Proverbs 26, Part 2

From Proverbs 26 -- with commentary  -- 

¹⁶ Dreamers fantasize their self-importance;
   they think they are smarter
   than a whole college faculty. 

I wish I could count the times I've heard my kids (and even I have said) this:  "This assignment from my teacher is just stupid.  It's not teaching me anything."  As if we know better.

 ¹⁷ You grab a mad dog by the ears
   when you butt into a quarrel that's none of your business. 

And this is exactly why taking up an offense for someone else is a bad idea.  Just because it is an injustice doesn't mean it's any of your affair.

 ^18-19 People who shrug off deliberate deceptions,
   saying, "I didn't mean it, I was only joking,"
Are worse than careless campers
   who walk away from smoldering campfires. 

This is something I absolutely detest -- when someone puts you down and then sloughs it off as a joke.  Let's face it; that's just lying right to your face, and leaves you smoldering with anger.  Like tossing a match into a forest.

 ²⁰ When you run out of wood, the fire goes out;
   when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down. 

Take away the fuel and the fire stops wrecking everything.  

 ²¹ A quarrelsome person in a dispute
   is like kerosene thrown on a fire.

Arguing about something you're trying to solve is just going to make it worse.  What's more important -- being right, or fixing what's wrong?

 ²² Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
   do you want junk like that in your belly? 

Or those words in your brain?  That impression in your mind?  It's tempting but it's SO destructive.

 ²³ Smooth talk from an evil heart
   is like glaze on cracked pottery. 

It sure looks good -- except for that one major flaw.  

 ^24-26 Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend,
   all the while conniving against you.
When he speaks warmly to you, don't believe him for a minute;
   he's just waiting for the chance to rip you off.
No matter how cunningly he conceals his malice,
   eventually his evil will be exposed in public.

What goes around comes around.

 ²⁷ Malice backfires;
   spite boomerangs.

See?

 ²⁸ Liars hate their victims;
   flatterers sabotage trust.

And when this person then wants you to believe in them, it's all been ruined.  So don't be that person.

xoxoxox