Proverbs 12:8-28

A person who talks sense is honored; airheads are held in contempt. Better to be ordinary and work for a living than act important and starve in the process. Good people are good to their animals; the “good-hearted” bad people kick and abuse them. The one who stays on the job has food on the table; the witless chase whims and fancies. What the wicked construct finally falls into ruin, while the roots of the righteous give life, and more life. The gossip of bad people gets them in trouble; the conversation of good people keeps them out of it. Well-spoken words bring satisfaction; well-done work has its own reward. Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice. Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults. Truthful witness by a good person clears the air, but liars lay down a smoke screen of deceit. Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise. Truth lasts; lies are here today, gone tomorrow. Evil scheming distorts the schemer; peace-planning brings joy to the planner. No evil can overwhelm a good person, but the wicked have their hands full of it. God can’t stomach liars; he loves the company of those who keep their word. Prudent people don’t flaunt their knowledge; talkative fools broadcast their silliness. The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work. Worry weighs us down; a cheerful word picks us up. A good person survives misfortune, but a wicked life invites disaster. A lazy life is an empty life, but “early to rise” gets the job done. Good men and women travel right into life; sin’s detours take you straight to hell.