Words

Pro 18:4 The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. 6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. 7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

Words have meaning! You remember the ad, "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen!"? And so it was every time heaven thundered forth a message. "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased" etc. When Jesus spoke, necks craned and ears strained. People hung on every word. Folks came from far and wide to give audience to David and Solomon. John the Baptist spoke so convincingly that soldiers and sinners, magistrates and men of the cloth came from all quarters just to listen to him preach.

In more recent years, we contemplate the masses which flocked to listen to the wit and wisdom of D.L. Moody, who slaughtered the King’s English, but pierced hearts and minds. C.H. Spurgeon, conversely, was a master of language and the house never failed to be full whenever he preached.

Wise men, wise women's words are valued at a premium because of their depth. I troll through social media and other venues searching for these nuggets mined from the depths of good hearts and minds to reuse them in sermon and script. I do so because they are wellsprings of life and health.

Then there are the foolish words of the foolish people who have nothing of value to say. They merely spew what proceeds from wicked, selfish, godless hearts.

It has been said, "Great minds discuss great ideas, visions and possibilities, average minds speak of things and events, weak minds talk about other people."

What makes the difference between a wise individual and a fool? It all begins with our view of the Lord, or our disregard of God. The Bible is clear, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" and "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."

Our outlook depends on our worldview. If we have a secular worldview, God really never enters into our dialogue except as a curse word. In the end, we are mere fools and destruction is our destination. Our words will tend to be contentious and our cause deserving of strokes (corporal punishment.)

If ours is a Biblical worldview, then God is the foundation for the building of each phrase, sentence and paragraph. They are deep, ponderous words, wellsprings of wisdom resulting in a river of wealth and health.

Choose your words carefully, but choose your God even more so.