re deceiving you.
25 They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them.
Their hearts are full of many evils.
26 While their hatred may be concealed by trickery,
their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.
People have not changed all that much since King Solomon penned these words over 3,000 years ago. Within his palace, rumors abounded, and he knew how dangerous it was. They are like a fine piece of chocolate that you can feel oozing down into your stomach. They are usually smooth and will cover for the gossiper as a fine glaze covers a piece of pottery.
Those that spread gossip cover themselves with what appears to be pleasant words, even as they know they are deceptive. They come across as if they care for those they are gossiping about, and yet their intent is to cause damage. They may deceive others for a period of time. Eventually, the habitual gossiper will be found out for who they truly are, a hater and a liar.
27 If you set a trap for others,
you will get caught in it yourself.
If you roll a boulder down on others,
it will crush you instead.
Be careful when you are attempting to entrap others for your own personal gain. It may work for a period of time, but eventually, it will catch up to you, and you will be the one who is ultimately damaged.
28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
and flattering words cause ruin.
When you lie to or about others, it is usually to protect yourself from embarrassment and shame. You may not realize that it is causing harm to the person you are lying to, but when you strip away all of the excuses for lying, the only thing that remains is that you hate the person you are lying to, or at least love yourself more than you love them. This is the reason you are trying to cover-up for your shortcomings. Honesty is not only the best policy, but it is also the only policy.
Today on our Wisdom Trail, we continue to explore a series of Solomon’s Proverbs that were assembled by King Hezekiah. These proverbs provide us with more wisdom, insight, and understanding especially in relationship to arguing, lying and gossip, which are all the same thing. Regardless of where you are in your faith walk, your life will be rich and satisfying if the precepts in Proverbs are followed. Take them and plant them in your heart so that you will reap a harvest of wisdom.
I would challenge you today to take just one precept that we learn today in Proverbs and commit yourself to applying it to your life. Tomorrow we will hike another short trail of Wisdom Unplugged where we will discover an inspirational wisdom quote. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
That will finish our trek for today. If you would like to listen to any of our past treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com.
Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.
As we take this trek of life together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!
Information, knowledge, and wisdom – many people think that these three words can be used interchangeably. Although they can be connected, built on, and related to each other, the words are vastly different. In today’s connected world we literally have exponentially more information at our fingertips instantaneously than all of humanity has had since the creation of the world.
