Slipping Dross

(Proverbs 26:23 KJV)  Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.

I recently was given a small box with a bunch of silver dollars in it.  I did not look at it closely.  I put it aside for examination later.  Because the person giving it to me acted like it had value, I assumed there were at least a few genuine silver coins in the pile.  You may not think about silver dollars much but at one point they were actually made of silver and had intrinsic value in themselves.  Just for fun I checked the spot price of silver and it tells me that the precious metal in a genuine silver dollar is worth about $14.00 today.  Around 1964 they started taking the silver out and debasing the currency.

Many people we run into are like that.  They may come recommended by others or be relatives.  We are often content to accept the surface value.  Often that is the way to go because we are cautioned against getting too excited about judging others.  At the same time we need to be discerning and aware that the dross can slip at any time.  Solomon is going to great effort to make us aware that not only books can have deceptive covers.

So?  Stay alert.  Know the standards of righteousness.  Know the difference between a moment of weakness and a character of deception.