PROVERBS 13
A wise son hears his father’s instruction,
but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
2 From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good,
but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.
3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
5 The righteous hates falsehood,
but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.
6 Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
but sin overthrows the wicked.
7 One pretends to be rich,yet has nothing;
another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
– Proverbs 13:1-7
PROVERBS 13 GUARD YOUR MOUTH TO PRESERVE LIFE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Watch what comes out of your mouth so only good comes out of it
Those who are reckless in their speech will only cause conflict and ruin
Speak only what is true, honorable, lovely and of good report
Refrain from harsh words, indecent speech and things that are untrue
When you guard your mouth, you will build up and encourage others
When you don’t watch out what you say, you may only cause trouble.
It is interesting why many people do not guard their mouths. When one does not know the truth, it will be very hard for them to watch what they say. Philippians 4:8 says think only whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. If one follows this boundary that God has given us to think about, we would surely guard our mouths and preserve life. What would a world without such boundaries of thinking look like? It would be full of chaos and conflict, wouldn’t it?
REFLECTION
- Why is it important for us to align our thoughts with God’s truth?