Putting the I into WISDOM
The Christians who have most influenced me for good have had a fully functional familiarity with the book of Proverbs. They were (and are) able to take their considerable knowledge and apply it to their lives, providing both godly examples and godly advice. Join with me as each of us endeavors to put the I into WISDOM. Let us seek to exemplify God’s wisdom in our daily lives. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
If we are to be wise in God’s ways, we must know that what we say matters. Proverbs 15:23 says, “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!” This verse speaks directly to our motives: do we find (the meaning of “hath”) joy in appropriate speech simply because it is right? We certainly should. Our words are not to be wielded as weapons. Rather, as Proverbs 25:11 poetically states, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Are our words so fitting that they are like a valuable and beautiful design of precious silver and gold, presented as a gift to our hearers? Perhaps we struggle to get the right words out, but Proverbs 22:11 reminds us that the ultimate strength of our speech is found not in our glibness but in our goodness: “He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.” Yes, as Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Proverbs 10:32 concludes, “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.” May we both know and say that which is appropriate.