Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Today we dug back into the wisdom of Solomon, and as usual, he covers a lot of ground,

so I'm just going to touch on a few things that stood out to me or that have the potential

to be confusing.

Chapter 25 encourages us not to be presumptuous in relationships with others, and it covers

a variety of relationships.

First, we shouldn't elevate our level of importance with others.

Wisdom helps us stay low, and in the same way that wisdom doesn't esteem itself, wisdom

also doesn't degrade others or their motives when it doesn't know the whole story.

That requires humility too, and patience.

Verses 9-10 encourages and wise behavior when we have a problem with someone else.

The passage reminds us that we should talk about our problems with the person we have

the problem with, not everyone else.

That requires humility and patience too.

And verse 15 tells us what great power the humble, patient tongue can wield.

It says, with patience, a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.

Patients and humility have a more powerful impact than being forceful and arrogant.

Much of the rest of the proverb offers wisdom on self-control and how that ties into humility.

It urges self-control in everything from how much we eat, in verse 16, to how often we

visit our neighbor in verse 17.

The general theme is that too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

Self-control also guides us in seemingly minor areas like what words we say to a grieving

...