In this article, we are going to explore an important topic in the book of Proverbs. Last week we looked at the theme of the character of the wise person; what kind of character do we associate with wisdom? This provided us the foundation for everything that follows, and that is why we focused on character last week. If the character is right, then, all the other things fall into place, including our speech, which is the topic of this article. We are presupposing that a person who hears these proverbs has an interest in cultivating the right kind of character—a godly character.
There are many proverbs—over 150 verses—that relate to the way we speak to other people. We see, therefore, that the wise person knows three things: the value of speech; the characteristics of good words; and, also, the source of good words.
As we consider the value of speech, we want to keep in mind that, on average, we open our mouths to speak several hundred times and thousands of words pour out of our mouths every day. In fact, on some days, it is the equivalent of a small book; some people, therefore, speak almost a book a day. However, the average person reads less than one book a year. As you can well imagine, there is a disproportionate problem of input and output. It is incredibly important for us, then, to consider the implications of what we say. I would be fascinated, if I could get a transcript, to see just one day of my own speech. What if you had something like that? How would you like reading it? Doubtless, you would discover an awful lot about things you can’t believe you actually said—some in a far, far more loquacious manner than you thought. When we realize the volume of what we say, we realize that there is a tremendous power in our speech—both for good and for ill.
I want to unpack that, first of all, by looking at the power of the words we use to communicate. There is a tremendous power in our speech.
There is the tale of a king who once sent a servant on a mission to bring back the most valuable thing in his kingdom. The servant came back to the king with a tongue on a silver platter. At that point the servant was sent on another mission to bring back the most dangerous item in the realm—and the servant returned with the same thing. We can see from this that speech has both incredible power and incredible danger.
I want to first talk about the power of words and focus on the power of life and death—words have a power to give life or to give death. Again, we are going to be using Proverbs chapters 10-31, because chapter ten is really where the proverbs begin. The first nine chapters are designed to prepare us for the proverbs proper, which really begin with chapter ten. We are also approaching these topically because the verses in Proverbs are not systematically arranged by topic.
Let’s now turn to Proverbs 18:21. There we see: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Tongues, then, have the power of life and death; it is a precious member that can do more damage than the fists or the teeth or anything else—for good or for ill. The tongue also has the power of spiritual life over another person. You affect the spirit of other people as you use your speech.