Chapter 18
We’ve all seen how one careless comment can ruin a friendship and how the right words, spoken at just the right time, can bring healing. I’m sure you’ve had moments, like I have, where you saw the sting of pain in someone’s eyes after you spoke too quickly and immediately regretted it. But the dart was thrown. The damage was done.
I’ll admit, the deepest hurt I’ve ever felt was seeing my own words wound my wife, my best friend, my partner. I know she felt gut-punched by those thoughtlessly tossed words. And I felt it too; that sickening weight in my stomach and heart as I saw the damage unfold. In that moment, I wanted to crawl under a rock and just ask the Heavenly Father to stomp on it.
Words carry weight, more than we often realize.
Proverbs 18 zeroes in on this truth. It highlights the power of our words, the need for humility, and the value of wise counsel. One moment it’s warning us about how foolishness leads to quarrels, and the next it’s reminding us that “the tongue has the power of life and death.” That’s not just poetry that’s reality!
Whether it’s face-to-face, in a text, or blasted out online, our words have consequences. Proverbs 18 urges us to slow down, listen more, and speak with intention. Because it’s easy to sound wise when we’re quiet… and just as easy to sound foolish when we’re not.
This chapter also reminds us that a prideful heart isolates: “an unfriendly person pursues selfish ends” while humility draws us toward others and opens us up to godly wisdom. Wise people don’t act like they have it all figured out. On the contrary, they ask for input. They value perspective. They know when to speak up and when to shut up.
All of that points us back to Jesus. His words were never careless. They brought life, healing, and truth. Whether He was comforting the broken, confronting hypocrisy, or calming a storm with just a phrase, His words always matched the heart of God. And as His followers, we’re called to speak the same way. It may not be perfectly, but it can be purposefully.
So before you post, text, respond, or vent… pause. Ask yourself: “Are these words building up or tearing down? Are they helpful, or just loud?” Because at the end of the day, the goal isn’t just to say something smart to promote yourself; it’s to speak in a way that reflects the heart of Jesus.
1 An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.
2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.
3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt, and with shame comes reproach.
4 The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.
5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice.
6 The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating.
7 The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives.
8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.
10 The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale.
12 Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.
13 To answer before listening–that is folly and shame.
14 The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?
15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.
16 A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.
17 In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines.
18 Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart.
19 A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city; disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.
20 From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.
21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
22 He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.
23 The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly.
24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.