A CHARACTERISTIC OF WISE PEOPLE

Proverb 16:21 & 23-24 NKJV 
16 The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. 
 
23 The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips. 24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.  

I should probably rename the title as the characteristic of godly wise people. When Proverbs speaks of wise people, it is referring to people who fear and reverence God. 

Godly wise people are very conscious of their words. Verse 21 says that the sweetness of the lips increases learning. The word sweetness can also be rendered gracious or pleasant. The Amplified Bible says that "sweet speech increases persuasiveness and learning [in both speaker and listener]." So, our words serve a dual function of helping others and helping ourselves. 

I have seen this in my own life and observed it in others. I have become upset with myself and called myself unkind and unpleasant things. And it did not help me. My unkind words about myself stung and did not put me on the path to getting things right. So I have seen my words work against me and most definitely against others. 

My wife Joy is a great example of gracious, pleasant words increasing learning. She was marvelous in teaching our children as they were growing up. She did not get angry or spew out unkind words if they were struggling. Rather, her words were sweet, and the kids learned well. Saying things such as, "Why can't you get this?" Does not help. Contrast that with "I know you can do this!" And there we have words that will make a world of difference. 

Verse 23 gives us some great insight as to how to improve our words and speak as the wise. It's learning to speak from our heart, not our head. When our heart teaches our mouth, we'll be so much better off. And words from a heart filled with God's wisdom are persuasive. There have been times when my head wanted to spout something off, and my heart was prompting me to be quiet. I wish I could say that I always followed my heart and stayed out of trouble. But if I did, I would be lying. Many times, I just went ahead and let my words fly. And I paid the price, as did those around me. One of the keys to better relationships is learning to speak pleasant words from the heart. 

Verse 24 says that these pleasant, gracious words from the heart are like a honeycomb. In a day where there were no Oreos or Hot Tamales candy, the honeycomb was as good as it gets. Kind words from the heart do something good for the soul, not just for those who are hearing the words but also for those who are speaking. Good words do good things and are physically beneficial to the body. 

APPLICATION 

To apply these proverbs to our lives, a couple of things will need to happen. One is that we place value on our words. We choose to believe that our words impact others and impact our life. For good or bad, we acknowledge the power in words. 

The second thing is slowing down enough to check our heart before we speak. This will be more challenging for those quick talkers who are accustomed to lip it and rip it. And since I am in that camp, I join you in this challenge. But we can do this. We can improve our words and subsequently improve our lives. That's God's wisdom and God's way. 

PRAYER 

Dear Lord, help me to slow down and speak words of wisdom from my heart.