Thursday, December 10

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020

 

 

“Do you see a man who speaks in haste?

   There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (Proverbs 29:20)

 

 

The Proverbs contain vaults of wisdom, packaged into bite-size morsels like this one.  Oftentimes, I find the Proverbs rich with what we know to be truth but struggle to embrace for our lives.

 

In Luke 6:45, Jesus explains:  “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things stored up in his heart.  For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”  In Romans 10:10, we read that “it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

 

James 3:1-12 discusses the challenges of taming the tongue.  Part of that text remarks on the irony that our mouth both praises God and speaks ill of others.  From those verses, we may glean that our speech should honor God and others.

 

This Proverb highlights that haste in our speech could lead us astray.  As I read this verse, I thought of the conditions under which we may speak in haste.  Sometimes, we respond quickly with a retort, in order to crack a joke, to defend ourselves, to prove our superiority, or to retaliate in anger.  With humor, we know well that we should seek to amuse rather than abuse, but we can quickly and hurtfully cross that line.  If to defend ourselves, we may resort to tactics that fall beneath our goal to honor God and others.

 

Our pride may motivate us to prove our superiority or to retaliate in anger.  Feeling threatened or insecure, we could use our words to exalt ourselves or to rebuke others for not feeding into our agendas.  Or, in a twisted way, we could speak negatively of ourselves or others, questioning God’s sovereignty and plan.

 

How can we better honor others with our words?  How can we reflect God’s character as we speak?

 

 

Lord God, thank You for creating us as relational and communicative beings.  Thank You for speaking the world into existence and giving us Your Word so that we may come to know You and find direction.  Give us patience and grace in our speech so that we may honor You and others.  Point out how we are falling short of Your holy standard so that we may grow towards Christlikeness.  Help us to speak life into others and into situations.  In Jesus’s mighty Name, amen.