Proverbs 15:1-7

Proverbs 15:1-7
English Standard Version
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15 A soft answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
    but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place,
    keeping watch on the evil and the good.
4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
    but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
5 A fool despises his father's instruction,
    but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,
    but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
    not so the hearts of fools.

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I grouped these verses together for today because they all talk about our words.  Solomon starts by talking about how we should be kind with our words and give a soft answer instead of a harsh or cruel answer.  That does not mean that we won't have hard things to say, but we should be careful about how we speak the truth.  The way in which we choose to say something may have much to do with how someone receives it--as the first verse says, it can turn away wrath or stir up anger.  That is not to say that you are responsible for someone's bad actions or that you can "make them angry," but you can provoke someone to anger and that is not good.

Instead, we should use our tongues to commend knowledge, specifically about the things that are true, lovely and pure (the things of God and His Word).  There is no knowledge more important than this--that we may know God and His plan of salvation for us.  The fool despises such knowledge and speaks nothing but folly.  His words are not worth listening to.

A gentle tongue is healing to the soul like the Tree of Life that is pictured in the book of Revelation (the only other time we see this tree is in the Garden of Eden and the LORD guarded it so that man could not eat from it in his sinful state and be forever lost).  Those who use their tongues in perverse ways (including, but not limited to, cursing, dirty jokes, obscenities of all kinds, slander, gossip, malicious talk, lying, and cruel and hateful speech of all kinds) break the spirit of others and break the heart of God.  We should use our tongue for worshiping and glorifying our Creator, not for gratifying our flesh.  We should not give the members of our body, including our tongue, over to sin.  However, it is very hard to tame the tongue.  James, the half-brother of Jesus, says that if anyone can tame his tongue that such a man is perfect or complete (has no more need for sanctification).

A wise man listens to the instruction of his father and mother so that he need not make the mistakes they warn him not to make.  A fool despises this wisdom though and has to learn things the hard way, if he ever learns these lessons.  A wise man also heeds correction and reproof when he does something wrong.  Not so with the fool who ignores anything that anyone speaks that isn't what he wants to hear.  He instead looks for voices that validate his choices (especially the bad ones) and tell him that these foolish choices are something to be embraced and celebrated.

"The house of the righteous has much treasure."  To read this in exclusion of everything else in Scripture would be a mistake, because then you might start believing the prosperity gospel, or might start thinking like a Pharisee that you should love the rich and look down on the poor because someone's wealth was a measure of how much God loved them and a visual indication of if they were a good or bad person.  However, the ultimate home of the righteous is in heaven, and it is there where our treasure is laid up for us, as Jesus taught us in the Gospels.  The LORD definitely did use material possessions as a way to get the attention of others in the Old Testament, both to show His favor and to judge.  He gave special blessings to Israel for their obedience to the Law but removed those blessings at times when they became rebellious.  God knows how to give good gifts to His children, but that doesn't mean that we don't accept both the bitter and the sweet from Him.  In general, the wise and righteous person will have better financial stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to them.  The foolish person usually does not save for the future or think of anyone other than himself and the present in his financial planning.  Money is something to be used for pleasure, but that fulfillment doesn't come apart from the LORD.  As Solomon will say in Ecclesiastes "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" when we try to find purpose and meaning apart from the LORD.  We should use the money that God has given to us wisely for His kingdom purposes and to provide for ourselves and our families and it's usually a good idea to save and provide for our own funeral expenses and to leave an inheritance to those closest to us.

The lips of the wise man spread knowledge--he wants everyone else to know the Good News that he has found and received.  How could he keep such knowledge and understanding to himself?  However, the heart of the fool is self-center and does not consider sharing what he knows with others unless it would somehow benefit him.  He may use knowledge and education to manipulate and transform the minds of others to make them in his image, teach them to do evil, and manipulate them to be his servants, but the foolish man has no desire to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with others.  To those of us who have been saved, we are now ambassadors of the King of Kings and Lord of Lord who have a message to share with the nations.  To whom much is given, much will be expected and required.