“Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6).
A saying goes that our best friend is the one who will tell us the truth, even if it
hurts. This verse illustrates that principle as the preacher employs contrast and
even irony to paint the verbal picture he wants to paint.
Disguised love or deceit is really at the center of this proverb. Solomon uses the
words “faithful” and “wounds” in juxtaposition to one another as well as the words
“kisses,” “enemy,” and “deceitful.”
One does not expect wounds to be a positive act coming from a friend nor does he
expect those wounds to be described as faithful, that is, until we realize the word
means “directed by truth and discriminating affection.” Likewise, one does not
expect kisses to come from an enemy, even though if they do, he knows they are a
deceitful act.
The message is that it is more blessed to have a friend who will always tell us the
painful truth about everything than it is to have a deceitful phony “friend” who will
lavish glowing praise upon us in our presence, even though we know he will have
quite different words in our absence.
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