Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Words of Wisdom

Lately as I've been listening to this series of talks on wisdom, I have gained a new appreciation for the book of Proverbs. As I read through chapter 10 this morning, I was struck by how many times the mouth, lips and tongue were mentioned.

vs. 11
The mouth of the righteous is a well of life,
But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

vs. 13
Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding,
But a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding.

vs. 14
Wise people store up knowledge,
But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

vs. 18
Whoever hides hatred has lying lips,
And whoever spreads slander is a fool.

vs. 19-21
In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
The heart of the wicked is worth little.
The lips of the righteous feed many,
But fools die for lack of wisdom.

vs. 31-32
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
But the perverse tongue will be cut out.
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.

Obviously, our words have much to do with wisdom (or a lack thereof). Is anybody else saying, "Ouch?!"

O God, that my lips (and the heart behind them) would know wisdom.

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