Proverbs 11:9 - Wash your mouth

Proverbs 11:9

With [his] mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor,

but through knowledge the righteous will be delivered. 

Message: Wash your mouth

Time: Proverbs records multiple individuals as its author with Solomon as the principal author. Solomon died in 931 BC though most think the book was likely in its final form sometime before the end of Hezekiah’s reign in 686 BC. It is a book that instructs people on the path of wisdom. It speaks to all of life and living our lives under the authority and direction of God.

What the Lord is Saying: This is the relational piece of our lives in Christ. God makes a covenant with us, with His people. He chooses us like He chose Abraham, Moses, David - the Jewish people and then later makes sure the Gentiles are grafted in through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, but he makes this covenant with people. It is a sort of one-time commitment that probably took much time leading up to this. 

And then life is lived. There is the quest for obedience. But it is not robotic. It is relational. It is teased out. It is a struggle. And this verses in Proverbs present this - the contrast between being righteous and wicked. 

Today, the focus as it is many times is on how we speak - our words. "With [his] mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor." "The tongue is a fire" (James 3:6). I need to remember the power in my mouth, in my words. I can easily destroy my neighbor with my wife - destroy my kids, wife, boss. I get so angry at times, that I start lashing out. 

This is contrasted with knowledge. My guess is this knowledge comes about through listening. Listen first, talk later. James 1:19, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak." 

The knowledge is also the word of God. It is listening to it, reading it and through this knowledge we are drawn into the behavior we need to practice to glorify God - Yes! - but also to make our lives better. The world is caught up only in making their lives better but we must give God the glory for he enables us to do good and live goodly lives. It is only through the Holy Spirit's influence we can be obedient and glorify God. For the non-Christian, good only proceeds from God - no matter if they acknowledge it or not. That's my belief. 

Prayer: God, you are holy and good. Your ways are right and are always what I need - the best for me always - what I need. Train me to live in a Godly manner, to glorify You throughout my days - living a life of obedience - choosing the right way - choosing life. Help me always in this Lord. Give me the right way and help me to choose it. Forgive me for the past, the failures I have committed to everyone - chiefly my family. 

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