Be Still And Know

Proverbs 27:6 'Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.' Surely we’ve all had moments when friends have said something to us which made us go: “Ouch!” Perhaps they were giving us a loving warning or strongly disagreeing with our opinion. The ouch was real but, when we got over it, we realised that they said it because they cared. That doesn’t mean they were necessarily right, of course, but the reason they spoke in the way that they did was because of the friendship. Superficially, it is nicer to be kissed than to receive a wound. But the writer of Proverbs makes the point that what really matters is where the kiss or the wound come from. If an enemy kisses you, it might feel nice for a moment but it is a lie. There is no love or commitment behind it and you are much better off without it. A wound that comes from a sincere friend is infinitely more valuable. Speaking truth is never an easy matter. We are continually tempted to try to make people like us by saying the things