Still Waters, Sharp Teeth

Prudent people see trouble and hide, while the simpleminded go right to it and get punished. – Proverbs 22:3 (CEB) 

The water looks calm. Sunlit. Inviting. Beautiful. But underneath, a swarm of sand piranhas waits. Too small to see. Fast enough to shred anything warm-blooded that enters their reach. 

Some kinds of harm don’t come with warning signs. They’re quiet and inconspicuous. They look like calm water. They sound like polite conversation. They feel like hospitality. And they only show their teeth when you get too close, speak too clearly, love too freely, or tell the truth too loudly. When you stop playing along, the bite can feel like betrayal because all you’ve done is live honestly. 

There’s a particular kind of violence that hides behind pleasant surfaces. It’s more committed to the appearance of harmony than to the work of truth. And once it’s disrupted—by honesty, by vulnerability—it lashes out. It’s easy to claim peace. It’s harder to live it, especially when truth threatens the systems we’ve been taught to protect. 

Proverbs offers wisdom that sharpens our awareness. It reminds us that discernment is an essential part of faithfulness. Recognizing trouble for what it is doesn’t make us cowardly. It makes us wise. 

We’re called to liberating peace. We’re called to disruptive integrity. To relationships where clarity matters more than comfort. To communities where trust isn’t weaponized. To a gospel that doesn’t dress up dysfunction but names it, uproots it, and makes space for healing. 

Prayer 
Holy Wisdom, where harm hides beneath still waters, stir up your truth. Sharpen my discernment. Strengthen my backbone. Make me bold where I’m called and boundaried where I’m not. Help me tell the difference and trust your Spirit either way. Amen.

About the Author
Phiwa Langeni creatively invites others into transformational liminal spaces between what has been and what is yet to be. They currently serve as the Associate Conference Minister for Equipping Leaders in the Southern California Nevada Conference UCC.