A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken. Proverbs 15:13
The state of our hearts is vitally important to the way that we live - and whether we will live in joy or sadness. Also, as we will learn from this passage, the state of our countenance is also something about which we should be concerned. To say that we are Christians and know God's joy, yet for this joy never to reach our face (i.e. our countenance) is a bad testimony to those around us - and especially to the lost. This proverb holds a great deal of wisdom for us if we will open it and learn from it. First, we have the joyful heart. This heart is the one filled with joy and as a result is exceedingly glad. This gladness does not come from mere human prosperity - but truly comes from and is maintained by the blessings of the Lord. In the New Testament this joy comes from knowing Christ Jesus and the salvation that He brings to us. It comes from knowing that God loves us and that we are saved from the wrath of God through Him. This is a joy that floods our hearts no matter what our outward circumstances. It is a joy, as Peter expresses it, that causes us to greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. The foundation of this joy - obtaining the outcome of our faith - which is the salvation of our souls (1 Peter 1:8-9). This joyful heart communicates with our countenance - and brings us to have a cheerful face. No matter our circumstances we can stop and remember that our sins are washed away - that we are made righteous in Christ - and that as a result - we are saved. That can bring a cheerful expression to any face. I find it disturbing that some are what I would call, "lemon-sucking Christians." They seldom have a joyful or cheerful expression on their face. They always seem sour about something. It is almost that they are unwilling to be happy and joyful. This is a horrible witness to Christ and to the salvation that He brings. Sure there are things about which I am concerned - even heartbroken. But, in spite of everything that happens and can happen - the one constant is my salvation - that I will not face the wrath of God and I will enjoy fellowship with God here and now - and forever in heaven. Then there is the sad heart. The word used for "sad" here is "assebet" which clearly refers to emotional suffering - and not usually to pain or injury. This is a sadness of heart. It is truly fascinating to look at what brings on "assebet" in someone Scripturally. This kind of sadness or grief is caused by idolatry (Psalm 16:4), by a fear of spiritual discipline over our sin (Job 9:28), or by those who "wink the eye" in evil plots (Prov. 10:10). Some might refer to this to speak of someone with a broken heart over sin or over the loss of a loved one - but that is not the way that "assebet" is used Scripturally. This is a sadness brought on by disobedience, sinfulness, and a walk contrary to the ways of God. This kind of sadness causes our spirits to be broken. The word "broken" here means that we are stricken, smited, or scourged. We have a bad situation in our lives due to sin - and our spirits are broken due to the consequences of our sin. When you look at this proverb and the meanings of the words used in it, you see that wisdom therefore is to walk with God. When we do joy will come to us - and our countenance, our face will reflect it. But to walk in disobedience and rebellion is to invite a brokenness and sadness into our lives which will fill our hearts with emotional suffering. How many in our world walk in this kind of suffering every day. But, dear saints of God, we can alleviate this suffering by sharing the gospel with them and encouraging them to come to Christ - Who can deliver them from their sin and flood their hearts with His own joy. This Proverb truly helps us to see the difference between the lost and the saved - between those who embrace obedience to God versus those who mock such a lifestyle. The difference is the Source of their joy. The difference between a sad countenance - and a cheerful one - is the gospel and the joy of knowing that we are saved.
3 Comments
A scoffer does not love one who reproves him, He will not go to the wise. Proverbs 15:12
Why is it that even when there is wise and godly counsel available, people do not take advantage of it? A southern saying that I heard a while back may help us on this situation. The reason a scoffer does not go to a wise man is the same reason a criminal does not hang out with the police. The proverb here tells us that a scoffer does not love someone who corrects or reproves him. The scoffer is the one who mocks the things of God. He makes fun of God's commandments and laws - and derides God Himself. He does this because he does not believe and because in his infinite arrogance he prefers his limited little pea-brain's ability to think - rather than the mind of the infinite God as it is revealed in the pages of Scripture. But he is not content to just reject the things of God - he scoffs at them - and seeks to get others to reject them as well. He is the "anti-evangelist" if you will - or at least an evangelist for his own foolish thinking. What is fascinating about the scoffer is that we read that he doesn't love anyone who reproves him. He is filled with pride and arrogance and therefore always thinks that he is right. In his own mind he is irreproveable - beyond correction. In this way it is only fitting that the one who thinks there is no God would consider his own wisdom and counsel very god-like. He is a god unto himself - and resents it when someone would deign to question his omniscience. There is a consequence to this arrogant man's rejection of reproof. As a result of it, he will not go to the wise. He rejects them - and their much needed counsel. This is a sad state of affairs because they could greatly use wise counsel. Thus this arrogant scoffer will remain a law unto himself - an island of self-sought, self-taught, self-exalting wisdom - that is nothing more than foolishness and arrogance disguising itself as sage counsel. This is why the wise man needs to embrace and welcome correction and reproof. Please do not misunderstand me - these things are seldom pleasant when they come. In fact they can be very difficult to hear as they are spoken to us. That is why I am grateful that Scripture tells me that discipline is not pleasant, but painful when it arrives. But I am also counselled in James and in Hebrews that when received it will bear fruit - creating a harvest of righteousness, truth, wisdom, and understanding when I welcome it and learn from it. Remember that the next time God in His love allows correction and rebuke to come into your life. Don't be like the scoffing fool who does not love the ones who reprove him. Be like the godly man who turns his ear to wise and godly rebuke. It will help open our ear to wisdom itself, and will bless us by turning us from unwise, arrogant, and unprofitable ways. Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way; He who hates reproof will die. Proverbs 15:10
What happens when we depart from God's ways? According to this passage in Proverbs there is a very serious consequence for us when we do this. Even worse is what awaits us if we go even further than this and reject God's reproof after we've left his ways. What is at stake here? Well, what drives this particular proverb is the idea of "forsaking the way." "The way," refers to God's way - the way of his commandments. Several times the phrase, "the way of the Lord" is used to refer to this. If you want to understand it better you can turn to the 119th Psalm which calls it by various names like, "the way of righteousness," "the way of Your testimonies," "the way of Your precepts," "the way of Your statutes," as well as what we've already said as the way of God's commandments. This way is the commands and the things God calls us to be and to do in His Word. When we "forsake" this way, we are doing the following. We no longer listen carefully to God's Word - we don't pay heed to it or obey it. But the core idea here is no longer listening or paying attention to someone. That Someone here is God. In case you do not know what this means - it means as you listen - you do so in order to respond and obey God. What happens when we forsake God's way? The Word here says that we face "grevious punishment." The word translated for this is the Hebrew word "ra" - and it simply means, bad things! When you no longer walk with God, listen to Him, or obey Him - bad things are going to eventually happen in your life. This is the case no matter whether you are His or not. If you take a close look at the progress (or regress) of the world around you, you can see that ignoring and forsaking God's ways has never led to a world of peace and blessing. By its very nature this world works best when God's ways and paths are followed. When they are ignored - or worse - shunned, things go bad. This is a fait accompli - an established fact! Now a second warning is also issued at this point - and I think it is a reminder that God's rebuke and reproof are proofs of His love - not hate. When we forsake God's way, we will face bad things, but when we go further and ignore His loving reproof of those ways and continue in rebellion - we are headed toward death. It is God's great mercy and love that arrests us in our rebellion with disciplinary action. He allows difficulties and problems to come to us to turn us from the insanity of abandoning His ways. But when we are too stubborn to listen - we are moving toward death itself. What is terrifying is the warning in 1 John that there is a sin leading unto death - a point at which a disciplinary measure from God involves having a person die. Wisdom tells us to respond to His discipline and His reproof quickly - so that we will not have to go that far. One last comment on this passage. These two truths are just that - truth. But they had their most astounding fulfillment in the cross of Jesus Christ. It was there that we saw the most grievous punishment imaginable. It had nothing to do with the Roman scourage or the nails in the hands of our Savior. It had little or nothing to do with the agony of the cross physically as Jesus gapsed for air as His torn and bruised body slowly died on the cross. But it had everything to do with why Jesus sweat blood the night before in the garden. It had everything to do with the agony of the wrath and judgment of God upon sin. Calling it a grevious punishment seems too small in light of what it truly cost Christ to pay for our sin before His holy Father. That is why we should never take sin in our lives lightly. Yes, our sin was paid in full by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - but we should always view that truth with both trembling and a sense of honor to God for what He did for us. Otherwise we will take sin too lightly - and risk thinking that forsaking His way really is not that bad - and it really won't cost us much. There is foolish talk that reaches to the heavens themselves - and the kind of talk that will give rise to actions that will in the end yield that grevious punishment and stinging rebuke. The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves one who pursues righteousness. Proverbs 15:9
We need to seriously sit down from time to time and ask ourselves two very pointed questions. The first is this, "What way am I going?" That describes the path that we are walking. There is a way that we are going - a series of choices that is slowly but surely making a way for us. Another way to put it is where is my "lifestyle" going. A choice yields a consequence - a series of choices leads to a habit - and a way of choosing will lead to a lifestyle. Where are our choices leading us? We read here that the way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. God looks at the consistent choices of the wicked - and He hates it. He considers it an abomination to Him. The word used here for wicked means the guilty or the transgressor. This is the man who looks at God's law - God's Word - and just walks over it on his way to doing whatever he wants. He is a transgressor - one who steps over the line - who ignores the rules - at least the rules of God. We learn from this proverb that God considers this way of living an abomination. It is a little comforting to see that God says it is the way of the wicked that is an abomination - not the wicked person himself. But God is not at all shy in saying how much He hates the wicked way - the wicked lifestyle. The word abomination means that God sees the lifestyle choices of the wicked and finds them disgusting, abhorent, and abominable. This is something I think we've had a tendency to shy away from in recent years. We don't call sin what it is - an abomination. Sin absolutely disgusts God. He abhors it! There is wrath that is being stored up for the wicked - and we need to see this because too often we tend to want to mollify how God feels about sin. But the cross should solve for us once and for all that God hates sin. If this is how He had to punish His Son for becoming sin - believe the Scriptures when they say that God hates sin! But before this proverb becomes just about how God considers sin an abomination - we need to see the second half of this proverb. It holds great promise and hope for the one who pursues what is right. The Lord loves the one who pursues righteousness. What a great promise this is for us. Note does not say that the Lord only loves the one who achieves righteousness. It says pursue! Thus, we may not always live as righteous as we want - we may not always be the perfect example of godliness and holiness - but when we pursue it (or pursue Him) - God loves it! The word "pursues" here means to chase after or to chase down. This is not just a casual pursuit of righteousness, it is a dedicated and passionate pursuit. God absolutely loves it when we pursue righteousness. He delights in one who says that he wants God's ways - not wicked ways. Since we are talking about a true understanding of righteousness - we also must include that he chases after righteousness the right way. He does not seek it by works - but realizes that faith-based righteousness that is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to become righteous. As he embraces this righteousness he also wants to learn how to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as the fruit of the Spirit is produced within him. He cooperates by dying to self and living only to please God in what he does. There are two ways presented before us in this proverb. There is the way of wickedness that rejects God and rejects His holiness and truth - and there is the passionate pursuit of righteousness. This is not a pursuit of our own righteousness obtained by the Law - but a pursuit which is by faith from first to last. This pursuit is eventually set upon the Lord Jesus Christ. We pursue Him - a relationship with Him and a passion to serve and to love Him with all our hearts. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight. Proverbs 15:8
Here we once again have the upright and the wicked contrasted with one another. The scope of this comparison and contrast is in the realm of their religious activities. Thus the focus of the wisdom that God wants to offer to us today is in relation to how we approach Him. Let's take a look and see what we can learn. First thing we read about is the sacrifice of the wicked. There are a couple of things we need to see to understand wisdom in approaching God. First, we see that this man is wicked. Now before you begin to think that I believe we can approach God without sin and wickedness being and issue, know that I believe that man is ruined due to sin. When we approach God to be saved - one of the things we have to know is that we are wicked. We have sinned against God. His commandments should make that clear to us. And it is not just "little slips" of which we are guilty - the 10 commandments alone will convict us of things like adultery, blasphemy, murder, and perjury. That is why we need a Savior! But the wicked in this passage is a wicked man who does not intend to turn from his wickedness. His sacrifice is an abomination to God because it is offered without repentance and a desire to change. It is offered as a religious plattitude - and something to placate God - to have God be satisfied with his little pittance of religion. God considers such religious obligations (without true repentance) to be an abomination. That is why we read in Isaiah chapter one God saying, "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. "When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies. I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. "I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. (Isaiah 1:11-14, NASB) If you think that you are tired of dead religious activities, think about how God feels about them. Israel had become a group of people all about their religious observances - and nothing about God. Isaiah later tells them that God wants repentance and a desire to live godly. The sacrifice of the wicked is hated by God because it assumes that our sin means very little. Considering that sin required the death on the cross of the Son of God - the shedding of His blood - the crushing of His body - God does not like it at all when we think lightly about our sin. When we get so religious that we feel that our religious practices done without any heart or repentance whatsoever are sufficient to placate the wrath of God - God is angry. He sees such things as an absolute abomination to Him. Wisdom therefore is seeing the emptiness of mere religious observance. As God taught Samuel, we are not to look at the outward appearance of things. Man judges like that, but God judges by what is in the heart. There is another who approaches God in this proverb. He is the upright man - and he offers the prayer of the upright to God. The Lord God delights in such prayers. But what is the prayer of the upright? In order to understand this we might want to look at a New Testament passage. In the gospels Jesus relayed a story of a Pharisee and a Publican. The Pharisee was of the spirit of the first part of this proverb. His was the prayer of the wicked. He stood before God and prayed to himself. Actually, he was praying to his god - because as a thoroughly wicked man who thought only of himself and loved himself dearly - he was his own god. As he prayed to himself, he mentioned all the great things he had done - religious things. He thanked God in the midst of his long list of righteous acts that he was nothing like the Publican who was near him. He spoke with great disdain of him - and how his own works made him so much better than the poor man who was bowed before God next to him. We learn from Jesus that this Pharisee went home unrighteous - unjustified. He was lost and His prayer was an abomination to God. The Publican had a far different prayer. He had the prayer of the upright. He bowed before God, not even desiring to lift his head. As he tried to formulate words - he could only do so as he beat his own chest. He cried out for God to have mercy upon him - a sinner. Jesus instructs us that this man is the one who had the prayer of the upright in his mouth and heart. Jews in that day would have been horrified by this description. They would cry foul at the thought of a publican being called upright . . . ever. The Pharisee was the religious man of the hour! He was the equivalent to an evangelist or a pastor in our day. The publican . . . well the publican was nothing more than scum - a traitor - a turncoat and a thief! Surely Jesus was mistaken. But it was the Jews who were so mistaken. God is not calling this person upright who is praying. He is calling the prayer of this person upright. It was not the person who prayed being called upright because something in him made the prayer upright. It was the nature of the prayer that made the person upright. There was a brokenness about this prayer - a turning from sin - a coming to God empty and hopeless in self. He was not playing religion. He was crying out to God for help and for hope. He was not faking a prayer as he complimented himself on how many good things he had done. He was praying that someone would make him good! The Lord hates mere religion. If our hearts are not engaged in our singing and praying, and preaching - He wants no part of it. The Lord delights in the prayer of the man who desires to be upright. He desires this upright standing due to what God does in answer to his cry. He knows he cannot be upright except for God's wonderful mercy and grace. The Lord is always listening for that kind of prayer, that kind of call. When He hears it He answers - and He delights in doing so every time. That is why the truly wise will be careful that their religious observances are always done with a heart to know and to love God. They know that anything short of this will receive God's disdain. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not so. Proverbs 15:7
In life there are those we meet that just spread knowledge that is helpful to our souls. What a wonderful thing it is to meet such a men or woman. They are like an oasis in the midst of our wicked and perverse generation. It is a delight to talk to them - but even more of a delight to listen to what they share. This is the kind of person Proverbs speaks of today. Let's look more at what this today as we examine Proverbs 15:7. The lips put forth words that reveal what is in the heart. Here we see clearly that the wise have knowledge stored up in their hearts while the fool is devoid of it. The word for "spread" is very descriptive. It is an agricultural word that speaks of how a farmer goes into the field and scatters and disperses seed by casting it out on the ground. The wise man is taking every opportunity to cast out the seed so that it can bear a harvest later. Thus the wise man takes the opportunity to put out God's Word for a harvest that will come later in life. The wise man spreads knowledge. He spreads learning but his learning is not just head knowledge or uselessh information. He is spreading the kind of knowledge that leads to discernment, insight, and notion. Let's look at these three words for a moment to gain insight on what the wise man is spreading. When we have discernment we are learning to distinguish between two things that differ. We need to know the difference between good and evil, God's will and the world's mindset, the flesh and the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. The wise see things from God's perspective thus they can help us to learn the subtle and not so subtle differences between what is of God and what is not of God. They also help us gain insight. This word means exactly what it says, in-sight. It is seeing into things and realizing there is usually more to things that just their outward appearance. God says that man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. Therefore if we are going to see things as He does, we will need to see into the heart of a situation. The last word is notion. There's a word that we don't use much any more. Webster defines notion as an conception or impression of something. A notion can also be that conception or impression carried out to a theory or belief about a person, thing, etc. When we speak of the notions we receive from the knowledge of the wise man - these are not just the notions of an average person - but they are notions, beliefs, theories, conceptions and impressions gained from Scripture and from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To have a notion based on these things is to gain a way of looking at life - a theolry about people - about the world around you - but one gained from a biblical worldview. The proverb finishes with the fact that the heart of a fool is not like the wise man. He does not offer knowledge to others. He does not spread seed that will sprout and bring a godly harvest of righteousness and peace. His seed is filled with his own foolish notions, theories, and conceptions of life. Since these are governed by his own sinful nature - and by the world around him (remember and think a fallen world that rejects God's revelation and authority) they are useless. These things will bring about a harvest of foolishness and harm. How wonderful it is when we can surround ourselves with wise men and women. How marvelous it is that in our society and with our electronic capabilities we can expose ourselves to great men and women of God - actually hearing them speak - hearing them spread the seed of God's wisdom and Word to us. The truly wise person will seek to be in the range of their voices. Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked. Proverbs 15:6
There are those who take verses like this and use them to promise riches and possessions to those who walk with God. They are also used to speak judgment and condemnation on those who are poor and needy. If that were the case, then Jesus should have been the richest man who ever walked on the earth. Yet Jesus Himself said that He had no place to lay His head - and He was ultimately betrayed by a disciple who saw that Jesus' kingdom was not going to be of this world - or at least consisting of this world's goods. There is a prosperity that comes from Godly circumspect religion though. It comes from being wise with money - and from knowing the blessing of God in financial endeavors. There is great wealth in the house of many of those who use right principles in dealing with money. Proverbs itself is filled with excellent financial counsel, which, if followed, would ensure blessing on those who heed it. The true wealth, though, of the righteous is in things that cannot be stored in a bank or lock box. These things consist of forgiveness, joy, peace, and love. They come when we choose to walk consistently in God's ways and adhere to the paths into which His Spirit guides us. To the one who does NOT have them - they are utterly invaluable. Many a rich, ungodly man would give his entire fortune for these things - but usually only later in life. This wealth is even more wonderful than earthly riches because moth and rust cannot corrupt nor thieves break in and steal them. They will last forever - and they are the true currency of heaven. To spend a lifetime building up a treasure of this kind is to be rich indeed. To live without them is to know nothing but poverty of spirit here and now - and damnation throughout eternity. The income of the wicked is often desired by those in this world. Occasionally, as we see in Psalm 73, even the godly at times wish for a life without trouble and hardship. They wish for a life bathed in butter and human delicacies. This longing stops though, when we see that their income is filled with trouble. Their riches come with problems. First there is the trouble of keeping what you've already got when the world desires it too. Men stay up late and rise early to protect their income - they lose sleep trying to keep what they have. There is also trouble in getting such income. Too often riches are gained to the damage of those who get them. They resort to ungodly tactics and ungodly ways to garner more and more wealth for themselves. In the end - the trouble they face is trouble from two sources. First there is those whom they have cheated. Leaders like Sadaam Hussein lived a life of opulent luxury most of their days - but in the end - those whom he cheated and stole from hated him fiercely. He wound up hiding in a hole - and hanging from the end of a rope - as crowds ultimately cheered his execution. Biblically, Haman had it all - but in the end lost it all when his greed and hatred caused him great trouble. The last we see of the great and wealthy Haman is him escorted from the king's presence with a black bag over his head. In the end . . . his wealth was used to construct a gallows from which he himself hung. There is certainly trouble when those whom we have hurt and bilked come for their revenge. But there is a great trouble awaiting the wicked rich. Scripture speaks of a wealthy farmer who thought life consisted of his possessions. Trying to keep a bumper crop as his crowning achievement led to God's final sentence upon him. God considered him a fool. He thought his life consisted only of his wealth and goods. Yet the true riches were knowing God and being prepared to face Him on the day of judgment. "You fool!" was the way God addressed this wicked, rich man on the eve of his death. "Today your soul is required of you - and what is going to become of all your wealth." The only term accurate to his situation was the term, "fool." Live for true riches and you will be wise. Live for the wealth that comes from knowing, loving, and obeying God. Nothing else matters when you leave this world and enter into eternity. The wealth of the righteous will be stored up for them in heaven all their days. It will never pass away. But the troublesome income of the wicked . . . it will burn them like fire all their days. It will be part of the everlasting trouble that will afflict their souls for all eternity. A fool rejects his father's discipline, But he who regards reproof is sensible. Proverbs 15:5
Why is it so important for a child to learn to submit himself and learn from his parents - especially a son from his father? First, we need to learn from this relationship because we will be dealing with authority all the days of our lives. I love the story of the son who, rebelling against his father's authority says, "I don't have to live under this kind of dictatorial authority, I'm joining the Marines!" Believe me when I say that when we don't learn under the authority that God has in our lives - the Lord is very willing to up the ante on our next authority figure. The second reason we need to learn to live under authority - especially with our fathers is because that relationship more than any other is suppose to parallel that between a man and his God. Only a fool rejects his father's discipline. He looks at his father's rules and boundaries for his life with contempt. He spurns them and rejects them outright. He comes to despise the role his father is supposed to play in his life. Interesting to note here is the fact that this same word is used for blasphemy elsewhere in the Old Testament. Fancy that now - the same term that is used to describe the rebellion of a son to his father - is the same one used to describe the rebellion of a creation to his Creator. The reason we need so desperately to learn how to deal with discpline and correction is because this is the way of life. Proverbs tells us elsewhere that reproofs for discpiline are the way of life. We are rebels by nature - and by choice when that nature kicks into full gear. The better we learn how to deal with disicpline and reproof - the better suited we are when the Holy Spirit comes to bring conviction of our sin so that we can respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The one who "regards" reproof is called sensible. The word for "regard" here is our old friend "shamar" which means to watch out for something - to attend to it, to be careful to keep something and watch over it. This word has the idea of diligence and watchfulness over what is said in reproof to us. We listen and regard rather than reject what is said. Oh the lessons that we could learn - and the pain and suffering that we could avoid in life if we would just listen to those who offer us reproof. It is the sensible thing to do. It is wise and prudent to listen to those who can offer us reproof and instruction on how to do things better. It is wise to listen to those who see our mistakes and who desire for us to take a fork in the road so that we don't go the wrong way. It is prudent to listen to those who've been where we have not - who've experienced shame and disgrace because of choices we are about to make. That is why we need desperately to learn how to handle loving reproof - and even outright rebuke. God knows that this is truly the way of life - and the way to avoid great sin and sorrow. Listen to your fathers - and learn from them. This will be a lesson that will be repeated often as others who will serve as father-figures offer additional advice and counsel that can bless your life. If you learn to listen now - while a child - oh, what blessings are in store for you from that one lesson later in life. A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15:4
How we speak to others can either offer them a healing balm or a crushing blow. As we've read in Proverbs, the tongue has amazing power as it speaks words. That is also the case here - where we once again have a choice to make - this time with the words that we speak. The first thing we read of here is that there is such a thing as a healing, soothing tongue. The word here means a tongue that offering healing, a remedy. It refers to a restorative cure, a renewal from an illness or sickness. More is learned when we see a comparison drawn up about this healing tongue. It is compared to a tree of life. There is an image that we see a lot in Scripture. The tree of life was in the garden of eden - it is also in heaven at the end of the age. What is most interesting is that the tree of life refers to Jesus Christ. In the truest way - He is the tree of life. So we have another interesting parallel. Those who use their tongue for healing - for the restorative cure are as a tree of life. Our tongues are to be used to spread the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we do this - we are being a tree of life. THE tree of life is Jesus Christ - and when we share the life-giving, soul-healing message of the gospel - we too are being a tree of life. Remember that Jesus said that He was the light of the world - and He also called us to be the light of the world as we share the truth with others. Here we have the parallel - He is the tree of life and we can be a tree of life as well, sharing the gospel which is the only source to heal and remedy man's sin. There is another way that our tongues can be used though. We are told that when we have perversion in our tongues a different we see different results when we speak. Perversion refers to a distorted way of speaking - a deceitfulness which is said to come from a perversity, not just in how we speak, but in our very life and character. This fits the biblical description of the ungodly man - whose mouth speaks out of the abundance of what fills his heart. Perverse lifestyle equals a perverse mouth. The problem here is that when this man speaks - it crushes the spirit. The word for crush here is "seber" and it means to cause destruction and ruin. It means a fracture or a breach. When a man speaks in this perverse way - it is like a fracture in a leg or a breach in a dam. It causes great ruin in people's lives. Whereas the godly man's tongue brings a healing and a remedy - the perverse man's tongue only causes more damage in our already damaged world. Think of the number of times someone spoke perversely to you - and the destruction that such talk brings. Some might think it prudish to avoid such talk - but if you've watched the coarsening of our culture in the last 30 years - you know that such perverse speech only weakens our society. Even worse is the perversity of those who deceive with their perverted speech. Lies only bring destruction in the end - and the way that it crushes a spirit when the truth is learned is devastating. Thus, the perverse man crushes people's spirits. We've seen this several times in the book of Proverbs. The mouth and the tongue are very powerful things. The words we speak really do matter. As was said at the beginning of this meditation - those words truly can make or break a person's spirit. Be wise and use your tongue as a tree of life. Speak healing words to others and guard your tongue so that it is not loosed in talk that will crush the spirit of those who listen. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, But the mouth of fools spouts folly. Proverbs 15:2
We come to another passage dealing with the abuse of the tongue - or the abuse of how we speak to others. It is an interesting fact that the Bible says much more about the abuse of the tongue than it does the abuse of alcohol or drugs. By saying this I am not condoning either of those two things, because they are very destructive. But I would venture to say that the abuse of the tongue and how it damages people every day dwarfs the evils of these other two things easily. And whereas we have many speaking of the evil of the other two things - very few are crusading for people to use their tongues to build others up rather than tear them down. The proverb instructs us that the tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable. What a loaded statement this is. Sometimes people reject the knowledge that is shared not because the knowledge itself is offensive - but because the way it is shared is offensive. There are also those who can share pretty offensive things - yet are received well because of the wisdom with which they share them. When we come to people with a know-it-all attitude or a holier-than-thou spirit they will reject anything we have to say. That is why wisdom not only gives us knowledge itself - but also will counsel us on how to share it. Two other proverbs come to mind to illustrate this. One says that more flies are caught with honey than with vinegar. This proverb tells us that if we come with a sweet spirit we will catch more people with what we say. No one that I know is interested in drinking a cup of vinegar. In a similar way people will not listen to us if our spirit is bitter like vinegar. The second proverb that instructs us is actually wisdom Solomon shares in Ecclesiastes. Solomon tells us that there is a time and a season for everything. Among these seasons is the time to speak and the time to be quiet. Sometimes the best wisdom for our knowledge we want to share is to wait for a more opportune moment. The second half of this proverb lets us know that the mouth of fools spout folly. Whereas the wise are wanting to know the most profitable way to share knowledge - the fool has no such concern. That is because the fool is too busy spouting out his folly. The word folly means perversity, foolishness, silliness, and moral deficiency. The Word comes from either a word that means to be thick-brained or stupid. Rather than sharing knowledge with others, the fool is speaking the silliness of his own thinking. He is morally deficient and thus his tongue is only uttering disgusting and perverse statements. Hang around him long enough and you will be as filled with stupid and senseless knowledge as he is. That is why over and over again we are counselled to leave the presence of a fool - and that is especially the case when he is running his mouth. It is much better to spend our time considering how best to share beneficial knowledge with others than in the company of folly-spouting fools. |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
Archives
August 2018
Copyright 2024 Calvary Chapel Jonesboro | all rights reserved |