Proverbs 17:9-15

Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend! A quiet rebuke to a person of good sense does more than a whack on the head of a fool. Criminals out looking for nothing but trouble won’t have to wait long—they’ll meet it coming and going! Better to meet a grizzly robbed of her cubs than a fool hellbent on folly. Those who return evil for good will meet their own evil returning. The start of a quarrel is like a leak in a dam, so stop it before it bursts. Whitewashing bad people and throwing mud on good people are equally abhorrent to GOD.