Some troublemakers look like trouble. We know as soon as they show up -who they are and what they are after. However, there are troublemakers who remain undetected because of their appearance and influence. These people are wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing. We can’t always know that they are troublemakers, until the fruit of their sowing and reaping reveals the truth.
Proverbs 22:10(MSG) Kick out the troublemakers and things will quiet down; you need a break from bickering and griping!
Proverbs 14:22-24(NIV) Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness. All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. The wealth of the wise is their crown, but the folly of fools yields folly.
Proverbs 14:22-24(MSG) “Isn’t it obvious that conspirators lose out, while the thoughtful win love and trust? Hard work always pays off; mere talk puts no bread on the table. The wise accumulate wisdom; fools get stupider by the day.”
Proverbs 6:12-19(MSG) Always cooking up something nasty. Swindlers and scoundrels talk out of both sides of their mouths. They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross their fingers behind their backs. Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble. Catastrophe is just around the corner for them, a total wreck, their lives ruined beyond repair.
Proverbs 16:17(NCV) Good people stay away from evil. By watching what they do, they protect their lives.
2 Timothy 2:22-26(MSG) Run away from childish indulgence. Run after mature righteousness – faith, love, peace – joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.
Steer clear of the troublemakers. Who should we allow in our inner circle?
People who are loyal, especially during the tough times – Proverbs 17:17(NIV) A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
People who are honest – Proverbs 27:5-6(NIV) Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
People who make good choices – Proverbs 13:20(NIV) Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.
People who don’t cause strife or gossip – Proverbs 16:28(NIV) A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.
People who support you through thick and thin – 1 Thessalonians 5:11(NIV) Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, …