August 10th, 2026
Scripture – “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value. The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense. From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced.”
Proverbs 10:19-21, 31 NIV
Observation – The four verses above are from Proverbs Chapter 10 and show the contrast between how a wise person, a fool and an evil person use words. The wise person thinks before the speak and they know when to talk and when to remain silent. The wise person’s words are valuable and nourish those who are listening. The fool doesn’t know when to stop talking and their words bring them trouble because they are nonsense. The wicked person’s words are of little value and ultimately they will be silenced because they bring harm to others.
Application – God has granted us a tremendous amount of responsibility by giving us the opportunity to communicate so frequently and so readily. It is estimated that people speak an average of 16,000 words per day. If we give little thought to our words what are the chances those 16,000 words are going to benefit others versus causing them harm or wasting their time? Reflect on your words today and try and take an objective inventory. Do you have the tongue of the wise, the foolish or the wicked?
Prayer – Lord God, thank you for the ability to communicate. Help us to use our words to nourish those around us and please you and not to gossip, tear others down or ramble on endlessly. Amen.
What are you doing? Do it better 