WISDOM OF WORDS (1)

“The MOUTH of the RIGHTEOUS brings forth WISDOM, but the perverse tongue will be cut out” – Proverbs 10:31

Righteousness reflects through the WISDOM of WORDS: “The MOUTH of the RIGHTEOUS brings forth WISDOM, but the perverse tongue will be cut out” (Pro.10:31). This passage begins with words of caution and counsel: “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom” (vv.19-21). Plenty of passages in both the Old and New Covenants advise against the misuse of the tongue. The book of proverbs particularly cautions against speaking too much. There are ways to shape our words to matter in our world.

Wisdom demands that we watch our words: What we say, how often, and how quickly. When words are many, transgression is not lacking. When we speak many words without thinkinng, we’re prone to frequent errors. There’s wisdom found in thinking before we speak. We so often speak quickly, harshly, or rashly, in circumstances where we just need to be silent. We must guard against reacting to issues in a way that quickly leads to sin or to condemning, depressing, or discouraging others, rather than build them up.  If we submit to Him, the Holy Spirit will transform our mouth to a fountain of life, and help us to be quick to listen and slow to speak, to restrain our lips, and to make our words count for the building of the people around us, for the spread of the gospel, and for the Glory of His Name.

Multitude of words can lead to Reckless Speech, characterized by a lack of proper caution, careless of consequences, and irresponsible. One of the vivid passages on the harm from reckless speech says: “Reckless speech is like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Pro.12:18, Tree of Life Version). The reckless person gives no thought to the consequences of what he says. The words may not even be hurtful, but they carry no weight or value. A lot of words can cloud the truth and confuse us. We often don’t realize we’re talking too much when we think we have to give every detail we know, not realizing that the listener already knows it.

Just as the earth or a tree brings forth its proper fruit, the mouth of the righteous abundantly and constantly brings forth wise counsels. Just as a productive field generates good crops, the Wisdom of God will transform our mouths and tongues to produce truthful, valuable, and impactful words, making a positive difference in the lives of others, with few but powerful words. When God gives us things to share with others, we don’t need to embellish it with our own words. His simple, restrained command at creation was: “Let there be light” (Gen.1:3).