| VERBAL DYNAMITE |
| Even truthful words can damage other people. |
| A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. 16:28 |
| What could be wrong with just talking, as long as you don't actually lie? Proverbs sees plenty of danger. Words are dynamite; they can destroy people. They should be carefully weighed before they are spoken. Even truthful words can damage. Yet they can also save a friend from going wrong. Proverbs speaks strongly about both the danger of gossip and the good done when someone justly rebukes his friend. "The tongue has the power of life and death," Proverbs 18:21 says, "and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs teaches the skill of speaking so as to give life. Proverbs on the importance of words:10:11, 20; 12:14; 15:4; 17:10; 18:21; 25:11. Proverbs on the wrong way to speak:6:16-19; 11:9, 12, 13; 12:18; 13:3; 16:27, 28; 18:8, 13; 26: 23-28; 29:5. Proverbs on the right way to speak: 10:14, 21, 32; 12:25; 15:1, 23, 28; 16:13, 23, 24; 17:27, 28; 25:12, 15; 27:5, 6; 28:23. Proverbs on the dangers of words: 10:19; 14:23. Life Questions: Have you said anything recently that you wish you could unsay? What are the most life-giving words you've spoken lately? |