>13 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.
14 The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.
19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.
Last nite which watching Shark Week on Discovery Channel I heard once again about the huge amount of bacteria in a shark’s mouth, often the first challenge is a lack of blood after a shark bite, but a close second is the infection from the bacteria in the wounds. It has bee said that the mouth is the most dirty part of the Human body, hard to believe when we all have butts, so I’m not sure how true that is. Proverbs warns us against the spiritual bacteria that is within our mouths; lead to the rod, bring ruin, make you a fool, leads to transgression, reveals a wicked heart, and starves you.
Most people who know the bible know the story of Isaiah the prophet who is taken before the throne of God, and asked to deliver prophecy to God’s people. His response is “I am a man od unclean lips from a people of unclean lips.”. And God provides a burning coal to cleanse him for the job. This is a great example of confession before God of these failures on our part to control our lips/mouth, but also demonstrates the the resolution to our unclean lips is not easy. I still find myself enjoy ping aimless talk and speculation. Only recently thogpugh I am realizing that I am regularly wrong about things I am convinced of and convincing others of, also I’m finding that people listen to me. That is a bad combination, a man of unclean lips from a people of unclean lips.
Oh wretched man that I am, what do I have to look forward too? Great gifts that are the desciption of wisdom in Proverbs are to be found on my lips; wisdom, knowledge, prudence, worth, and nourishment. This comes from a few places, from God to our silenced heart, through His word, through others especially our spouses, and through those who have gone before us in glory that have experienced God in their time. My heart needs to be silenced though before those other means can crack into me. When I have the answer before me and I’m going to God for confirmation, God often let’s me continue to be fooled by myself and later whe I’m smacked upside the head and humble can I hear from Him. His word sometimes only convinces me of what I’ve already studied, without every being anything I truly KNOW. It took me awhile to write this post for that reason, God just needed to let these verses stew in my heart and mind.
There is one of these Proverbs that really stands out to me because it has to do with a lack of words rather than an excess of them: 18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool
. Though silence is helpful in discernment it should not be used as an excuse to sin. I regularly find my hedging how I say things especially with my wife, there is no need. We love each other are committed to each other and should talk freely and fully with each other. So root out the injustices you are troubled by and use that hatred to speak for change, change for the good. This is a big oart if forwarding the Kingdom of God, His people using their voices for the good when it comes to injustices against those God loves!
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