The past few posts have dealt with topics from the book of proverbs. During the first one I spoke about the importance of wisdom, and the concept of the Fear of the Lord. The second one was about money, wealth, and eternal riches . The third one was about New Years resolutions, which kind of touched on topics in Proverbs relating to hard work. Today, I want to teach another topic that is very common in Proverbs, and is important throughout scripture. The topic is the tongue, our Words.

18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Words are what we use to get our point across. Words let us take what’s in our hearts and minds and express that to somebody else. Without words to transfer thoughts, we would be limited to only what we create in our own heads. And without any language or vocabulary, our own thoughts that we would be limited to – they wouldn’t even be developed and formed with the same coherence. Words matter so much that scientists have found that your native language influences the way your mind solves problems and perceives the world.

And most importantly, Words matter in the Bible. Because Words matter to God, As Christians, we need to take this concept seriously. We need to look closely at what the Bible tells us. Proverbs talks about language, our tongues, our words, and how we choose to express ourselves to others. Let’s start.

10:14 The wise store up knowledge,
but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.
15:2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge,
but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
18:6 The lips of fools bring them strife,
and their mouths invite a beating.
18:7 The mouths of fools are their undoing,
and their lips are a snare to their very lives.

Now Remember, Proverbs is a different type of book in scripture. When we study the truth found in Proverbs, we also need to remember that these are general tendencies, not a guarantee or a 100% certainty. Foolish lips don’t always invite a beating, and wise people’s speech isn’t always knowledgable. But the general tendency exists. So from these proverbs we see some qualities found in various types of people. These verses were selected to show how words can help or hurt, depending on conditions. Proverbs offers many warnings about how we use our words. The theme from these four verses is that there are different ways to use our tongue and our language. There’s a wise way to speak and there’s a foolish way. These verses aren’t just saying that there’s wise words and foolish words. There isn’t an appendix or list with a bunch of words to use, and a bunch of words to avoid. These verses are saying something deeper. They say that our character actively shapes our words. When you gain wisdom, your character changes and you speak differently. Verse 15:2 says if you are wise, your speech adorns knowledge. Because character influences the words we speak, we can learn about or see someone’s character by listening to them speak. The dangerous thing is if we speak foolishly or misspeak, there are consequences. We can apologize, and try to take back our words. We can speak more words to try and clarify the previous words that we’ve spoken. We can try and offer an alternate interpretation, or explain that the context was different. But once something is said, we can never turn back time to un-say that. According to these verses, fools tend to find themselves eating their words. Verse 10:14 says their speech “invites ruin”. Verse 15:2 says “gushes folly” Verse 18:6 says “bring strife” and “invite a beating”. Verse 18:7 “their undoing” and “a snare to their very lives” . In just these 4 verses there is a big list of bad things that could happen if we aren’t careful with our words. These verses don’t get into explaining how speaking causes these bad things happen. So let’s move on to some examples.

The first way our words get us into trouble is when they lose their meaning. When we speak, people will listen. And they remember what we said. If we promise more than we can deliver, there will be consequences. When we aren’t trustworthy in our speech, we lose our credibility. This is dangerous because if we ever want to share our faith, or talk about deep and important things, the person we are talking to would dismiss our speech. Without credibility, no one will listen to you or believe what you say regardless of how true it is. It’s like the story of the boy who cried wolf. So if we ever intend to be taken seriously we want to be credible and trustworthy. Numbers 30:2

When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.

Matthew 5:33-37 33
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

The Bible says let your yes be yes and your no be no. No swearing on anything in heaven above or earth. Why? Because we involve an absolutely trustworthy God in our imperfect credibility. Even the best intentioned, most honest person is still far less credible than God. Verse 36 says we aren’t credible because we aren’t in control. We can’t make a hair white or black. We should just say what we intend to do, and do our best to do what we say. The degree to which we do what we say will build or tear down our credibility. Now, of course we can’t live up to every promise we make. We aren’t perfect, and we aren’t sovereign! But the book of proverbs talks about something even more sinister than just failing to act according to your words. Sometimes we as humans say something that we know is not true. This is lying. There’s a commandment, Thou Shalt not bear False Witness. And the book of proverbs gives many examples of this. Lying:

10:18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.
12:17 An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies.
12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
12:22 The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

When we know something to be false, but speak as though it were true– When we say something to mislead or deceive another person, we are sinning. This is wrong. We are taking advantage of somebody else’s trust in us. We dishonor God when we mishandle people’s trust. We also do something else when we lie. We paint a picture of reality that isn’t true, or real. This dishonors God because He is the creator of the Universe, Time, and everything we see. So whenever we deceive someone else, we are essentially creating a different world than the one that God has placed us in.. And then we take that false world and convince a trusting person that our Universe is real, and God’s is fake. When you look at it that way, you understand why Verse 12:22 says that the Lord detests lying lips. Next topic, the misuse of tongues – Perversion

10:31 From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced.
10:32 The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.
15:4 The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

Verses 31 and 32 warn about perversion in our speech. The way we joke or the things we talk about are worthy of examination. Remember, our tongues are to be used to give God praise and to build each other up. When we use our words to honor God, we are speaking for righteousness. But I find myself speaking idle words or settling for an entertaining conversation, when I could use my words for so much more. We settle for something good, when we could speak something great. And that is the best case scenario… And there are some people whose language is like a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. Or Bruce Banner and the Hulk. It’s like they have multiple personalities, based on listening to them speak. And we all speak differently in different situations. When we’re at church or around kids, we are mild mannered and polite. But around certain older friends or different groups, we speak a certain way, with a certain attitude, and we use words that we probably shouldn’t choose around children. In James 3:9-12, this warning is reiterated. I wrote a post more detailed about James 3.

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

We should desire to speak consistently whether we are talking to children or adults. It’s actually a gift to our minds to allow our speech and our mouths to remain consistent. Let’s move on. Misuse of Tongue – Gossip

11:13 A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
16:28 A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.
18:8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.

This issue comes up a lot in Proverbs. Gossip. What is gossip? The dictionary describes it as: casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. I have been told that gossip has caused tremendous amounts of grief, sadness, anger and hurt in many lives. And one of the saddest things about gossip is that people who identify themselves as Christians are often the most notorious offenders in this area. From stories that I’ve heard, the issue of Gossip seems to have infiltrated and harmed the church in a disproportionate way. I am not sure why. But I guess it could be because if we act according to Scripture, than we Christians tend to avoid problems of our own. That’s a good thing, but it’s also less interesting. So maybe the boredom of one’s own life causes us to enjoy the problems or struggles of others. In that case, the gossip can spread quite rapidly. All of a sudden, a private bit of info can make you immediately popular among other bored people. Maybe it could start out innocently enough. “You really need to pray for Andrew. He’s going through something.” before you know it, you’re telling something personal that Andrew wanted to keep private. That breach of confidence is described in the first scripture verse. Prov 11:13. It’s very similar to lying in this way. In another person’s eyes, you are have been trusted. In the case of gossip, you’re trusted to keep a secret. In the case of lying, you’re trusted to tell the truth. The sin occurs because you take that trust and take advantage of it. You Either take advantage of it to spread a private story in the case of gossip, or to fabricate a new reality in the case of lying. Whenever you breach confidence or trust, you disobey and dishonor God, who is worthy of our confidence and trust. Sometimes Christians like to use this as an excuse for bad behavior. They’d say, “well it’s good they learned they can’t trust me. You shouldn’t trust man, but God alone” While the second half of that is true (we should trust God alone), that type of rationale or reasoning is not Biblical. It’s like when Paul argued that we shouldn’t do evil so that good may result. While it’s true we shouldn’t put our trust in man, as Christians we are called to be a trustworthy people. We are called to reflect God’s light. When we belong to Christ, we represent God to a fallen world. Because of these reasons, the example we set should never be a counterexample. When we DO set a bad example, we should be quick to apologize with a humble attitude. We should not hide the sin, but confess it, and ask for forgiveness. We should be a people who are joyful to do the right thing, according to God’s word. And God’s word doesn’t just mention spreading gossip. This should be a warning to everyone who likes to receive or hear gossip. Look at verse 18:8. Gossip is pleasant to consume, but that doesn’t mean that we should. We have an obligation to not spread gossip, but that’s not our only obligation. We also shouldn’t be a recipient, or somebody who’s interested in hearing other people’s personal business. So those are a few bad things that we can do with our speech. Lying, Perversion, and Gossip. Now let’s see what the Bible says about avoiding those bad things. When we examine ourselves, what if we find that we tend to speak foolishly. We eat our words. What then? If we can’t use our words for bad, the Bible gives us an alternative.

10:19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.
11:12 Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.
17:28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.

These verses explain that prudence allows for us to hold our tongues. It’s much harder to over-promise, lie, or to spread gossip, when you substitute silence for speech. When we are tempted to blurt out things we will probably later regret, the Bible tells us that silence is a good alternative to speaking. There are groups of people who as a religious exercise make vows of silence. Monks. It always impressed me to see people so focused on God that they gave up speaking. But then the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like an easy way out. I thought about all the things that they could be saying but aren’t. I thought about how sometimes the most difficult things to say are the very things we need to say to help each other. The Bible supports silence and restraint of speech, but only to a certain point. The truth is, while silence can be better than foolish speech, there is an even better use of our tongue.

15:28 The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.
18:13 To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.

We are called to answer questions. Not immediately. Not with our tongues gushing anything that pops in our head. We are called to wisdom. We are supposed to be rational. We are supposed to listen to what’s being said and weigh our answers. But eventually we are supposed to ANSWER. We don’t just stay silent like a monk. We respond, and engage other people’s thoughts. What happens then?

15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not upright.
16:21 The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction.
16:23 The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote instruction.
10:20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.

Verse 15:7 explains that If we use our lips and speak like ones who are wise, we spread knowledge. We impart wisdom and instruction to others. Chapter 16 verse 21 says that when we are wise, it’s something beyond our minds. Our wisdom affects not just our minds, but our hearts too. When we have that kind of wisdom, it’s not just our thoughts that are transformed, but also our emotions and every dimension of our character. Chapter 16 verse 23 explains that discernment and prudence don’t just happen. These are developed. The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent. Prudence and discernment in our speech isn’t something that just happens. It’s something that comes from our heart. The problem is our hearts are deceptive, and we can’t change them. The Bible tells us that God changes our hearts. God gives us the desires of our hearts. So if we don’t have that desire for prudent and discerning speech, we need to ask God for his grace and mercy to give us those things. Chapter 10:20 explains that when we develop Godly speech, our words become valuable. How? Let’s read a few more:

10:21 The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.
12:18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
12:25 Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.

Our tongues become valuable because our speech nourishes people. Chapter 12:18. The tongue of the wise brings healing. What these verses say is that there are people out there who are hungry for the wisdom that we enjoy. Our speech can feed somebody who hungers for the bread of life. Our words can be used to bring healing to somebody who is suffering. They may not be suffering from a literal sickness, but the entire planet does suffer to some degree from the consequences of living in a world that’s been affected by the fall. Even though the Bible tells not to be anxious about anything, every one of us feels anxiety about things we fear. God is Sovereign, right? Even though God is in control, we feel anxious because we aren’t in control. We don’t trust God as much as we should, and so we feel anxiety. Nobody is immune from those types of doubts or fears. But Look at Chapter 12 verse 25. Anxiety weighs down the heart, but kind words bring cheer. Our words can be used to build up each others’ faith. Our words can be that refreshing drink of water given to somebody who is thirsty.

15:23 A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!
15:30 Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.
16:24 Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Chapter 15 verse 23. Not only can we build others up, but this verse says that when we give an apt or appropriate reply, WE are the ones who find joy. We can work towards making our speech glorifying to God, not just to help others but also to increase our OWN joy. And the Bible says that’s good. We aren’t being selfish, even if we are motivated by increasing OUR joy, because this joy is Godly. Chapter 15:30 When we bring the words of truth from the Bible, who are we? We are messengers of God’s word. We come with the light of Heaven above in our eyes, and we bring joy to the hearts of whoever listens to us. What do we bring? Good news. We bring the best news out there. There is a perfect God who loves imperfect people. He is willing to forgive our sins and disobedience. Not by our good works, but by His gift that he gives to us. He gave us his only Begotten son. His perfection. His righteousness. We don’t deserve it, but it was given to us, and we are associated with that righteousness. We don’t have to be religious or do anything, it’s a gift that we receive.. We receive that gift by Faith, and that faith is not even ours, so there’s nothing we add, nothing we can boast about. We are objects of mercy and grace, even though we deserve to be objects of wrath. Chapter 16 Verse 24. We were given gracious words. God’s message is a message of Grace. That message of grace is sweet like a honeycomb. That message restores souls, and heals the bones. When those words are what come from our lips. When that message is spoken and testified by our tongues. THEN we use our speech as God had fully intended. We don’t speak falsehood, gossip, perversion. We don’t hold our tongues. We bring truth and restoration to a world that desperately needs it.

Remember. Words are important to God. How do we know?

God created the universe using words. Before each and every thing He created, first He spoke. He started by saying “let there be light”. He didn’t need to use words, but using Words brought Him Glory.
In the Word, through the word, and for the Word, all things were created.

The Bible tells us that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. But because of God’s glorious plan- Because of His great love for His elect, God sent The Word to became flesh and dwell among men. This word that became flesh is known to us as the only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Most men didn’t recognize the Word. They didn’t receive the Word. However there were and still are some who do believe.

Words are important because God’s word is Jesus Christ. Does your word honor God’s Word? Do your words agree with God’s word? If the answer is no, then examine yourself. Pray for God’s spirit to work on you. The Good news is that God’s grace is sufficient for your weakness. The good news is we aren’t condemned! We aren’t justified by our ability to say the right words. We are justified by God’s word, his Son, Jesus Christ. There is grace and mercy for us.