Verse of the Day for August 7

One line appears twice in three verses: but a prating fool shall fall. Proverbs rarely wastes words, so when it repeats itself, it wants us to notice.

A prating fool is a chatterer. Someone whose mouth is always running ahead of his hands. In the first verse he is set beside The wise in heart who will receive commandments. The wise person takes the instruction and gets on with it. The fool talks about it.

Every workplace knows both. The colleague who explains in every meeting what should be done, and the one who quietly does it. Proverbs says the talker will fall, not always quickly, but surely.

In between sits a lovely line: He that walketh uprightly walketh surely. Surely means securely. The honest worker does not need to remember which story she told to whom. Her footing is simple because her ways are straight.

Look at the task in front of you today, the report, the farm, the stall, the ward round. Receive the instruction you have been given and do it well, without announcing it. Let your work speak more than your commentary on the work.

Straight paths are easier to walk because there is nothing to keep track of.

Do one task today without telling anyone about it.