Postings on Proverbs 12:6

"The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
But the mouth of the upright will deliver them" (NASB)

Growing up, my mom always told me "Jonathan, if you didn't have a mouth you'd never get in trouble" (I think it's ironic that for the past 8 years I've made a living with my mouth :P).

Obviously, this is a proverb about the use of our mouths. Previously, Solomon has shown how sinners are characterized by their destructive speech (see 1:10-19, 2:12-15, 4:14-19, 6:12-19, 10:32). As I read this proverb I was reminded of Jesus' words, "the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart" (Matt 12:34) -- "the heart" in the Bible does not refer to your emotions, but rather it refers to your core, your mission-control center, the place where all your actions originate, your soul, the real you!

Notice the classic "two kinds of people in the world" antithesis, the wicked & the upright, who reveal their "real you" as they use their mouths in two distinctly different ways.

The Hebrew word translated "wicked" refers to people who benefit themselves by disadvantaging others (Waltke, 110), seen here in words that "lie in wait for blood." This is a metaphor, describing how the words of the wicked "have the effect of entrapping and killing unsuspecting innocent and upright citizens" (Waltke, 523).

 

The Hebrew word translated "upright" conveys the idea of "conduct that does not go astray or out of bounds of [God's] morally fixed order" (Waltke, 98). So, while one plans harm, the other keeps from harm. One is interested in destruction, the other in salvation. One is filling their minds with damaging someone, whereas the other is about premeditated protection and rescue. One hates while the other loves.

In the end, Proverbs 12:6 is a warning. Listen closely to people's words. What a person says about others reveals what kind of person he is. While it's critically important to ask, "What do my family's, friends' or co-workers' words reveal about them?" let's get personal instead and ask, "What do my words reveal about me?"

I'm thinking about this in regards to my words about those who have harmed me? Am I planning or wishing their destruction? Am I thinking about, even praying about their good (cf. Matt 5:43-47)? Do my words show I'm all about me and my feelings and what I want, even at the expense of others? Do my words show I'm really about loving my neighbor like I love myself, so that just as I'd never wish pain or harm on myself so I never would on others as well?

What do your words reveal about you? Hope that helps! TII!!!