People say a lot...

Wisdom and patience...

People say a lot of things. People do a lot of things. We can’t control everything others say and do. We are charged with stewarding our response.

In a culture where a family of four can get a full meal at a window without leaving their car in 3 minutes and 43 seconds, we’ve nearly lost the art of the pace it takes to receive wisdom and respond with patience. It’s easier to be flippant than it is to be measured. It’s easier to toss out a cliché than it is to get wisdom, and mete out a tempered, informed, loving answer.

The Proverb writer gives us some help: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. ... A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:1-2 & 4 ESV)

I find the ESV’s concise notes on this passage helpful: “Harsh word (v. 1) is lit., ‘word of pain,’ that is, a word that is hurtful. Words wisely chosen promote calm interactions rather than provoking anger (v. 1), they instruct by example (v. 2), and they encourage rather than discourage (v. 4).”

The Bible actually has tons to say about how we use our words.

I think of Psalm 37:30, which says, “The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.” (ESV)

Think about that... none is righteous. To be righteous is to be hidden in Christ.

God is the source of wisdom. To get wisdom is to get it from God.

A person — with a mouth — hidden in Christ, issuing wisdom received from God will be operating in the will and ways of God and that will alter their thought processes and their speech patterns. It will take speech out of the will of the flesh and hand it to the power of the Spirit.

Or I think of Proverbs 21:23 or Colossians 4:6 or Psalm 19:14 or James 3:5-8 or ... well, you get the picture, right?

The question is not whether we have a great opportunity to use our speech well or not. The question is not whether God has some instructions on how to use or speech or not. The question is will we have a submitted tongue and a mind and heart to seek and receive instructions and then to employ it with the seasoning of the salt of graciousness.