Bible.com.au: Reading Plan - Why Your Words Matter

Reflection: Have you ever felt that heavy sinking thud in your chest when you wake up? I know I have. I remember when I first moved to Melbourne in 2020 during the pandemic, I would begin to feel each day my hope for a bright new future fade. I remember video chatting with my friends and sharing my troubles and, although well-intentioned, they would snap into fix-it mode and provide solutions to all my problems.

The Scripture for today talks about kindness, not advice. Maybe you’re thinking that they’re the same thing? Well, you wouldn’t be the only one. In fact, most of us feel compelled to fix the problem by offering words of advice. It almost feels like a wasted opportunity or an act of cruelty to simply let someone who is weighed down stay that way.

But what if there was a better way to use our words?

What if, the next time we choose to speak words of kindness instead of advice? To say instead “that sounds hard, I’m so sorry” or “you are carrying so much weight, can I pray for you?”

Perhaps you will find that kindness is a far greater way to cheer up the anxious.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you that you listen with kindness. Help me to follow in your example and to learn to listen to those who need a friend; and to only offer advice when invited or when the time is right. Help me to release the pressure to fix things – after all, you are God, and not me. Amen.

Proverbs 12:1-28

1Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but whoever hates correction is stupid.

2Good people obtain favor from the Lord,

but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.

3No one can be established through wickedness,

but the righteous cannot be uprooted.

4A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,

but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

5The plans of the righteous are just,

but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

6The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,

but the speech of the upright rescues them.

7The wicked are overthrown and are no more,

but the house of the righteous stands firm.

8A person is praised according to their prudence,

and one with a warped mind is despised.

9Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant

than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

10The righteous care for the needs of their animals,

but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

11Those who work their land will have abundant food,

but those who chase fantasies have no sense.

12The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,

but the root of the righteous endures.

13Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,

and so the innocent escape trouble.

14From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,

and the work of their hands brings them reward.

15The way of fools seems right to them,

but the wise listen to advice.

16Fools show their annoyance at once,

but the prudent overlook an insult.

17An honest witness tells the truth,

but a false witness tells lies.

18The words of the reckless pierce like swords,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

19Truthful lips endure forever,

but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

20Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,

but those who promote peace have joy.

21No harm overtakes the righteous,

but the wicked have their fill of trouble.

22The Lord detests lying lips,

but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

23The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,

but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.

24Diligent hands will rule,

but laziness ends in forced labor.

25Anxiety weighs down the heart,

but a kind word cheers it up.

26The righteous choose their friends carefully,

but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

27The lazy do not roast any game,

but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

28In the way of righteousness there is life;

along that path is immortality.

Why Your Words Matter

Day 8 of 14

NIV

Proverbs 12:25

Days

Proverbs 12:1-28