Visit your neighbor sparingly so that overexposure does not turn affection into resentment.
Solomon applies the principle to friendship in Proverbs 25:17: Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor's house, or he will become weary of you and hate you (v. 17). Even good company has limits.
Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor's house. The verse counsels measured visits, not constant presence. Friendship is sustained by anticipation as well as by encounter. The neighbor who never sees you is no friend; the neighbor who always sees you finds you tiring.
Or he will become weary of you and hate you. Solomon is honest about how relationships break down. Affection that has been worn out by overexposure can curdle into resentment. The wise man calibrates his presence so that his friend continues to welcome him. The principle of moderation from verse 16 carries through.
Proverbs 25:17
17 Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor's house,
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Proverbs 25:17 meaning
Solomon applies the principle to friendship in Proverbs 25:17: Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor's house, or he will become weary of you and hate you (v. 17). Even good company has limits.
Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor's house. The verse counsels measured visits, not constant presence. Friendship is sustained by anticipation as well as by encounter. The neighbor who never sees you is no friend; the neighbor who always sees you finds you tiring.
Or he will become weary of you and hate you. Solomon is honest about how relationships break down. Affection that has been worn out by overexposure can curdle into resentment. The wise man calibrates his presence so that his friend continues to welcome him. The principle of moderation from verse 16 carries through.