A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
but a trustworthy envoy brings healing.
Proverbs 13:17 (from Bible.com)
A thought: The way a message is brought makes all the difference. Done with evil desire, there is great trouble. Done with care, it can only benefit all.
A prayer: Father, grant me a desire to tell the truth faithfully.
Some places where else this is discussed:
Proverbs 5:22, 10:11, 12:12, 14:27
My Thoughts:
Have you a friend in your life you turn to for good advice? Maybe you have a pastor who can speak to you frankly and with wisdom. Life has many struggles and temptations, and we are never far from falling prey to the “snares of death”.
This proverb speaks of a wise teacher’s words being a flowing life-extender. When he teaches well, God’s ways have an impact on his students. I take a long time to learn and put wisdom into practice. Thankfully, I have some great teachers who live out what they preach.
The foolish path has many snares, leading to death. There are many a foolish person ready to guide you to an enticing but fatal end. Seek the wise people in your life and learn from them. Their words will be a life-giving stream for you. And then maybe you could provide a fountain of life to someone else?
Thanks for reading! Pete
Thoughts or questions? Have your say in the comments section!
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Have you ever completely ignored an order from your boss and they found out? I’m sure they got quite upset.
Those in leadership want obedience. They don’t want workers to make their own rules, and might very well punish with a vengeance.
Wisdom teaches us to also love the instruction from God, because it is for our good and others. When we fear God and obey what he says, he promises to reward our faithfulness. When we choose to live lives that dishonour Him, we are asking for judgement.
Either way we pay for disobedience. Slighting our boss results in very serious discussions. When it comes to God, our very lives might be in jeopardy.
Thanks for reading! Pete
Thoughts or questions? Have your say in the comments section!
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Some places where else this is discussed:
My thoughts:
Why am I so full of pride? I have nothing to be proud about! Everything I have and know and believe has been gifted or learnt from someone else. My skill and ability and all else come from God.
As this Proverbs states, where there are arguments and quarreling, a little examination will prove pride is at work. Pride only gets us into a fight about who is wiser. To gain wisdom we ought to be open again to what others we trust have to say. Humbleness can give us so much more in the end.
Thanks for reading! Pete.
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Thoughts or questions? Have your say in the comments section!
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Some places where else this is discussed:
My thoughts:
Lots of people like to talk up their latest favourite purchase
s. Its part of the fun of buying stuff, including the fact that you had the money to splurge on it.
Yet the people mentioned in this proverb aren’t boasting about things they have, but are completely deceiving others about their wealth. The two types are rich people pretending to be poor and those with very little lying about being wealthy. We ought to be wary of deceptive people like this. In all likelihood the motivation is greed or high social standing. Who knows what other lies one might tell if guided by these desires.
We seem to feel compelled to help someone claiming to be desperate or feel drawn to associate with well-off people. Let’s be careful to not join in any such lies and likewise be careful to avoid being deceived.
Thanks for reading! Pete.
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Thoughts or questions? Have your say in the comments section!
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Some places where else this is discussed:
Prov. 6:16-19, 8:13, Psalm 119:163
My thoughts:
Hate is a strong emotion. We shouldn’t hate people personally, but we are given free 
reign in the Bible to hate evil. Evil deserves drastic action. For us to hate our own evil actions or the temptation to do them, we’d need to avoid them, stamp them out, and flee such things.
In this proverb, the man who seeks to be righteous despises any deception; he follows in what God hates. The wicked man has no qualms about lying, as long as it gets them what they want. Yet they bring upon themselves all manner of shame. So often the truth ousts us. We realise it would have been far better to have not lied in the first place.
Thoughts or questions? Have your say in the comments section!
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Some places where else this is discussed:
Theme: Prov 13:2-4 – The Hebrew words translated as “desire”, “appetite”, “life”, and “soul”, is literally “soul” or “breath” and can refer to the inner desires of people, but also the essence of who you are. (Reiterated from A Mentor Commentary On Proverbs – John A. Kitchen
My thoughts:
How often I wish to take back my words -whether they were hurtful, false claims or promises unkept!
This proverb promotes a careful guarding of our lips before we say anything stupid. Whether it’s talking big, a sly joke, or careless words, we are warned our words can be ruinous.
Like a gate of a city that needs protection, our mouth needs to be opened carefully. Let’s protect our lives, reputation, etc., by keeping our big mouths closed.
Thanks for reading!
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Thoughts or questions? Have your say in the comments section!
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Some places where else this is discussed:
Prov. 12: 14,18
Theme: Prov 13:2-4 – The Hebrew words translated as “desire”, “appetite”, “life”, and “soul”, is literally “soul” or “breath” and can refer to the inner desires of people, but also the essence of who you are. (Reiterated from A Mentor Commentary On Proverbs – John A. Kitchen
My thoughts:
How often our words cause strife. We speak without thinking or even with malice or other evil desire. Life should teach us that speaking with a desire to trick or manipulate only ends in bad things, for us and others. We’re asking for it if we use our words to deceive. This proverb speaks of the produce of our lips bringing good for us. Let’s then speak with care, so that we produce good outcomes.
Thanks for reading!
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Thoughts or questions? Have your say in the comments section!
Note: All scripture is taken from Bible.com and is the New International Version. I am using a commentary by John A. Kitchen for help with references, and difficult concepts and words. Plus, he has a real way with words!
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Some places where else this is discussed:
Prov. 1:8; 3:1; 12:1; 13:13
My thoughts:
We tend to think better of our knowledge than what others think. How often, though, we are shown to be in the wrong in our thinking! This proverb speaks of the correction of a 
father, and how wisdom would encourage us to obey it. When I first started writing on Proverbs I was a bit arrogant. I didn’t often place myself in the position of the “mocker”. Yet it is true that we all need to come under God’s Word and be taught to be wise and to obey.
Thanks for reading! Pete.
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Thoughts or questions? Have your say in the comments section!
Note: All scripture is taken from Bible.com and is the New International Version. I am using a commentary by John A. Kitchen for help with references, and difficult concepts and words. Plus he has a real way with words!
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The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. – Proverbs 12:26
Some places where else this is discussed:
Prov. 18:24; 22:24-25
My thoughts:
How do you pick your friends? I know for myself people can come into my life and I’m drawn to them, not thinking about their character too much. It can be easy to connect with people at an emotional or intellectual level, but not delve into all of who they are. 
Friends do influence us both in good and bad ways, and this proverb speaks of how it is the mark of the righteous to choose them carefully. Let’s be wise with who we hang out with so we aren’t influenced to turn away from God.
Thanks for reading! Pete.
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Thoughts or questions? Have your say in the comments section!
Note: All scripture is taken from Bible.com and is the New International Version. I am using a commentary by John A. Kitchen for help with references, and difficult concepts and words. Plus he has a real way with words!
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On Proverbs 