Do we hide behind flattery and lies? Let’s begin in Proverbs 26
When people promote or otherwise honor a person you know to be a fool, how do you feel?
As snow in summer and rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool. (Pr 26:1 NKJV)
Does a curse affecting a whole country or an individual always have a cause?
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim. (Pr 26:2 NLT)
When should we answer a fool and when should we not?
A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools! Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. (Pr 26:3-5 WEB)
Is relying on a fool to faithfully carry out any task like chopping off our feet, an athlete with bad legs, a sling shot with the stone tied, or thorns waved around by a drunk?
Sending messages with a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking down violence. As legs dangle from a disabled person, so does a proverb in the mouth of fools. Like tying a stone in a sling, so is giving respect to a fool. Like a thorny bush in the hand of a drunk, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools. (Pr 26:6-9 WEB)
What is it like trusting a fool to reliably complete any task?
Like an archer who wounds someone randomly, so is one who hires a fool or a passerby. Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats foolish mistakes. Do you see people who consider themselves wise? There is more hope for a fool than for them. (Pr 26:10-12 CEB)
What kind of excuses and delusions do lazy people live with?
Don't be lazy and keep saying, “There's a lion outside!” A door turns on its hinges, but a lazy person just turns over in bed. Some of us are so lazy that we won't lift a hand to feed ourselves. A lazy person says, “I am smarter than everyone else.” (Pr 26:13-16 CEV)
What is it like to meddle in other people’s controversies or to tell lies to them?
Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears. Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!” (Pr 26:17-19 ESV)
How does slanderous gossip fuel a dangerous fire or seem like eating tasty food?
Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down. As charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being. (Pr 26:20-22 HCSB)
Will the malice of someone with an evil heart who pretends to care for you be revealed?
A clay vessel plated with a thin veneer of silver—that’s what smooth lips with a wicked heart are. Someone who hates hides behind his words, harboring deceit within himself. Though he speaks graciously, don’t believe him, for there are seven detestable things in his heart. Though malice disguises itself with deception, its evil will be exposed publicly. (Pr 26:23-26 ISV)
Will a trap set by evil people, eventually snap shut on them? Will false flattery eventually ruin a liar?
Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him. A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin. (Pr 26:27-28 KJV)
What did Jesus say to those religious leaders who hid behind lies?
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44 LSB)
Do we hide behind flattery and lies? You decide!
