As I mentioned in my previous post, I spoke on the connection between the heart and the tongue this past Sunday. Jesus, speaking in the context of exposing the Pharisees’ wickedness, gives some helpful insight about how the tongue works and how our speech reveals what is going on inside. In Luke 6:43-45, He uses the simple illustration that a tree is known for its fruit. Good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit. This is not a deeply profound thought. It is well-known even today. Why would anyone go to a thorn bush looking for figs? Jesus uses this illustration to show, however, that by examining a person’s speech, you can actually see the condition of their heart. James uses a similar illustration in James 3:9-12:
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.
11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
Our speech reveals what we are inside. If our speech is wicked, deceitful, slanderous, and malicious, it reveals the sinfulness of our hearts. We would do well to remember that sin is not just the behavior of our lives but begins as a condition of the heart. Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
The majority of Proverbs 26 is devoted to describing the one who works evil with his tongue. The author writes:
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows and death,
19 So is the man who deceives his neighbor, and says, “Was I not joking?”
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.
21 Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
22 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost parts of the body.
23 Like an earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross are burning lips and a wicked heart.
24 He who hates disguises it with his lips, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
25 When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.
26 Though his hatred covers itself with guile, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.
27 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.
28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
This passage has much more than can be covered in one post, but it does provide some helpful insights that cause us to examine our speech.
1) Verses 18-19 speak of the joker. This passage really hits home to me because of my tendency to find pleasure in the confusion of others. People who have spent enough time with me know that it is often difficult to discern whether I am being serious or joking in certain contexts. This kind of cruel deception does not serve to uplift the body but can actually tear down. Out of a desire not to be like the madman throwing about firebrands, arrows, and death, I need to put a guard over my mouth and consider the person I am deceiving before looking to the pleasure I might receive in deceiving them. It really does lend added meaning to the premise behind ”April Fool’s Day.”
2) Verses 20-22 speak of the whisperer. This is the gossip and slanderer who spreads contention and strife through his words. In verse 20, the author makes a direct corrolation between whispering and causing contention. I mentioned this on Sunday, but many would probably dismiss gossip as a sin that “isn’t that bad.” The writer of Proverbs understands its damaging effect and how it really can work to tear down a person and cause contention.
3) Verses 24-28 provide some of the most insightful words in this passage because it reveals the hypocrisy of those who sin with their tongues. They disguise hatred with their lips because they are deceitful in their hearts. They speak graciously but must not be believed because their heart is full of abomination. But this deceit will be uncovered. The hatred will be revealed. Why? Jesus speaks of this in Luke 6:43-45 — bad trees are going to produce bad fruit. If this is what is going on in your heart, it will come out. Just give someone long enough to talk and they will reveal their heart. These are the people who dig a pit for others and then fall into it themselves.
This whole study on the tongue has been eye-opening. There is so much I need to work on myself. I talk a lot! There is no sense hiding what is going on inside in the heart. It will be found out. At the same time, there is no sense just trying to superficially change your speech. If the heart is the source of the problem, the heart is what needs to change. Praise God that He is in the business of changing hearts!
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