Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read Joshua 8, Jeremiah 34, and Proverbs 16, 16-33. This devotional is about Proverbs 16, 28, which I'll read again in a moment, after we read all of Proverbs 16, 16-33. How much better to acquire wisdom than gold? To gain understanding is more desirable than silver. The highway of the upright leads away from evil. He who guards his way protects his life. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble, than to divide the spoil with the proud. Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. The wise in heart are called, discerning, and pleasant speech promotes instruction. Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly. The heart of the wise man instructs his mouth, and adds persuasiveness to his lips. Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. A worker's appetite works for him, Because his hunger drives him onward. A worthless man digs up evil, And his speech is like a scorching fire. A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends. A violent man entices his neighbor, and leads him down a path that is not good. He who winks his eye devises perversity. He who purses his lips is bent on evil. Grey hair is a crown of glory. It is attained along the path of righteousness. He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city. The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. This is God's word. And again, this devotional is about Proverbs 16, 28. The NIV says, a perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. The book of Proverbs says a lot about the power of words, and the part of Proverbs that we read today says a lot about our words, too. You can see verse 21, 23, 24, 27, and 30 for verses in this chapter that directly talk about what we say. But again, let's focus on verse 28. which says, a perverse person stirs up conflict and a gossip separates close friends. The word perverse means confusing or deceitful, and it carries the idea of someone who is deliberately dishonest. That kind of a person will say and do things that intentionally mislead people. They will tell lies if necessary, but often that person will also, and maybe more often, just suggest or imply things that are untrue, and the purpose is to deliberately mislead people without outright lying to them. This proverb says that someone like that stirs up conflict. So much of our media is designed to do this. misleading headlines, selective use of data, quotes out of context, and sometimes pure lies are published as if they're facts. And what happens? People start arguing. That's what happens. Nobody changes their mind because of a meme or a tweet or a headline or a Facebook post. People just get mad and start arguing with each other. Our God is a God of truth. So we need to be truthful in the things that we say. If you can't be honest, then be quiet. If you do say something, make sure what you say is both truthful and not misleading. And, for goodness sake, don't just retweet or repost anything you read that you agree with just because you want to own people who share a different point of view than yours. Look, a direct, honest conversation about principles and morals is much more effective and beneficial to others than simply reposting something that has a dubious connection to the truth, or maybe no connection to the truth at all. I assume that most of what I read online is designed to mislead me in some way. In our world, skepticism about any claim or any kind of reporting is both wise and warranted, in my opinion. But let's return to Proverbs 16, 28, because there's more of it. And the last part of the verse says, a gossip separates close friends. Gossip is speech about unsavory details in someone else's life, not the person you're talking to and not your own life. If you say, I wonder if Bob's marriage is in trouble, you're speculating out loud about someone else's life. And that's gossip, just one form of gossip, but it's certainly gossip. If the person you gossiped to repeats that gossip, it starts to spread. This kind of sinful speech, according to this proverb, separates close friends. A lot of relationship damage is done in our world by gossip and misleading, even untruthful, communication. So watch what you say, and watch how you say it, too. Are your words true? Are they spoken to do good in someone else's life? If you're not sure of the answer to either of these, or you know the answer to those is no, then let God's wisdom guide you, and his wisdom to you is keep your mouth shut. Keep your ears shut, too, to this kind of communication. Your life will be better for it. God's Word says so. If you found this devotional helpful, maybe you should sign up to receive it by email. This is completely free and you can always unsubscribe at any time. But if you go to my website, dailypbj.com slash subscribe, and enter your email in the form there, starting tomorrow you'll receive an email from me every day containing a link to the scripture readings so you can be in God's Word every day prompted by the email. And then the same email will give you a transcript and a link to the audio and video of these devotionals so I can help you apply God's word to your life every day. Sound good? Give it a try. Go to dailypbj.com slash subscribe. And please consider giving me some financial support to keep going with work like this. If you're interested in how to do that, go to dailypbj.com slash support. Please share this with someone who might be helped in their faith by it, and I'll see you next time. May God bless you. I hope you have a great day today.