Beware the Silver Tongue

I was reading my Bible this morning and came across a verse in Romans that made me want to send a loud message to all my single friends -- and really all my married friends too.  Romans 16:18b, "By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people."  I have learned why the phrase "love is blind" started, because love really is blind.  We overlook the biggest of offenses when we are in love, sometimes to our detriment.  I send out a warning to us all: Beware the Silver Tongue!  If someone is full of flattery, they are not really complimenting you, but often they are out for what they can get from you.  I have watched many friends follow after a man who was a sweet-talker but was a villain in disguise.  Watch for the warning signs of controlling behavior.  Are they always checking up on you, what you are doing, where you are?  Are they asking you to break plans with friends and family to spend time with them all the time?  Are they asking for loans with promises of paying you back?  Be especially aware of someone who is acting like this and is married or you are married.  The Bible talks a lot about flattery and deception especially as it pertains to the adulteress.  But this advice covers a deceitful charming man too.  Also as a wife, watch out for other women who may be trying to flatter your husband.  Proverbs 5:3-6, "For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.  Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.  She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not."  Regardless of your place in life, as Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."  We have to be discerning and wise in our dealings with others.  Not everyone has our best interest in mind.  Don't be blinded by love, but love with wisdom.  You are not going to be able to change someone after you marry them.  I have heard it said that we should marry someone whose faults you can live with.  You can't love away an abusive, controlling, lying nature.  Only God can change a heart.