A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends. Proverbs 16:28

There are those who through their falsehood and gossip cause great harm to the relationships of others. This can be the case even with intimate friends. The first action of this man is to spread strife. The way that this man does this is through lies and slanderous falsehoods. He starts by lying to one friend of the other about the actions of their "so-called" friend. Those who will not listen to gossip will shut down this kind of ruiniation of another.

The slanderer is just as dangerous - but his falsehood and lies have a far more sinister goal in mind. He is not content to just spread strife and discord. Look at the proverb for today and not that the one filled with slander - does so not just to cause arguments - but also to separate a man from his friend. He has a target in view - and that target is a friendship of which he is very jealous. Why else would he desire to see this relationship destroyed.

Once someone can penetrate your mind with slanderous gossip - it is hard to remedy the situation. The desire is to serarate a man from his friend - so that the one who sabatoged this relationship can see it destroyed. That way he can have a better one - or at least keep the two former friends from making his relationships look weak and feeble. There are some who just are not happy unless they are making others miserable.

Be careful around such perverse, small-hearted people. They are filled with bitterness and hatred because they usually want what you have with a friend - but cannot get it because of their ungodly ways and how they are unable to maintain a relationship due to their own selfishness. Avoid these people like you would avoid the plague!

He who conceals hatred has lying lips, And he who spreads slander is a fool.  Proverbs 10:18

One might think on the first reading of this proverb that God is encouraging those who have hatred to let their mouths voice it openly.  But you need to remember that many of the proverbs start with a basic statement - and then that statement is explained with an added comment that further defines it.  That is the way to understand the proverbs.  If we do not read them this way - it is easy to grab a partial proverb and make it say something it was never meant to say.

What we have here is a proverb about hidden hatred later escaping through slander.  The first part of this proverb speaks of one who is concealing their hatred by saying things they do not believe.  An example of this is someone who says nice things or supportive things of someone when they are around that person.  Inwardly they despise this person - but they do not allow their hatred to be expressed when around them.  But do not be deceived by their lying lips - because deep within them they are churning with a hatred that will surface in time.

Their hatred surfaces in what is said in the second part of this proverb.  They begin to spread slander.  They will not speak openly about their hatred of a person, a viewpoint, a decision, etc.  But later they will begin a slander campaign to express their hatred.  Put very plainly - they won't tell someone openly they hate them - but in private and with others they will let their hatred fly by slandering them often. 

The one who does this is a fool.  The Scriptures says that it is better to openly rebuke someone than to secretly slander them.  If there is a biblical issue that needs to be addressed, then address it privately with the person.  If there is a view that needs to be opposed - then oppose it where a debate of ideas can be had.  If there is a decision that is wrong - then openly state that it is wrong.  To allow a hatred to build up in our hearts is not just foolish - it is dangerous.  In time it will surface in slanderous gossip.  We WILL eventually have our hatred come out - and when it does - it will not be pretty. 

You may not like someone who openly confronts you - who rebukes and questions a view you have taken - or who disagrees with you publically.  But one thing is for sure.  You have far more respect for someone who does this, then for someone who speaks open words of support - but follows them up with slanderous gossip when you are no longer around.  Such a man is a fool - and his actions will come back to roost eventually.  Speak the truth in love - and if you disagree with someone and do not feel God wants you to speak out - then love them by interceding for them.  Hatred, gossip, and slander has NEVER helped any situation where it was used.  It has only made for fools and for deep hurt by those who have been injured by it.

"But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death." Proverbs 8:36

What happens when we do not live according to the wisdom of God?  What happens when we reject God's view of things - beginning with His work in creation - and then widening to include an ever greater rejection of what He says and commands?  That is what today's Proverb tackles. 

This proverb meantions two views of God's wisdom.  The first is to sin against wisdom.  The second is to hate it.  This speaks progressively of where we go in life as we convince ourselves that it is OK to reject the wisdom of God.  The first step is to sin against wisdom.  The word used for "sin" here means to miss the mark.  Things begin as we miss the mark concerning what God says.  It starts as simple as rejecting a command of God - or questioning whether we can even trust what God says.  We miss the mark.  The Hebrew word is "hata" and it means to miss the mark - but it also means to go wrong, to sin.  The word was used of those who would miss the mark as archers or slingers.  They would miss the target.  But it also meant someone who would fail to reach a goal.  Some miss wisdom by simply being ignorant of it - or not having any desire to read or study God's Word so as to grow in it.  Their missing the mark, though unintentional at first - grows into a basic level of ignorance which is willfull.  They see no real need to get God's wisdom - seeing that they think so highly of their own.  They will do just fine in their own thinking - therefore to spend time studying to know God's viewpoint is silly and unnecessary.

When we live like this, the Bible tells us that we "injure" ourselves.  Injure is the Hebew word "hamas" and it means to be violent - or to act violently or wrongly.  It was used to describe unethical behavior.  When we miss wisdom - we are hurting ourselves.  It is not just an error we are committing - we are hurting and injuring ourselves.  To reject God's wisdom is injurious to our well-being because God's ways are always best for us.  This comes back to seeing that God created us - and therefore knows exactly what we need and what is the way we should live.  If we are just the sum of purely accidental happenings over billions of years - it really does not matter what we do.  Everything is meaningless anyway.  But if we are the creation of God - there is not only a purpose - but a plan for us to follow to become what we were created to be and to do what we were created to do.

The latter stages of mankind's rejection of God is to eventually hate wisdom.  At first the wicked are just annoyed by the wisdom of God.  They are annoyed at a being who would claim absolute power, wisdom, and authority.  But soon that annoyance would grow to become anger - and anger will give rise to hatred.  The hatred grows out of a rejection of the notion that anyone or anything besides us have the right to control or even comment on our lives.  The more one runs up against God's commands and against the consequences of rejecting them - the more they resent the God Who wrote them.  That is why any sin - embraced long enough will bring us to the point of hating God.  It is alway why the Word of God says in James chapter 4 that friendship with the world is enmity against God - the one who loves the world, hates God. 

We are told that those who follow their sin to this point are ones who "love death."  God came to give us life and life abundantly.  His Word and His wisdom are filled with life.  When we embrace it we receive an abundance of life and joy.  But when we reject it - we begin to love death.  It is fascinating to see how the more a society rejects God - the more it begins to embrace self-destructive, even death-loving behavior.  This makes perfect sense when we see that a rejection of wisdom is the love of death. 

May God give us grace to learn to love His wisdom.  May we learn to treasure what He says to us - and to also treasure what His Word relates concerning the origins of all that He has made.  These choices will lead us to love and embrace God's wisdom.  To do otherwise is to love death.  We've watched our society reject God's wisdom over the years - and also embrace a culture of death more and more.  May we be those who embrace wisdom - the the overflow of life that comes with it.

Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, And do not deceive with your lips.  Do not say, "Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work."  Proverbs 24:28-29

How important is it for a soceity to value telling the truth?  One might argue that without this the ability of that soceity to function with any sort of justice is completely comprommised.  There has to be a basic level of trustworthiness and honesty for a soceity to function.  That is why our proverb for today is so important.  It urges us to tell the truth - and not to be a witness against our neighbor without cause.  Don't lie about your neighbor is what we are being told.  This is especially the case when any kind of bitterness of thought of revenge comes into our minds. 

There is a basic level of honesty that must be prevelent for a soceity to function.  Think for a moment about the number of transactions that take place every day that are based on the premise that we are being told the truth.  Now consider the number of ponzie schemes that have been exposed recently in our financial system.  This undermines everyone's confidence in the system itself.  It is only when honesty and truth prevail that one can feel even remotely safe in a society.  When that breaks down, the soceity itself breaks down.  Unless there is the rule of law - and the most basic levels of truth in what we do - our society will wind up looking like a banana republic where almost everything you do will have to be accompanied by a bribe to be done.  There will be no justice - and security will have to be maintained by how well you are armed. 

All this starts with the breakdown of honesty and truth between neighbors.  This is why God tells us NEVER to be a false witness against our neighbor.  We are not to give deceitful testimony - but rather to speak the truth.  The breakdown of decency is not the fault of Washington.  Decency broke down because we abandoned it toward our neighbors.  What we have in Washington is what happens when a society in general leaves honesty and accepts growing levels of dishonesty in itself and in its leaders.  We would not have the pack of dishonest, money-hungry, power-hungry fools leading us in our capitol accept for the fact that we ourselves did not DEMAND that our leaders be better than that.  When faced with dishonesty in office, we should have DEMANDED RESIGNATIONS - and if that did not happen - they should have been told plainly that this is the last term they would ever serve as our representatives in government.  Instead we traded truth for government hand-outs in the form of projects, grants, and every other way one can say government bribery without using the word bribe.  Without honesty, truth, and integrity - we are doomed as a nation.

Our proverb warns us in verse 29 that the worst way that dishonesty raises its ugly head is as a means of revenge.  We are presented with a situation in which someone has been a false witness.  We are warned not to decide that we will do to them what they have done to us.  When we choose to fight fire with fire - everything and everyone gets burned.  Scripture teaches us to turn the other cheek.  We are informed to allow the proper government authorities to deal with these matters.  We are also told that we are to treat others as we would have wanted to be treated ourselves.  Know this . . . God is keeping track of all wrongs and His justice will prevail in the end.  In the meantime - use every opportunity to show forth grace and mercy - so that you will also have opportunity to share the gospel - even with your enemies.  Avoid revenge.  It may give you a brief moment of pleasure at their pain - but in the end it will rot your soul.  Give your offendedness to God for Him to heal - then embrace the very Spirit of Christ - Who will enable you to be gracioius to those who mistreat you, and will strengthen you to pray for those who abuse you.  Then all will see that you are a son of your Father in heaven.  Speak truth - be an honest witness - and leave judgment to God. 

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred.  Proverbs 15:17

Some might think that this particular proverb is reason to preach vegetarianism - but the point of this proverb is the spirit in which you partake of your meals.  The dish of vegetables is actually seen as far less sumptuous fare than the fattened ox.  The difference here is what is going on while you are sharing your meal with others.  The vegetables, though not nearly as fancy as the fattened ox, are better because they are seasoned with love.  As a pastor I've had the joy of sharing meals with families.  Some of the most precious meals I've enjoyed in my 22 years as a pastor have been shared with some of the poorest of people.  The meals, though simple, were liberally seasoned with love and precious fellowship.  It was such a blessing to sit at such a table. 

The proverb compares the simple fare of a dish of vegetables with the food of a rich man's feast.  To have a fattened ox was about as special as it could get in Israel.  If you remember, the father of the prodigal son ordered that the fattened calf be served when his son came home.  It was a time of glorious celebration - and only the best was to be served.  But what this proverb tells us is that this fattened ox was seasoned with hatred.  Though a wonderful meal of food was served - it was served by someone who hated their guests.  There are those who practice a strange hospitality indeed.  They have guests - but only to get what they can from them.  They invite their guests to their high-class affairs to put them in their debt - so that at a later date they can collect what they are owed.  The worst of these parties are the ones that are done for people they absolutely despise - but they do it anyway because then everyone there will owe them favors.  This is a meal destined for relational indigestion.  The food may taste good - but it will only sour in their stomach as the problem of having to deal with their host comes to the surface.  There is no love - only hatred and a desire to be owed. 

So our writer warns us that in such situations it is better to go for the vegetables than for the most expensive item on the menu.  This is not for reasons of frugality.  It is a warning against false hospitality and the expectations that come with it.  It is a warning to partake of true fellowship - even if it is over celery and water.  In the end, fellowship with love will always trump hatred and fine dining.  One may fill your stomach - but the other fills your soul. 

Men of bloodshed hate the blameless, But the upright are concerned for his life. Proverbs 29:10

In a sinful and fallen world there is something that provokes the wicked when they see a man of true integrity.  Today's proverb tells us about "men of bloodshed," and how they hate men of integrity. 

Men of bloodshed are those who have shed the blood of humans - they are either very violent men - or most often men who have murdered.  When we think of murderers though, we need to see them in two ways.  There are those who have crossed the line of literally taking someone's life by murdering them.  But there is a second type of which the Scriptures speak that encompasses far more people than one would think.  In Matthew 5 Jesus said these words, "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER ' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.  (Matthew 5:21-22)

This statement of Jesus shows us that pretty much everyone in the world is guilty of murder.  If we've been angry with a brother or sister - called someone a derogatory name - we are guilty of murder before God.  We are  guilty enough to go into the fiery hell itself.  This is where murder begins, in the mind.  It is what God told Cain before he murdered Abel.  God said to him, "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?  And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."  (Genesis 4:7)  Cain's murder of his brother Abel began as a thought - an angry, evil thought - which soon hatched into a heinous, murderous action.  Sin always begins in the mind - and if we do not master it there - it will yield its wicked fruit in our actions. 

Murderous men hate men of character and godliness.  The word hate here is the Hebrew word "sane" which means to hate, to consider another an enemy - to dislike, be hostile to, or to loathe another.  It is the direct antonym of the Hebrew word "anab" which means to love.  John wrote of this very incident between Cain and Abel.  He said, "For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous." (1 John 3:11-12)

This passage in 1 John tells us exactly what our proverb today is trying to tell us.  The murderer hates the godly man.  It should be noted that the word "blameless" does not mean without sin.  It speaks of a person of integrity who desires to live a godly, moral life according to God's Word and God's precepts.  This world does not love such a man - and the more ungodly they are - the more they hate him.  We see this growing every day in our society.  Just look at how Christians are portrayed in our world today - especially in the media.  The hatred of the media elite and the ungodly in positions of power there drips off our television and movie screens.  It is difficult, unless you are watching a movie produced by a Christian, to find positive Christian characters.  This is because when a man's deeds are evil - he hates the people who pursue righteousness. 

Just an aside . . . we see this proverb lived out daily in the moral and cultural battle that is raging in our own nation today.  This is especially true when we see the actions and words of the radical homosexual movement.  The more the homosexual movement gains ascendency in our laws and in the movie and television industry - the more you will see this hatred grow.  The radical homosexual movement absolutely despises biblical Christianity because the Bible is clear that homosexuality is sin.  That will pit them against us - if we choose to remain true to the Word of God and preach the true gospel.  But, our place is not to hate the homosexual - or for that matter anyone who hates us because we hold to biblical truth and morality.  Our place is to love them even if they hate us and do violence to us in their cause to legitimatize what God calls sin.  Remember what this world system did to our Lord - the ultimate blameless man of absolute integrity.  He Himself told us if they hated Him, they would hate us as well.  But we are NEVER to turn to violence to defend ourselves from such attacks.  We must remain true to the gospel and win them by the love of God - and by the grace of His eternal gospel.

The remainder of our proverb today states that the upright are concerned for the lives of the moral and those who walk in integrity.  The literal translation of this would say, "But the upright seek his soul."  We stand with the godly man of integrity - because we see that life is more than just the 70 or so years we spend on this planet.  There is an eternal soul in each man - and that is what we should be most concerned with in life.  There will come a day when the wicked will be loosed in a way that we have not seen before in our nation.  Regardless of our most recent elections, there is not a moral, godly ascendency going on in our nation.  If there was, such moral issues such as abortion, homosexual and heterosexual immorality, decency, and the moral debauchery of our nation would be put on the front burner as the real problems we face as a nation.  As it is - we continue to worship the dollar - and when it finally crashes to the ground, which it will, we will face a country that will rip itself apart because we lack basic morality.  In that day it will be difficult to stand with the "blameless man" in our nation.  In some ways it already is.  Franklin Graham has taken several biblical stands for righteousness and he is more and more being ripped apart in the public square.  We should stand with him and with other men who stand for biblical righteousness.  Even if it becomes increasingly difficult to do so - we need to be concerned with the souls and lives of such men.  For according to this proverb . . . that is wisdom.