“The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips”
(Proverbs 16:23, NKJV)
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
“The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips”
(Proverbs 16:23, NKJV)
thedailylily.com 
This is encouraging as well as instructional. This proverb is telling me that if I would be wise, I would listen to my true heart, where the Holy Spirit dwells, and allow my heart to instruct my mouth what to say. And what NOT to say! Then I will be regarded as a learned person, wise and valuable to the Kingdom of God.
This says to me that we should be careful who we listen to. If we listen to someone wise we should learn something because a wise person prepares before he speaks and makes sure he has something beneficial to say.
I think we can listen to what others say and allow them to influence our words. Likewise we may be highly influenced by what we are watching on TV, seeing, hearing and reading while surfing the web. And, we can also let our emotions tell us what to say and when to say.
I believe as the proverb says, get in touch with the spirit of your heart and come in agreement with the Holy Spirit before one speaks. In other words take time for The Holy Spirit to be your teacher and teach you. We should want our words to speak life and encouragement to ourselves and others.
I believe I can add the following scripture and footnotes, to this blog? Read with me Proverbs 13:3, “Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.” Footnotes: “You have not mastered self-control if you do not control what you say. Words can cut and destroy. James recognized this truth when he stated, ‘The tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness;. If you want to be self-controlled, begin with your tongue. Stop and think before you react or speak. If you can control this small but powerful member, you can control the rest of your body.”
MG, I believe you got it right…”where the Holy Spirit dwells, and allow my heart to instruct my mouth what to say. And what NOT to say.”
“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing”
(Proverbs 12:18; NIV) When you take time to think on these proverbial words you realize how foolish (a fool) you are when you use reckless words that do not bring healing. You are the fool. Yep, you got your ugliness off your chest, so you think. You just piled heaps of trouble on your head.
When you listen to someone speak and they are using reckless or harmful words they, the speaker, is showing their heart and their authentic self.
The measuring rod was set in place by God and humans can only measure up or down, not change the rod as they might think they can. A fool will even believe they are getting away with something. Maybe even convince themselves by a mind trip they are right. God sees the heart is the answer. We only see and hear the poor ugly art words flying. And, they return to the ones that gave them better than a boomerang and hits you right in the belly.
Not my theory, God’s. If it were mine I would change God’s rod and give us a curve grade. Why? Because I, to often, find myself guilty. But, I am not staying there in a pool of ugliness. I am going to climb in the pool of healing.
“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (Pro. 16:24) Truth dwells in this simple phrase. Not only are Kind words healing to the bones but also to the spirit of one who is feeling down.
And Sara, I like what you said about the rod. The rod doesn’t change. The standard cannot change. It’s the measure of a man that can be changed, if we want to measure up to the high standard of the ROD, the WORD, then we must commit to it and go for it. Just like Jesus set His face like a flint, we must make a decision to GO FOR IT with all our hearts, follow the Word of God, not be thrown off track by some little emotional fit, (ours or someone else’s).
The honeycomb words – wonderful healing words, how we desire them throughout our lives. Sometimes life seems to dump words that are harsh and not easy to bear. Sometimes it seems that the seed of your life is planted and there is a sudden a heavy layer of moistureless hard dirt that is laid upon you. The only saving grace is that the seed when firmly rooted in Jesus will go against the odds or the world and seek the light of God’s word. With the encouragement and prayer of others caring through their honeycomb words they bring healing and a renewed walking in the light of Jesus. With thanksgiving the plant reaches it leaves to the Father and thanks Him for all He has done in its life and for all the outpouring of prayers that enabled the plant to be strong and stretch up to God. The plant says THANK YOU GOD! and I do too!
The key word that stands out to me in what Sara wrote, ““Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” is ‘reckless.
Some of the meanings of reckless are: heedless or careless; headstrong; rash; indifferent to or disregardful of consequences.
Some thoughts I had on this are that it is more than the type of words we speak, it’s the right word placed in the right situation at the right moment. For example pleasant words may not be what is needed for a particular situation and when used inappropriately could be damaging when/if a strong word of correction is needed. Words that sound good or right to us may be hazardous if put together in a sentence incorrectly or used in the wrong context. Other words that sound ‘nice’ to some ears may simply be idle chatter…of no value.
In the Epistle of Jude, he relates how people sin with their words and their tongues. He calls them “inveterate murmurers, grumblers,” complainers…griping about their lot in life or situations and circumstances they find themselves in… Their talk is boastful, arrogant, prideful, and they are braggarts. They claim to admire others and pay flattering compliments to gain advantage over others. So, as Debi wrote, it might not be time for a compliment; it might not be time for admiration; it might be time for the truth, harsh as it is. Many truly Godly people are not deceived by the flatterers and the supposed “fan club” approach. They are not moved nor are they mislead, duped or deluded by that kind of adoration. And I am talking about Christians. Jude says to refute and convict those who use this approach. Snatch them from the fire being very careful that you, too, are not deceived by false gratitude and adulation.
There are so many hurting people out there who need a word of encouragement, counsel, wisdom and kindness. The WORD of GOD is full of them…and TRUTH. We need the TRUTH.
Proverbs 25:11 tells us that “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. ”
Our lips producing healthy fruit presented in a just the right setting.
The Scriptures make it pretty clear about how vitally important it is to watch what comes out of our mouths. In Matthew 12:37 it says,
“For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” I believe it means not only what you speak aloud, but what you mutter under your breath, murmuring or what we speak in our hearts or are absorbed with or ENCHANTED with in our thought life. But David says in Ps. 119:105 that God’s WORDS are a lamp to the feet and light to one’s path. The Word of God shows us the way to talk, to speak, to think, to communicate and to have communion with GOD. That old saying about indulging in fattening foods….” a moment of delicacies on the lips, a lifetime on the hips” could be translated into Bible-speak….A moment ( of careless chatter) on the lips could sink our ships”
Holy Spirit is our Check and our Guide. With men it is impossible to check our speech every moment but with GOD, trusting and obeying Him, all things are possible…even the most impossible task of “watching our mouths”.
Unwise words can destroy and become a stumbling block. Wisedom comes from the Word of God. The only way our mouths can learn wisdom is through God’s Holy. God’s Word teaches our mouths what to say. We must train our lips to speak wisdom. So we must become wise by spending time with God, learning God’s Word and putting God’s Word into action.
CF, good advice, we must study the word to teach our mouths what to say. Now, my question to you, how does schooling oneself in God’s word work when the summer comes? Do we get three months off out of the year? 🙂
Yeah, Sara & CF, “Summer School in the Word” sounds pretty exciting to me. No lesson plans, no concerts to think about, no 65 mile commute. Now don’t get me wrong. I LOVE MY MUSIC TEACHING job that God has provided for me all these years. But one bonus of being a teacher can be SUMMER RESPITE. That’s the time to make oneself available for time spent in the WORD with people of like faith, fellow Christians….in Bible Study, prayer and Worship. Not just like Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings but a more extended period of time, away from the hustle and bustle, the bawdy and brazen world. To sit under anointed teaching for several days at a time and to focus on the revelation that GOD has for us for such a time as this, is priceless. No 3 months off a year….from the WORD but concentrated and distilled and anointed and inspiring and revelatory. Now that’s a real VACATION.