Valuable Speech
Proverbs 10:20
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver for the words he speaks convey beauty and truth. From the heart of the wicked comes vulgarity and lies, worthless words.
What is the value of your tongue? Are you known for building up others through your words? Do they bring healing for hurting spirits, peace for troubled souls? Do they shed light on perplexing problems and moral dilemmas? Do they convey the gospel and apply truth and grace? Or do people seem oversensitive to your words? It seems that you are often misunderstood. They don’t like hearing the “truth” you speak. They don’t listen to what you say.
It is important to examine yourself in this. Don’t write off the proverb because it speaks of “the wicked” and not to you. Even we who are born again in Christ have remnants of the old wicked man inside of us. We are justified but not fully sanctified, and the tongue is the most common means of giving vent to the wickedness still remaining.
Use the reaction of others as the weighing balance to determine if your tongue is of choice silver or of little worth. It is possible that poor reaction to your words reveal the wickedness in the hearers’ hearts. Jesus can attest to that. But he can also attest to how those with ears to hear recognized the value of his words. Perhaps that is a good measuring tool as well. How much value do you give to his words, all of his words? How convicted are you by his words intended to penetrate your heart? How comforted are you by his words intended to assure you of his grace?
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver for the words he speaks convey beauty and truth. From the heart of the wicked comes vulgarity and lies, worthless words.
What is the value of your tongue? Are you known for building up others through your words? Do they bring healing for hurting spirits, peace for troubled souls? Do they shed light on perplexing problems and moral dilemmas? Do they convey the gospel and apply truth and grace? Or do people seem oversensitive to your words? It seems that you are often misunderstood. They don’t like hearing the “truth” you speak. They don’t listen to what you say.
It is important to examine yourself in this. Don’t write off the proverb because it speaks of “the wicked” and not to you. Even we who are born again in Christ have remnants of the old wicked man inside of us. We are justified but not fully sanctified, and the tongue is the most common means of giving vent to the wickedness still remaining.
Use the reaction of others as the weighing balance to determine if your tongue is of choice silver or of little worth. It is possible that poor reaction to your words reveal the wickedness in the hearers’ hearts. Jesus can attest to that. But he can also attest to how those with ears to hear recognized the value of his words. Perhaps that is a good measuring tool as well. How much value do you give to his words, all of his words? How convicted are you by his words intended to penetrate your heart? How comforted are you by his words intended to assure you of his grace?
posted by M Clark at 9/04/2012 09:14:00 AM
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