3 Choices That Can Ruin Your Life | Proverbs 26 Explained
- caroline borishade
- Sep 26
- 2 min read
Welcome back to Wisdom September. Today, we are in Proverbs 26, a chapter full of vivid imagery and practical lessons. As I reflected on these verses, three themes stood out strongly: three choices that, if we make them consistently, can ruin our lives: folly, laziness, and destructive words.
1. Folly: Repeating the Same Mistakes
Proverbs 26:11 says, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”
This image is uncomfortable, but it is meant to wake us up. Folly isn’t just making mistakes; it’s refusing to learn from them. Wisdom begins with humility: the willingness to admit when we’re wrong and to grow.
Ask yourself: Are there areas in your life where you keep circling back to the same decisions? God’s grace is the power to break that cycle.
2. Laziness: Living on Excuses
Verses 13-16 describe the sluggard. He says, “There’s a lion outside!” when really he is just making excuses. Verse 14 compares him to a door on its hinges turning back and forth but going nowhere.
Laziness is deceptive. It convinces us that tomorrow is always a better day to act. But soon, excuses become a lifestyle. God calls us not only to diligence in our work, but also in our spiritual lives: in prayer, in the Word, in service.
Ask yourself: What “hinges” are you stuck on? Where do you need God to stir you into action?
3. Destructive Words: Setting Fires with the Tongue
Verses 18-28 remind us that words can either build or destroy. Gossip, flattery, and deceit are compared to sparks in dry grass; one careless comment can set everything ablaze.
Proverbs 26:20 says, “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.” What a reminder that we have a choice every day: to fuel conflict or to bring peace.
Ask yourself: Are your words healing or harmful? Do they bring life, or do they tear down?
A Prayer for Wisdom
Lord, help me to recognise patterns of folly in my life and turn from them.
Give me the strength to rise from spiritual laziness and pursue You diligently.
Guard my tongue so that my words bring peace, healing, and love.
Final Thoughts
Proverbs 26 warns us about the destructive power of folly, laziness, and careless words. But wisdom invites us to choose differently: to be humble, diligent, and intentional with our speech.
Friends, remember your choices today shape your tomorrow. Let’s choose wisdom.
As Reflected by First Lady Grace
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