Proverbs 17:1-15

A meal of bread and water in contented peace is better than a banquet spiced with quarrels. A wise servant takes charge of an unruly child and is honored as one of the family. As silver in a crucible and gold in a pan, so our lives are refined by GOD. Evil people relish malicious conversation; the ears of liars itch for dirty gossip. Whoever mocks poor people insults their Creator; gloating over misfortune is a punishable crime. Old people are distinguished by grandchildren; children take pride in their parents. We don’t expect eloquence from fools, nor do we expect lies from our leaders. Receiving a gift is like getting a rare gemstone; any way you look at it, you see beauty refracted. 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.