Day 3

Yesterday we considered some of the ways speech is described in proverbs. Those metaphors revealed how much good our words can do. Today, we’ll consider the damage that unwise, false or harsh words can do.

Read

Proverbs 10:6 (NIV)

⁶ Blessings crown the head of the righteous,

but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.

Proverbs 22:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;

quarrels and insults are ended.

Proverbs 26:21 (NIV)

²¹ As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,

so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

Proverbs 14:5 (NIV)

⁵ An honest witness does not deceive,

but a false witness pours out lies.

Proverbs 14:25 (NIV)

²⁵ A truthful witness saves lives,

but a false witness is deceitful.

Proverbs 11:13 (NIV)

¹³ A gossip betrays a confidence,

but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.

Proverbs 17:4 (NIV)

⁴ A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;

a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

Proverbs 27:2 (NIV)

² Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;

an outsider, and not your own lips.

Ask Yourself

• What are the verbal sins addressed in these proverbs? What experience do you have with them? Have you been the victim of verbal sin? When have you been the perpetrator? What harm came from each?

Read what others say

From Tremper Longman:

“The fool speaks words that are false in more than one way. They may misrepresent reality by exaggeration or simple falsehood. However, false words may be factually true, but spoken at an inappropriate time or with malicious intent.

In any case, these words mark the speaker as a fool. As a matter of fact, one of the strongest words for a fool in the book of Proverbs refers to bad speech: it is “mocker” or “scorner” (lason from the verbal root lys). One who mocks uses language to hurt others, to laugh at or ridicule them. Indeed, according to a string of proverbs, foolish language has harm as its ultimate intention…

Proverbs also remind us that the harm of false words focuses on relationships. The words of fools don’t bring people together; rather they tear them apart. False words that destroy relationships can come in all kinds of guises. Lies, arguments, insults and slander, gossip and rumor, flattery and bragging.^[1]

Explore on your own

Your words have the power of life and death. This article from pastor Sam Storms explains how.

Pray

We have all been guilty of the verbal sins Proverbs describes. Many of us have experienced the havoc these sins can do in our relationships. Spend some time in silent confession before the Lord. Conviction from the Holy Spirit is a gracious gift. Ask him to reveal patterns of behavior. Are you prone to gossip? Are you quick to tell a lie if the truth is inconvenient? Do you talk negatively about people behind their backs? Pay attention to the way you use your words in day-to-day life.  

You are fully known and fully loved by God. Jesus already paid the price for all our lies, gossip and harsh words. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge any verbal sin habit that you have. The Spirit wants to relieve you of that burden and teach you another way. He wants to heal your relationships. Trust him and obey.  

Talk about it

• Sometimes we aren’t all that conscious of our bad verbal habits. We gossip so we have something to say. We fall back on petty insults when we feel vulnerable. We lie when the truth is hard to face. Talk about some practical things you can do to change some of these habits. How can others hold you accountable? How can you replace bad habits with good ones?

^[1] Tremper Longman III, How to Read Proverbs (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002), 148.