Walk Of Life – Day 26, May 2021 – Thoughts From The Book Of Proverbs – MAY
MAY WE NOT HAVE FERVENT LIPS WITH AN EVIL HEART
Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross. – Proverbs 26:23
Burning lips that say wicked things and an evil heart that thinks wicked things both are terrible. The verse taken for today says that both are like silver dross on earthenware. In other words a broken piece of pottery with the scum for silver refining. It is both ugly and worthless. It is better to say nothing if they are not kind words about others.
What are burning lips or fervent lips? This man has fire in his mouth, and he regularly burns others with critical and hateful speech. He cannot stay silent for long – he must say something derogatory about others. His lips are set on fire of hell (Proverbs 4:24; 10:18; 16:27; James 3:5-9).
What is a wicked heart? This phrase describes the person whose heart is filled with arrogant contempt and malicious hatred of others, as the context shows (Pr 26:18-28). He does not know God, and he has no affection for others, except to use them for his own selfish ends. He is a murderer at heart, though he may not have committed the crime yet.
It is very easy to examine our self about the presence of burning lips and evil heart. If we often argue, flatter, rebuke, backbite, gossip about others we do have burning lips and if our doesn’t grieve after committing these with our mouth then we have a wicked heart.
While our lips and heart are not perfectly connected, they are very closely connected. A man may sin once in a while with his lips and have a pure heart, but he will be grieved for it. If a man sins often by attacking others with his words, he shows a violent and wicked heart. Jesus taught that the mouth clearly reveals the heart (Matt 12:34-37).
Even without understanding or realizing we would be drawn to talk or think evil about others. So easily words slip out of our mouths. That is why The Psalmist prays In Psalm 141:3 “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.” and also in Psalm 139 :23,24 “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Moreover Lord Jesus Christ has said in Matthew 12 :34 “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Hence let us examine our heart and mouth and set right the things that have gone wrong through our burning lips and wicked heart and May our Lord help us to think right and speak right and kind.
