Good "Why do you serve me the same food as both the
Proverbs learning to his lips" (Prov. 16:23 nkjv). If we devote our hearts to serious study of the Word, even while we're sharing the truth with others, God will teach us more of His truth. I have had this happen while ministering the Word, and it's a wonderful experience of God's goodness.
promises to the Lord or to others (20:25; 22:26–27; see Eccl. 5:1–5).
We hurt others by talking too much. "In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise" (Prov. 10:19 nkjv). "The mouth of fools pours forth foolishness" (15:2). People who discipline their tongue can control their whole body (James 3:1–2). There is "a time to keep silence, and a time to speak" (Eccl. 3:7), and the wise know how to hold their peace (Prov. 11:12–13; 17:28).
One of my schoolteachers used to say, "Empty barrels make the most noise," and she was right. Too often in church board meetings and business meetings, those who talk the most have the least to say. People who don't prepare their hearts for such meetings are making themselves available to become the devil's tools for hindering God's work. If we're filled with the Word and led by the Spirit, we'll be a part of the answer and not a part of the problem.
We hurt others by talking instead of working. "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty" (14:23 niv). Mankind seems to be divided into three classes: dreamers who have great ideas but never accomplish much, talkers who exercise their jaw muscles and vocal cords but not their hands and feet, and doers who talk little but with God's help turn their dreams into realities.
Have you heard the fable of the king and the menu? A king once asked his cook to prepare for him the best dish in the world, and he was served a dish of tongue. The king then asked for the worst dish in the world, and again was served tongue.
4. Only God Can Help Us Use the Gift of Speech for Good When David prayed, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips" (Ps. 141:3), he was doing a wise thing and setting a good example. All of God's people need to surrender their bodies to the Lord (Rom. 12:1), and this includes the lips and the tongue. We must also yield our hearts to the Lord, because what comes out of the mouth originates in the heart.
"Why do you serve me the same food as both the best and the worst?" the perplexed monarch asked.
"Because, your majesty," the cook replied, "the tongue is the best of things when used wisely and lovingly, but it is the worst of things when used carelessly and unkindly."
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (18:21 nkjv).
"The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life" (10:11 niv).
Proverbs 16:1 has been a great help to me, especially when I've been called upon to give counsel: "To man belong the plans of the hearts, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue" (niv). When you couple this with 19:21, it gives you great encouragement: "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (niv). On many occasions, I've had to make decisions about complex matters, and the Lord has given me just the words to speak. However, if my heart had not been in touch with His Word and yielded to His will, the Spirit might not have been able to direct me. If we make our plans the best we can and commit them to the Lord, He'll guide us in what we say and do.
Choose life!
Notes 1 Robert B. Downs, Books That Changed the World (New York: New American Library, 1956), 129. 2 Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct (New York: William Morrow, 1994), 15, 18. Dr. Pinker is professor and director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In his book The Difference of Man and the Difference It Makes, philosopher Mortimer J. Adler calls human speech "the pivotal fact." He says that "man is the only talking, the only naming, declaring or questioning, affirming or denying, the only arguing, agreeing or disagreeing, the only discursive, animal" (New York: World Publishing Co., 1968), 112. That is what makes us different from the "other animals." 3 According to Genesis 3:1–7, Satan tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden tree so she would become like God, "knowing good and evil." But it isn't necessary to disobey God to develop discernment; His divine wisdom instructs us concerning good and evil, and is our "tree of life" (see Prov. 3:18). 4 The Greek word translated "sound" (hugiaino) gives us the English word "hygiene," and means, "to be sound in health." 5 The Hebrew word translated "quarrel" has legal overtones and can refer to a lawsuit (Ex. 23:2–3 niv). Solomon's counsel is wise: it's better to keep cool and speak calmly than to argue with your opponent and end up with an expensive lawsuit that nobody really wins. 6 The Greek word translated "willing to yield" ("easy to be entreated") speaks of a conciliatory attitude and not a compro-
God also gives us "spiritual radar" so that we can assess a situation and make the right reply. "The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable" (10:32). "A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is" (15:23 nkjv; see Isa. 50:4–6). "The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil" (Prov. 15:28 nkjv). There is beauty and value in the "word fitly spoken" (25:11–12).
People who speak wisely, saying the right thing at the right time in the right way, are people who store God's truth in their hearts. "Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding" (10:13 nkjv), and that understanding comes from the Word of God. "Wise people store up knowledge" (10:14 nkjv); they are "filled richly" with the Word of God (Col. 3:16). "The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds