Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Proverbs+025

 

Proverbs 25 (ESV)

1 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied…

 

11 A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
¹² Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise reprover to a listening ear…

 

15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
and a soft tongue will break a bone…

 

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
²² for you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Appropriate words have precious value. They can encourage people to be more active toward good, and they can also persuade people to abandon evil. Appropriate words are not flattering, but to speak honestly with love, without seeking your own benefit, and with patience and humility to exhort and build others. Appropriate words also contain wisdom from God, and this wisdom teaches us how to look at other people’s difficulties from their perspective with empathy. Do you often say appropriate words in your family, church, and workplace? Ask God to give you the wisdom to do this.
2. Repaying evil with good is a way of return pleasing to God, and it is also the most effective way of return, but it is difficult to implement in humans. Paul quoted this Proverb verse in Romans (cf. Romans 12:19-21), and the Lord Jesus also urged us to pray for our persecutors in the Gospel of Matthew (cf. Matthew 5:44). Repaying evil with good means that God who is righteous will judge everything. He will reward those who do this and will also redress for those who have been wronged. Consider whether you have encountered or are experiencing injustice. Are you willing to deal with it in a way that pleases God?

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to give you wisdom and dexterity, so that you can speak appropriate words with honesty and love on different occasions, resolve disputes, and encourage others; pray for tolerance and kindness, so that you can learn the lesson of returning evil with good. Not only are you willing to forgive those who have hurt you, but also willing to pray for them and lead them to God. Please pray for someone who has hurt you.

 

HYMN:

 

Jesus Lover of My Soul: www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5jxwHjC6Xk