Watch Your Words

"She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue" Proverbs 31:26

Wow. This is a verse that has had me leaping all over my Bible today. There are so many verses that speak about the subject of the mouth. A Godly woman opens her mouth and wisdom comes out. It doesn't say wisdom mixed in with slander or gossip or lies. Just wisdom. How often do we speak before thought? This is where I get into trouble in conversations with people. I like to think before I speak. Yet, it's impolite to not participate in a conversation, so when I'm caught up in conversation, sometimes I will speak before thinking. And then afterwards I'll not agree with what I had said, and it's too late to change what I said.

Jesus addressed this very issue in Luke 6:45

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

Obviously my heart still needs some work if I regret things I say. If my heart is full of love and peace and joy and God's understanding, then what comes out in those random conversations will not cause me trouble. Solomon says in Proverbs 4:23, " Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life." That is so very true. And we see today that the wife of noble character has guarded her heart well, for it is full of wisdom.

The second part of this verse is about instruction, sharing what she knows. She doesn't keep her secrets to success to herself- she shares it willingly. I imagine a new mother coming up to her and asking all sorts of questions, and instead of saying "you'll have to figure it out for yourself" she is kind and teaches everything she knows. And always with her instruction is the love of Jesus behind it. She is faithful with her instruction, which means that if she will share what she knows until she's shared every bit of it, and along with the practical lessons, she teaches lessons of faith. Her instruction is all-encompassing. I see a woman teaching another woman to make jam or preserves and while they are going through the process, referring to scripture verses that talk about preparing ahead, or about how God has blessed her with the ability to do this or that.

I want to be this woman. This woman is insanely busy- we've already seen that. In one day she probably interacts with dozens of people- her husband, her family, her servants, the poor and needy she helps, her elders, the merchants she shops at, the people who purchase her good, and on and on. Yet with every single person she speaks with, her aim is wisdom- not polite how are you chit-chat, but true wisdom and words of understanding. That is a goal worth pursuing- don't you think?