Learn from Mistakes

(Pro 25:19 KJV)  Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

“Confidence” (4009) is a key word here.  Unreliable people cannot always be avoided.  Like a bad tooth, it may be almost impossible to work around.  Often you don’t know the pain is there until after you experience it.  Keep that in mind when someone takes you to the cleaners.  There is an old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.”  

When someone demonstrates they cannot be trusted, stop trusting them.  That does not mean you stop being courteous.  In other places in this chapter you are told to feed your enemies.  There is a certain minimum of behavior demanded of us, but we are not called to be fools.

So?  Learn from your mistakes and don’t let some bleeding heart shame you into being stupid a second time.