Proverbs 15

Today, make sure to read Proverbs 15

We are at the halfway mark! Instead of giving a bullet point summary of this proverb, I thought I would just share some thoughts about the content.

Proverbs 15 speaks a great deal about the tongue, our words, the lips, our mouth, etc… This book of wisdom gives us much material for studying how to wisely manage our words. It goes to the content of our hearts. In this proverb we see that the Lord who is keeping watch over us: hates the thoughts and ways of the wicked, He tears down what the proud build up, and He does not even acknowledge the prayers of the wicked (except in repentance). 1 Samuel 16:7 teaches us that the outward appearance of a man is not what is important to the Lord. He looks at the heart of a man—who he TRULY is. This is why he hates the thoughts and ways of the wicked but the thoughts and ways of the upright are pleasing to Him; He tears down what the proud build but will support and defend those who are humble in spirit; the prayers of the wicked fall on deaf ears but the Lord welcomes the prayers of the righteous. He responds to the heart.

Remember a while back when we studied Nicodemus who came to the Lord at night with his questions? You will recall that when Nic came to Jesus and started in on his preamble, Jesus cut to the chase and responded not to Nic’s words; He responded to what was going on in the heart of the man. Jesus responded to the heart.

So what does wisdom tell us regarding the use of our words? It tells us to follow the ways of righteousness: to be gentle in speech, to spread knowledge, to pray, to be a calming agent in the midst of turmoil, to speak words of wisdom in the appropriate time and place. Verse 28 advises how we can do this: “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.” The heart is the source from which the mouth speaks so we need to tend to our heart-we need embrace righteousness. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)We need to feed ourselves with the wisdom of God so that when an answer is needed, we have God’s wisdom to draw from. We are to be careful regarding what we let in because it informs what will come out.

The tongue is a tricky thing—it can be used to bless and to curse. And brother James warns us about the power (and potential evil) of the tongue. [see James 3:1-12] The remedy for this is a healthy dose of wisdom from above. So tend to your heart, my beloved. Feed yourself with godly wisdom, cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, seek righteousness, and guard your precious heart. When you do, then your tongue, your words, your lips, your mouth can be a fountain of life to those around us.