Proverbs 18

“A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:20-21 (NKJV)

Today’s proverb focuses largely on various ways that our words are a reflection of who we are on the inside.  As children, we learned the schoolyard rhyme, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”  But that isn’t really true, is it?  Words can sometimes hurt more than fists because their damaging effects strike deeper into our sense of self-worth.  Jesus taught that very lesson.  

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 (NKJV)

Words can build up or tear down, so our highest priority should be that we know God’s Word to the extent that it controls our speech and actions.  Notice how Jesus (the Word made flesh - John 1:14) used the Bible to defend against Satan’s schemes.  Ever heard the saying, “You are what you eat”?  Well, Jesus consumed God’s Word as if it were food.  As a body draws nutrition from food, He drew it from the Bible.

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:1-4 (NKJV)

Jesus saw it as His utmost priority to obey God’s commands in the Old Testament.  Thus He lived out Job’s faithful declaration.

“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:1-3 (NKJV)

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” Job 23:10-12 (NKJV)