11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up conflict,
but love covers over all wrongs.
18 Whoever conceals hatred has lying lips
and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
19 When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgement.
You have heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” What about, “you are what you say.” I think the words we choose to say speak to our own character. Yes, there have been times when we all have said words we regret. We remember the illustration of squeezing out all the toothpaste from the tube, and then being asked to put the toothpaste back in the tube. Impossible, right? (I am sure someone has attempted this feat and succeeded, but it would take a lot of time.) Once we say the words, we can’t take them back. They have already fallen onto others’ ears. Nowadays, we share our words through social media where those texts and videos are to be seen and heard by many, impossible to erase. Words matter. In these few verses of Proverbs 10, notice all the negative terms associated with our negative words: Violence, conceal, hatred, lying, slander, sin, wicked heart, and even death. Words matter. God’s Wisdom for us is teaching us words matter. Our words are a fountain of life, they are water to nourish the thirsty, they are like precious silver to be valued, our words can spread love. May we spend today using words that matter, and spreading the love of God.
Matt