Rev. Don Campbell

Proverbs 25-26

THOUGHT FOR TODAY, June 17, 2019

“WORDS OF POWER”

Words can be beautiful: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

Words can be powerful: “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit” (Proverbs 15:4).

Beautiful, powerful words are appropriate words: “Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound” (Proverbs 25:20). Sometimes, especially in the presence of intense suffering, we feel compelled not only to say something but also to say something that will match the moment, something deeply profound. At such a time it might be good to remember these words: “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive” (Proverbs 17:28).

Beautiful, powerful words are serious words: “Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, ‘I am only joking!’” (Proverbs 26:18-19). Solomon said, there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Levity, rather than lightening the load of another, may add more weight to a wounded heart.

Beautiful, powerful words promote peace where there is conflict: “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body” (Proverbs 26:20-22). Mark Twain said, “It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart: the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you.”

CONNECTIONS

1. Speaking beautiful, powerful words does not always mean speaking soft, comforting words. What does Paul say our duty of speech is to some (1 Thessalonians 5:14)?

2. Whether comforting or confronting, what must be the purpose of our words (Ephesians 4:19)?