Proverbs 27:14




'A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!'
This might sound a bit harsh but, if you’ve ever lived with someone who is irrepressibly loud and cheerful, you probably know what this verse is getting at. In life, it’s not so much what you say as how, when, where and why you say it. Basically, the writer is talking about people who are insensitive and, let’s be honest, we all know people like that. Let’s be a little more honest and admit that we’re also guilty of insensitivity too!
In the previous chapter, the writer referred to someone who was completely insensitive and totally misread the situation. He saw them as serious liability. He wrote: “Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says: ‘I was only joking’” (Proverbs 26:18-19). Everything is wrong about this. He shouldn’t have been lying in the first place, and to try to pass it off as a joke just pours fuel on the fire.
We all have something to learn from this. In short, we need to learn to use our words with care. Depending on the person, time, weather – and a thousand other variables – the same words can be received totally differently. Words that might amuse one person may antagonise another. Statements that some people find full of insight may cause lasting offence to another. Before you conclude that you need to keep your mouth firmly shut and never say another word, let me encourage you to lean even harder on the Holy Spirit. He is the one who can give us the wisdom and strength to speak in the way that the apostle Paul describes in Colossians 4:6: “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”








Question: What has this proverb taught you about communicating with others?
Prayer: Father God, thank you that you have given me your Holy Spirit to enable me to speak in a way that will honour you and bless others. Amen

Released on 27 Oct 2022