Postings on Proverbs 12:25

"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad" (ESV)

This proverb in interesting. The wisdom is not immediately apparent to me. Is it simply "Be someone who speaks 'good words' to those in pain?" By contrasting "anxiety" with "a good word" I wonder if Solomon was implying that just as encouragement is word-based, so too is anxiety -- the words being spoken in the hidden caverns of one's own mind.

Who? Anyone
What? A man's heart weighed down vs. made glad
Where? Anywhere
When? Anytime? In hard times?
Why? Anxiety vs. A good word
How? Speaking

It seems to me that both sides of the proverb are picturing a man who's going through a time of "extreme emotional distress caused by...fearing to lose something vital to life" (Waltke 541). One side of the verse pictures him before the "good word" and other side shows his state after the "good word" arrives.

Sadly, anxiety attacks the very center of this man's being, his heart, "destabilizing all his behavior so that he wavers like the restless sea" (W 541), and crushing him with a mental burden that makes it nearly impossible to think about anything else.

Notice, there's no hint of condemnation in this verse -- though some anxiety is sinful. This person just needs relief. From where will it come? Being yelled at? Medication? Alcohol? Fun? No!

A "good word" attacks the anxiety, crushing it before it crushes him. These words are not flippant, but "personal and kind, pleasant and sweet, timely and thoughtful" (W 541). This is just one remedy for anxiety -- prayer is one (Phil 4:6-7) and faith is another (Matt 6:25-34) -- but I think it implies "a good word" spoken by someone to the burdened man.

So, maybe the wisdom here is, do you make people's problems better or worse by what you say? Do your words make people's burdens lighter or heavier? If you don't know what to say to a person who's anxious, keep these "good words" in mind: Psalm 42-43, Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4:6-7.

I also think of Jesus here, in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom (Col 2:3): "a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench" (Matt 12:20).

Yes, He can break the hard heart, but He heals the broken heart. He has compassion. He encourages the fainthearted and helps the weak (1 Thess 5:14). Should we not do that same, considering how the Gospel is a proclamation that we were weak, dead in our sin in fact, and in need of the compassion of God so He sent His Word, the Gospel, to our hearts, gave us new life and now our hearts are glad?

Let this Gospel paradigm be your paradigm as you encounter weak, wavering, anxious, tormented people. Approach them the same way God approached you. Give them a "good word." Give them Jesus!

I hope that helps! TII!!!