Proverbs 4.23-24
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.”
We are continuing with our theme of Focus & Attention.
The key principle: Not everything that gets your attention deserves your attention.
The essential practice: Discernment and discipline.
First this passage instructs us to pay attention to the word of God; next it tells us to pay attention to what is in our heart; then it admonishes us to pay attention to what we say. “Stay away from corrupt and crooked speech,” verse 24 says, “and avoid all devious talk.” The apostle Paul gives the same instruction in the book of Ephesians: “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4.29)
It is appropriate that this admonition directly follows the admonition to guard our heart, because one of the places where we must constantly fight the battle between the old nature and the new nature is in the way we talk. We must pay careful attention to how we communicate. We must pay careful attention to the words we use and messages the send.
Scripture repeatedly instructs us to be careful about what we say and how we say it. Unfortunately, it’s easy to fall into default mode. We often feel the urge to speak unwisely, and it can have very negative consequences.
James 3.3-5 says, “If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!”
Once again, the need is for discernment and discipline. When it comes to how we talk, we must be aware of impulse and impact. Our impulse to talk is strong, and the impact of what we say is big. If we are not disciplined in what we way and how we say it, we easily drift into default, and our impulsive comments and words can cause problems. Sometimes significant problems.
It is not a surprise that James uses fire as the metaphor for the tongue, because often it is our most heated comments that cause the most trouble.
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus literally speaks to the heart of the issue. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” the Lord says. “The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Mt 12.34-37)
In other words, how we speak is the fruit of what is on our heart. Before you say anything externally, you have first cultivated it in your heart. First you speak to yourself, then you speak to others. You speak from the “treasure” of your heart; that is, you speak from whatever your heart believes to be most important. You speak from whatever you have allowed to fill and dominate your heart.
If you nurture and cultivate your new nature in Christ, then you will speak in a way that honors God and edifies others. You will speak truth, and you will speak it with clarity and wisdom. But if you feed and cultivate your old nature, then you will speak in a way that dishonors God and does damage to others.
As always, it is a heart issue. If you desire to guard your tongue, you must first guard your heart. Our words reveal the true condition of our heart. You sometimes hear someone say, “He really spoke from the heart.” The truth is, we always speak from the heart. It is why Proverbs 4.23 says, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life,” and in the very next verse it says, “Stay away from corrupt speech and avoid all devious talk.”
We must speak truth from a heart that is energized by truth. We must speak with wisdom from a heart that is directed by wisdom. There are far too many reckless words being spoken and written and Tweeted in our world. There is far too much “corrupt speech and devious talk.”
What you say matters. So does how you say it.
Psalm 19 provides a most appropriate closing prayer: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
