Proverbs 26:25 · World English Bible
Proverbs 26:25 Meaning When His Speech Is Charming
When his speech is charming, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.
What does Proverbs 26:25 mean?
Fair words from a mind still ruled by fear are not to be trusted the way the words are trusted, for the surface has been arranged precisely to be believed while the deep place holds a fullness of separation that the pleasant sound conceals. The counsel to withhold belief is not a call to suspicion but a call to look past the coating to the frightened choice beneath, where the real address is being made.
From the Christian Psychology reading below.
Proverbs 26:25 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Christian Psychology
CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY
Christian Psychology
Fair words from a mind still ruled by fear are not to be trusted the way the words are trusted, for the surface has been arranged precisely to be believed while the deep place holds a fullness of separation that the pleasant sound conceals. The counsel to withhold belief is not a call to suspicion but a call to look past the coating to the frightened choice beneath, where the real address is being made.
The many hidden things in the heart are the single error multiplied, separation counted over until it seems like many. Withdraw belief from the mask and lend it instead to the innocent mind the mask hides, and there is nothing fearful left to guard against.
Heart: the deep place of the mind where the real choice is made, holding beneath fair speech a fullness of separation the surface hides
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Christian Psychology lens
Live Proverbs 26:25 today
- Think of someone whose charm you do not quite trust. Instead of building the case against them, ask quietly what they might be afraid of. Stay with that answer.
- When a friend says they are fine in a way that is clearly not fine, do not take the words at face value and do not argue with them either. Stay a little longer, and ask one gentle question.
- In a negotiation or a difficult call, listen for the worry under the smooth pitch. Answer the worry, not the pitch, and watch the whole tone change.
Who have I been reading by their surface when something simpler was underneath?
The same truth in other traditions
Buddhism
Look past the mask a person is holding up and see the fear holding it. What you find there is not an enemy.
Sufism · Rumi
Beyond all the arguing there is a field. Rumi says meet me there, which means leaving the surface where the arguing lives.
Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius
People act badly out of a mistaken idea of what is good for them. Seeing the mistake instead of the malice is what makes you free of it.
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