Violence overcomes the mouth of the wicked. The bad words of the wicked invite violence to stop them. It comes back on them thus destroying them. Love draws a veil over everything (meaning that tenderness and forgiveness is always on the minds and lips of those who love). Where there is dissension, hatred (harshness and a lack of love) is normally in the background causing it. Whatever you say is intentionally misunderstood and it stirs up strife.

Tissot- Son of the vineyard, Matthew 25:33-46

It is a way of speaking that will help the other person and give them life or damage the other person for life, which is actually violence against them.

Proverbs 11:30 , Proverbs 18:20-21 The power of life and death

“You eat what you speak”. A reckless person’s words pierce like knives/swords. God calls us to love and not to be right. Choose love and not to be right; not to win or to domineer.

Limitations of words. Words should be accompanied by deeds. Faltering in deeds is to show yourself as being lax and entails cowardice, fear, indolence, carelessness, and a lack of resolute strength 

We use the mnemonic BREATH. Its stands for:

B- Boast not. Never boast about tomorrow, for we know not what it will bring. Self-praise exalts the self and thus destroys relationships

R- Restrained. Restrain yourself from starting a quarrel, for it is like breaching a dam

E- No Gossiping. Be prudent and keep the knowledge to yourself

A-  Apt

T- Thoughtful

H- Honest

So if you have Gentle BREATH in speaking, you know to speak softly, gently, kindly, and sensitively to the other person.

When you weigh up what to say, it implies self-control and being considerate. Wickedness is not concerned with the other's well-being. The wicked are rash; the loving are gentle and self-controlled.

·      These come from the heart

·      Useful to judge the character of the person

·      Spend time with the wise and in time become wise

As you come to weigh your words, and thus speech, you gain an ability to quickly assess the characters of others simply by how they speak. This is a very useful quality for assessing character, even as people try to hide theirs.

What is the biblical view of politics?

Wisdom gives one social skill of know-how, in order to relate both to people and to God. Politics as per proverbs is meant to eschew wickedness in society, by using wisdom over the wicked, whose ethics are derived from what is right in their own eyes and whose morals may include killing the innocent.

Ethics does not set absolute values, but religion does; it in itself has no authority. If there is no God, then there are no absolute standards and this thus allows for relativism.

 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines relativism as roughly put, the view that truth and falsity, right and wrong, standards of reasoning, and procedures of justification are products of differing conventions and frameworks of assessment and that their authority is confined to the context-giving rise to them.

If you read the above between the lines, it's essentially saying that ethics are situational, and thus change depending on the context. Christianity however sets absolute standards , regardless of the context.

So what type of government will govern us as a people? It will either be the value and ethics of scripture or of the pragmatic person, who has no absolute right or wrong; one could say the ethics of common sense rather than the of Christianity.

Relative values are always determined by consequences of what gives one pleasure, and what is right in one’s own eyes; this is unlike Christian ethics, which we believe come directly from God in the Pentateuch. Whether we like them or not is irrelevant;  we simply consider them absolute.

God gave rulers the sword and the power to uphold righteousness. The government restrains anarchy and evil. If the government represents God, then it has the authority of God behind it. But if it steps out from under God, then it has no real authority behind it and should be challenged. Even at home, if the parents disobey God, then the children can disobey the parents.

It is inevitable and inescapable. In a democracy, we all rule and exercise our rule through the ballot. Politics is a form of spiritual war, all aimed at restraining evil; if we do not vote, we inadvertently vote for the wicked. 

Finally, the world is full of fools, mockers, sluggards, and the like, who will continue to have their cake and eat it if the community of believers fails to participate in Politics. We must participate in government because it is there to establish righteousness. Christian political activity is salt and light in a depraved world; we should thus be involved in politics.

We pray and hope that you have enjoyed this short book on certain practical aspects of proverbs. We encourage you to practice, as without it you can derive no benefit.

Feel free to write to us at [email protected] should you have any comments, good or bad. We are quite welcoming of praise and criticism alike.

God bless you and we pray that this short read has been useful to you.

Enjoy