A fools proud talk

Proverbs 14:3 (NLT)

3 A fool’s proud talk becomes a rod that beats him, but the words of the wise keep them safe.

The proud man with his tongue lays about him and deals blows at pleasure, but it will in the end be a rod to himself; the proud man shall come under an ignominious correction by the words of his own mouth, not cut as a soldier, but caned as a servant; and herein he will be beaten with his own rod, Ps. 64:8.. A humble wise man saving himself and consulting his own good: The lips of the wise shall preserve them from doing that mischief to others which proud men do with their tongues, and from bringing that mischief on themselves which haughty scorners are often involved in. [Matthew Henry]

Following the murder of 16 Afghanistan civilians by an American soldier in March 2012, David Brooks writes that terrible crimes such as this should not surprise us:

Even people who contain reservoirs of compassion and neighborliness also possess a latent potential to commit murder.

David Buss of the University of Texas asked his students if they had ever thought seriously about killing someone, and if so, to write out their homicidal fantasies in an essay. He was astonished to find that 91 percent of the men and 84 percent of the women had detailed, vivid homicidal fantasies. He was even more astonished to learn how many steps some of his students had taken toward carrying them out.

One woman invited an abusive ex-boyfriend to dinner with thoughts of stabbing him in the chest. A young man in a fit of road rage pulled a baseball bat out of his trunk and would have pummeled his opponent if he hadn't run away. Another young man planned the progression of his murder — crushing a former friend's fingers, puncturing his lungs, then killing him.  [David Brooks, "When the Good Do Bad," New York Times (3-19-12)]

This reminds me of the lead in for the Radio Show “The Shadow”, which started by saying, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?"

God definitely knows the evil that lurks in the hearts of men and God tries to steer us clear of the evil actions we might commit. When we talk proudly as a fool we begin to forget God’s words and think of only our own. Take a moment to be wise and keep your thoughts and words safe from the path of evil.