Proverbs 12:13 · World English Bible
Proverbs 12:13 Meaning An Evil Man Is Trapped by Sinfulness
An evil man is trapped by sinfulness of lips, but the righteous shall come out of trouble.
What does Proverbs 12:13 mean?
The fearful mind is caught in the very attack it speaks, for every accusation thrown outward loops back and binds the one who threw it. Guilt spoken as blame becomes the net around its own speaker.
From the Christian Psychology reading below.
Proverbs 12:13 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Christian Psychology
CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY
Christian Psychology
The fearful mind is caught in the very attack it speaks, for every accusation thrown outward loops back and binds the one who threw it. Guilt spoken as blame becomes the net around its own speaker. This is the ego's whole trap: it condemns to feel innocent and is imprisoned by the condemning. The loving mind, holding no charge against anyone, walks free of the trouble it never made.
What a person refuses to accuse cannot return to accuse the person. To lay down the word of attack is to step out of the snare in the same moment. There is no trap left when there is no blame to spring it.
Snare: the trap the mind lays for itself, the loop by which every accusation returns to bind the one who spoke it Lips: the mind's outward movement of speech and judgment, the place where guilt becomes attack and is cast upon the world
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Christian Psychology lens
Live Proverbs 12:13 today
- Go one day without saying anything critical about a person who is not in the room. When the sentence rises anyway, let it pass and see what you have left to talk about.
- In the group chat where everyone is piling on someone, say nothing, or say the one fair thing. You do not have to defend them loudly, just refuse to add a stone.
- Write the furious email and leave it in drafts until tomorrow morning. If the issue still matters then, write a shorter one that asks for what you need instead of naming who failed.
What have I said lately that I am still caught inside?
The same truth in other traditions
Buddhism · right speech
Before you speak, ask whether it is true, whether it is kind, and whether it needs saying now. Words thrown in anger land first on the one who throws them.
Tao Te Ching 56
The one who knows does not go on talking. Keeping the mouth closed on accusation keeps the mind clear.
Judaism · Talmud
Evil speech wounds three at once: the speaker, the listener, and the one spoken of. Guarding the tongue is guarding yourself.
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