Proverbs 16:17-31

Repenting from evil places you on the highway of holiness. Protect purity and you protect your life. Your boast becomes a prophecy of a future failure. The higher you lift yourself up in pride, the harder you’ll fall in disgrace. It’s better to be meek and lowly and live among the poor than to live high and mighty among the rich and famous. One skilled in business discovers prosperity, but the one who trusts in God is blessed beyond belief! The one with a wise heart is called “discerning,” and speaking sweetly to others makes your teaching even more convincing. Wisdom is a deep well of understanding opened up within you as a fountain of life for others, but it’s senseless to try to instruct a fool. Winsome words pour from a heart of wisdom, adding value to all you teach. Nothing is more appealing than speaking beautiful, life-giving words. For they release sweetness to our souls and inner healing to our spirits. Before every person there is a path that seems like the right one to take, but it leads straight to hell! Life motivation comes from the deep longings of the heart, and the passion to see them fulfilled urges you onward. A wicked scoundrel wants to dig up dirt on others, only to spread slander and shred their reputation. A twisted person spreads rumors; a whispering gossip ruins good friendships. A vicious criminal can be persuasive, enticing others to join him as partners in crime, but he leads them all down a despicable path. It’s easy to tell when a wicked man is hatching some crooked scheme— it’s written all over his face. His looks betray him as he gives birth to his sin. Old age with wisdom will crown you with dignity and honor, for it takes a lifetime of righteousness to acquire it.