Proverbs 10:17-21. Some lessons on taking instruction, not harboring hatred, speaking only when necessary, and speaking well. One who will not take reproof strays from the path to life; one who conceals hatred has lying lips; and he who slanders is a fool. "When words are many, transgression is not lacking," but the prudent person restrains his lips. A righteous person's tongue is like silver, and his lips feed many, while fools have minds of little worth and they die for lack of sense.

A lot of this about speaking succinctly and wisely is covered in The (Much Needed) Wisdom of Silence, so I'm going to focus on the part about harboring hatred. The proverb says "he who conceals hatred has lying lips." At first glance, one would think it is better to conceal hatred than to let it out, right? Well, maybe ... at least then you are only a liar (and a hater on the inside). But is lying a lesser sin than speaking hateful words? I don't know. I am learning that even the tiniest lie has ripple effects that can be quite disastrous. God is Truth, so any lie is a disavowment of him. That's pretty bad, maybe worse than speaking hatred truthfully.

The point, though, is that we should not even harbor hatred in our hearts, then we don't have to decide whether to conceal it and lie or speak it outright. If we find ourselves feeling hatred toward any other human being, that is a warning sign to us - it is a reproof meant to show us that we need correction. As soon as we feel that feeling welling up in us, we need to step back, remove ourselves from any influences that may be causing that feeling, and pray, pray, pray.

There are no haters in heaven, so we need to ask God to cleanse us of hate in order to attain our ultimate goal.