阅读经文 

有人曾说，神赐诗篇给我们，好叫我们懂得怎样与祂交谈；神赐箴言给我们，好叫我们懂得怎样彼此交谈。箴言二十八章和在它前后的几章圣经，让我们看到人际关系是何等脆弱和复杂。

与人交谈时懂得说合宜的话，往往很困难，有时我们真的会说错话：可能为了错的原因说错话，甚至可能为了错的原因说合宜的话。箴言二十八章21节指出，看人的情面是不好的——而出于错误动机的正当行为也是不好的。对人说他喜欢听的话，为了要避免争执或希望谋取利益——纵使是为了得到像食物这些基本需要——也属于欺诈和败坏的行为。

这段经文回应了箴言二十章17节另一段类似的经文：“以虚谎而得的食物，人觉甘甜，但后来他的口必充满尘沙。”说一些我们以为另一个人喜欢听到的话，通常都不能取悦人，最后甚至会伤害每一个牵涉在其中的人。耶稣教导我们：“心里所充满的，口里就说出来。”（参路 6:45）我们若满足于唯有耶稣才能赐下的生命的粮，我们便会实实在在说真话的了。

It has been said that the Psalms were given to us so that we could know how to speak to God, and that the Proverbs were given so that we'd know how to speak to each other. Proverbs 28, as well as the chapters around it, reveal how delicate and complex human relationships are.

It's often a challenge to know what to say to each other, and sometimes we get it really wrong: saying wrong things for the wrong reasons, and even saying right things for the wrong reasons. The proverb in verse 21 points out that it's not good to play favorites—and it's also not good to act with false motives. To say what someone else wants to hear just to keep the peace or to gain a reward—even for a basic thing like bread—can be deceitful and corrupt.

This echoes a similar message found in Proverbs 20:17 (NRSV): "Bread gained by deceit is sweet, but afterward the mouth will be full of gravel." Saying what we think another person will want to hear usually doesn't bring satisfaction, and it can eventually hurt everyone involved. Jesus teaches that "the mouth speaks what the heart is full of" (Luke 6:45). If we are satisfied by the bread of life that only Jesus can give, we will speak truth.