Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 20:17

by David Chadwick

“Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.”

Proverbs 20:17

Today’s proverb is also out of Proverbs 20, verse 17, which says, “Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.” Here is another powerful verse about the terror of deception.

Titus 1:2 says that God does not lie. Truth is his nature and character.

Deceit brings such pain. It is a tactic that leaves a wake of destruction. 1 Peter 2:1 says that we should rid ourselves of all malice and deceit. Leviticus 19:11 says not to lie or deceive one another.

Even Jesus, in John 8:44, addressed those who opposed his message and described them in this way: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

What a profound verse! Satan’s native language is deceit, which means that if we lie, we are speaking the language of the devil, the diabolos, the divider.

Imagine putting a bite of hot bread into your mouth, fresh out of the oven. Warm. Delicious. Mouth-watering. For the moment, it’s worth having! Now imagine you got this bread in a dishonest way. Maybe you stole it and held a baker at gunpoint to get it.

You swallow the bread and all of a sudden, your mouth feels like it’s full of rocks. What a difference that would be! Both startling and gross.

Here’s the truth of this proverb. When bread is gotten by dishonesty, it may taste good for the moment, but later the mouth will be full of gravel. Really think about that picture! Gravel in your mouth. Yuck! What a terrible taste and sensation that would be.

God knows that a person who gets something by dishonest gain, though it may taste good for the moment, will eventually be destroyed. Eventually judgment will come, and that person will reap what he or she has sown.

God is the ultimate judge. He is a God of justice. Eventually he will judge all ill-gain, even though it may momentarily be delicious and satisfying.