Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
do you really want junk like that in your belly?
I've always thought it wrong to spread gossip, but this challenges me on even listening to it in the first place.
Slack habits and sloppy work
are as bad as vandalism.
Oh, wow. That cuts me. Although I don't believe my work is sloppy, I am rather lazy. The older I get, the more I become aware of how much I need God's grace.
Answering before listening
is both stupid and rude.
Yep.
A healthy spirit conquers adversity,
but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?
Who of us hasn't had a crushed spirit at one time or another?
You may have to draw straws
when faced with a tough decision.
And the Apostles did just that when looking for a replacement for Judas. This strikes me as deeply interesting, in a sort of mysterious deeper-than-the-surface-reading would justify, but trying to explain it would probably nullify it, so I'll not try.
Do a favor and win a friend forever;
nothing can untie that bond.
I'm reminded that these are proverbs, general rules-of-thumb, and not hard-and-fast rules. I suspect I've broken a friendship recently with my stupidity. Still waiting to find out for sure. [Update, five and a half years later: Nope, that friendship is stronger than it was before. Praise Yah!]
Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach;
good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.
I remember years ago my Dad chiding me for wanting to have a good library nearby, saying something to the effect of life not consisting of reading. (He was not denigrating reading at all; he was just implying that there's more to life than books, which he was correct about.) This passage recalls that memory. It also reminds me of Jesus saying that we don't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
Of course, I think the context of this verse is referring more to human interaction rather than to words in a book, but still....
Words kill, words give life;
they're either poison or fruit—you choose.
Wow.
I have great responsibility. How often have I poisoned others with my carelessness or meanness? How needful I am of God's grace!
Find a good spouse, you find a good life—
and even more: the favor of Yhwh!
HA HAA HA HA ha ha - huh? Oh, wait, that wasn't supposed to be funny?
Friends come and friends go,
but a true friend sticks by you like family.
Even when he screws up royally.
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