Wisdom & Words – Prov. 15:1-7, 26-30

THE WORDS WE SPEAK

i. The words we speak

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” – Luke 6:45

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. – Proverbs 15:1-2

“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” – James 1:26-27

“For millions of Christians, nevertheless, God is no more real than He is to the non-Christian. They go through life trying to love an ideal and be loyal to a mere principle.” – AW Tozer

“The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive.” – Proverbs 16:21

“The wise have tongues controlled by loving emotions and sound thought and so speak in a way that makes their internalized knowledge of the moral order attractive. Instead of brutalizing people with their knowledge of the cause-effect relationship in God’s ordained moral order, the wise state it kindly, sensitively, and gently with an aim to save their audience, not to condemn and destroy it.” -Bruce Waltke

“Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next make it attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is.” – Blaise Pascal

“To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!” – Proverbs 15:23

ii. The Words We Speak

“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” – Proverbs 15:3-4

“The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.” – Proverbs 15:28

“We think of platforms like Facebook and Twitter as places where we can seek information or entertain ourselves for a few minutes. But in an era of growing social isolation, social media platforms have become one of the most important tools we use to understand ourselves – and each other. We are addicted to social media not because it provides us with flashy eye candy or endless distractions, but because it helps us do something we humans are hardwired to do: present different versions of ourselves, observe what other people think of them, and revise our identities accordingly. But instead of a giant mirror that we can use to see our entire society, social media is more like a prism that refracts our identities – leaving us with a distorted understanding of each other, and ourselves…and leaves most of us with profound misgivings about those on the other side.” – Chris Bail, Breaking the Social Media Prism

THE WORDS WE HEAR

i. The words we hear

“A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.” – Proverbs 15:5

“A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother…Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” – Proverbs 15:20, 22

“The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.” – Proverbs 15:31-32

ii.  The words we hear

“The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.” – Proverbs 15:30