The West Side church of Christ

“When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19 NASU). Sooner or later we are bound to say something that will offend or hurt another. The more we speak the more opportunity we have to slip with our tongues. If we learn to restrain our lips [...]

“He who conceals hatred has lying lips, And he who spreads slander is a fool” (Proverbs 10:18 NASU). Here are two reactions to hating another and both are wrong! First, you can conceal it—this leads you to lie. It is unavoidable. The one who conceals hatred talks like a friend but is not. Even concealed [...]

“He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, But he who ignores reproof goes astray” (Proverbs 10:17 NASU). This verse tells us one way we know if we are on the path or righteousness or the path of wickedness (cf. Proverbs 10:16)—are you heeding wisdom or ignoring it? The focus here is not [...]

Sydney J. Harris said: “The personality of man is not an apple that has to be polished, but a banana that has to be peeled . . . Most of us, however, think in terms of the apple, not the banana. We spend our lives shining the surface, in making it rosy and gleaming, in [...]

“The wages of the righteous is life, The income of the wicked, punishment” (Proverbs 10:16 NASU). There is a choice presented to every man: what do you want to earn? We can earn either life or punishment, the choice is ours. God does not want to be served by robots, He has given us the [...]

“The rich man’s wealth is his fortress, The ruin of the poor is their poverty” (Proverbs 10:15 NASU). A failure to trust in God will lead ruin whether rich or poor (cf. Proverbs 30:7-9). The rich man depends on his wealth for his fortress, but it only seems strong (cf. Proverbs 18:11). Wealth definitely has [...]

“Wise men store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand” (Proverbs 10:14 NASU). A wise person doesn’t have to spout their knowledge all the time. Those who are wise value knowledge and keep it for an appropriate moment. The wise know the right time, place, and person to share [...]

Apathy can be one of the greatest stumbling blocks to our faith. One of the great problems Israel’s prophets frequently address was apathy and indifference (cf. Isaiah 32:9, Lamentations 1:12, Amos 6:1, Zephaniah 1:6). We often know we need to change, but don’t feel like doing it. We know we should pray, we know we [...]

“On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found, But a rod is for the back of him who lacks understanding” (Proverbs 10:13 NASU). If your words are getting you into trouble, it may be because of a lack of discernment. We often have something we want to say, but we don’t always consider [...]

“Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions” (Proverbs 10:12 NASU). Hatred leads us to think the worst of others and look for wrongs done to us. There may be no occasion to argue or fight with another, but if you hate someone you will often find a reason to anyways. Hatred leads us [...]