Proverbs 11:12 Silence_

Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue. ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

The Hebrew word for “derides” means to despise, or show contempt. So, what if that neighbor is truly mean, abrasive, dismissive, and in the process others think he is the rising star, the person to listen to? What if that same person fabricates stories about you or your motives? It would be very easy to show contempt. But Solomon encourages me not to saying the person who does so, has no sense.

We each have a journey in this life. There is a seasoning of our character, a maturing, growing and becoming. And sometimes the very best that we can do — is to be quiet. Won’t the tree eventually yield its fruit? If someone is not nice, but rather a self-serving liar, the seeds of these things will take root and the vines of deceit will eventually circle around and choke him. Quietness is better than planting seeds of division, confrontation, and discord. Those who do so eventually go to war. But love covers. I receive the Father’s love freely, shouldn’t I offer it freely as well? It’s easy to treat those kindly who are kind to me, but the real exposure of the goodness God has planted within comes with adversity, or that crazy neighbor, coworker, or family member.

In Exodus, Yahweh was giving Moses the plan for the Ark and was describing the cherubim above the mercy seat:

And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold,–of beaten work, shalt thou make them, out of the two ends of the propitiatory. Exodus 25:18

Jesus was the ark of the covenant, and the people of God may be seen in the cherubim that are built on the mercy seat above it. There are two, and Jesus said where two or more are gathered in his name, there he is in their midst. In John 20, Jesus told his disciples, you have the authority to bind and loose — those whose sin you forgive, are forgiven. Is it any surprise that the cherubim reflect you and me? But they are a “beaten work.” The gold didn’t come out of the earth as a beautiful cherub. It was molded into what the Father wanted it to be. And so are we. Being formed in his same image. And at times he uses cranky, crazy despicable neighbors to achieve his ends.