Wise Words

“The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing,” Proverbs 12:18.

I recently had a conversation with someone whose words were full of wisdom, healing, kindness, and life. We were discussing a difficult situation that she needed to deal with, one that could not only harm her relationship with that person but also harm her relationships with many if she wasn’t wise about how she was dealing with the situation. It was obvious to me that she had prayed, researched her options, and counted the cost, even before we spoke. And as she asked for my counsel, she measured her words carefully so she didn’t divulge unneeded details or expose who the person was. During our conversation, she was wise.

What do wise words look like in a world of foolishness, recklessness, and one-upmanship? In a world where gossip and moral relativism run rampant? In today’s world, it’s not easy to discern and it’s almost counter-cultural to speak with godly wisdom. Yet it is possible.

Wise words are those that, even when you have to deal with tough things, whether in speaking or writing, they bring biblical wisdom to the situation, even when we don’t quote scripture and verse. They are not “reckless” and they don’t “piece like swords” as the scripture so aptly says. And when we write wise words, they come off the page and go straight into the reader’s heart.

In the novel I’m working on, one of my characters has a decisively unwise tongue. She loves to gossip and prattle and tell tales. And she often gets into trouble because of her reckless mouth. She shows the readers what this Scripture is talking about, the folly of it, the hurt it can bring, the harm it can do. But can she truly change? That’s the question at hand for her and for us.

We all want our words to be wise, healing, and helpful. We want to bless others by the things that we say or write. But in a world full of way too many words, taming our tongue (or our pen) is something in which we all need the Father’s help and guidance. Only then can we truly have “wise words.”

How do you chose to only speak (or write) wise words?