June 25, 2026 -- Proverbs 12:18-19 -- What are you speaking? Are you truthful?

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There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Proverbs 12:18-19 ESV
 
It is confusing, right? It seems like these little, pithy sayings are just pushed together. I can totally relate. So, I have made a commitment to work my way through Proverbs, so that I can hear what God is saying; apply it while examining myself to see if I am walking with integrity according to the insights received.
 
At verse 5 we are instructed how one thinks influences how one speaks. Sometimes a person is accused of speaking thoughtlessly. However, it is more likely that the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart—whatever it is that has been filling your thoughts (even if you are not paying attention to what you’re thinking) that is what you’ll be spewing from your mouth.
 
Rash words are ill-advised, as a sword slashes which cut wildly and wound cruelly, so rash words cause lasting damage, physical, spiritual, emotional. And such rash words often are lying words as well. There is a difference between a doctor’s scalpel and a warrior’s sword. One is precise. Cuts away what is deadly. The other cuts away, hacking at everything while giving full vent to fury. The promise is that the rash, lying tongue will soon be brought down to the grave.
 
Those who are in Christ will speak wise words. Those who are in Christ will be stopped in their anger and brought to repentance. Their lips, once rash like the wicked, will be transformed by the Spirit so that words of truth and healing will flow. Fellow Christians, who call out the ill-advised words, will be heeded and healing will begin. Healing that flows from heaven and restores relationship with God, and relationship among the people of God. Our Father in heaven spoke truly when before the foundation of the world He decreed to rescue people in His beloved Son, Jesus. Jesus spoke truly, whoever loves me, loves Him Who sent Me. The Spirit speaks truly, revealing to us the purposes of God for our salvation. The one who belongs to the Triune God, will seek to take the truth of God and receive it, submitting to it into the deepest part of his heart.
 
Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 ESV
 
https://youtu.be/7J3fjLQwq0E?si=HYE2NCPRyO1psKde Amazing Grace
 

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