Proverbs 26.27
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.
This proverb tells us that those who try to hurt others will ultimately be hurt by their own harmful actions. Digging a pit refers to laying a trap for someone walking along a path, and rolling a stone refers to ambushing someone who is traveling through a valley.
The picture being painted is the digger losing his balance and falling into his own pit, and the person trying to roll a stone uphill losing his strength and having the stone roll back on him. That’s the eventual outcome of evil intentions.
The point is that seeking to harm others is ultimately self-defeating.
Proverbs 26.28
A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
This is another proverb about people who seek to do harm to others. In this verse, the weapons being used to inflict harm are a lying tongue and a flattering mouth. In the first case, it’s a common sense statement: People who lie about others are motivated by hate.
The second part of the verse makes the point that a flattering tongue also causes destruction. Flattery is a particularly dangerous form of lying. And because people love praise, flattery is much harder to recognize and resist. It is used to manipulate and deceive. It is used to get a person to let their guard down, which then makes them vulnerable to being taken advantage of.
Flattery is poison in a spoonful of honey. A flatterer is more dangerous than an outright liar, because they are crafty, friendly, and subtle in working their deceit, while liars are more easily detected by their open deceitfulness and falsehoods.
Good words do not prove good intentions. Liars and flatterers are out to destroy you, no matter how good their words sound, no matter their excuses. A wise person recognizes and rejects the liars and flatterers. If you tolerate these deceitful people in your life, they will cause big trouble. They are hiding hatred and destruction behind their lying words, and if you are smart, you will stay far away from them.
When they run for office, definitely don’t vote for them.
