Proverbs 15:1-4
Good and Evil
15 A asoft answer turns away wrath, But ba harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,
cBut the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.
3 dThe eyes of the LORD are in every place,
Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
4 A 1wholesome tongue is a tree of life,
But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
Have you ever made a decision in the moment that you knew was wrong but you tried to justify it buy telling yourself that it was a grey area? Like I decided to buy a couple scratch off lottery tickets one day because it really isn’t wrong besides it supports education so I was really doing a good thing. Solomon, possibly the wisest man in the Old Testament, had spent his life watching people make decisions and he came to the conclusion that every decision was either right or wrong, good or evil there are no grey areas. In the first seven verses of Proverbs 15 Solomon gives us some contrasts between good and evil. Let’s look at some examples of these contrasts between good and evil.
In verse one and two,
I. We are to use soft words not harsh words. Verses 1-2
A. Soft words turn away wrath
Have you ever tried to whisper to someone who was yelling at you? It is almost impossible to do unless we intention in our minds to do it. We really must be careful to speak in such a way that people do not think we are yelling at them. If they think we are yelling then they will yell which in turn will cause us to begin yelling and then it is very difficult to defuse the situation. My dad and I use to play this game all the time. He would be speaking loudly and passionately to me and so I would speak loudly back and then he thought I was yelling at him so he would begin yelling at me and on and on it went. Christians we must purposely control our tone of voice if we are to get our message across without upsetting those we are sharing with. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly.
B. Harsh words stir up anger.
When my wife and I argue it is almost always because one of us thinks that the other one is being harsh with their words or comments. Now we love each other very much but we are not always the best at getting our thoughts or feelings out in a way that does not stir up anger in the other. If words can cause so much hurt between people who love each other then imagine the damage we do to our witness when we verbally attack the people who so badly need Christ in their life. In order for us to remain proper witnesses we must understand this concept in regards to the people who are close to us as well as those who are not. If you smile at your neighbor and tell them about the peace of Jesus and they hear you screaming at your spouse, friends, or family they will be hard pressed to believe you. The mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.
The next example is,
II. The contrast between God’s watchfulness of evil and good. Verse 3
A. The eyes of the of the Lord are in every place
Sometimes we think that we can escape God’s watchful eye. We may not be willing to admit we do this but our actions can say different. For example people who are addicted to pornography often have a place or time when they believe themselves to be safe from any interruptions. The reason the hide is because of the shame they feel from what they are doing. If they were to grasp the fact that God was watching them they would feel the great shame that Adam and Eve felt as they covered themselves and hid from God. God is as real and as present today as He was in the garden and one day we will realize that He has been watching our every move and recording our every word. While pornography is one of the great taboos of our culture there are many less discussed issues that trouble the heart of God as He watches His children. Some yell and curse at anyone who dare cut them off in traffic. Some abuse their spouses verbally and physically. Some become drunk or high. Some listen to filthy music and watch filthy shows and movies. The one common denominator in all of these things is that people feel safe doing these things as if God cannot see them outside of the Church.
B. God sees every evil act.
We can try our best to cover up the things we do but there is no hiding our actions form God. Even if we have friends that like to participate in our sins with us that does not justify it in God’s eyes. It seems as if some people expect to tell God to not be angry with them because they were not the y only ones doing it. God hates evil and God sees every evil therefore God will judge all evil.
C. God sees every good act.
It is easy to believe that our work is sometimes going unnoticed. We watch as it appears that evil is being rewarded and good is being persecuted. I know of a Church where there is going to be a vote on whether the youth Pastor is going to be kicked out of the Church or not this Sunday. From the people I have talked to it appears that it is causing some serious problems in the Church. I do not know what has caused the situation to come to this point but I do know that somewhere in all of it is the truth. However this situation turns out there are going to be a lot of hurt feeling and questions. My heart is broken for this Church, but I take comfort in the fact that God sees the good. No matter what happens the good, and only God knows where the good is, will not go unnoticed. God will protect the right and restore them so that they are once again complete.
The next example shows us,
III. We must have a wholesome tongue not a perverse one.
A. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life.
When study the word wholesome you will find that it might better be translated gentle. It is not only speaking of gentleness in word, but also in deed. One possible definition of the word life would be:” to have a prosperous, bountiful, blessed favorable circumstance in life, contrasted with a cursed unfavorable life. The idea we get from this verse is that the person who lives a righteous life before God in both word and deed will be blessed by God. It is the nature of our culture to take this to mean that we will be rich and famous. That is not at all the type of blessing that Solomon is speaking of. He has noticed through his life that those with material possessions who live contrary to God’s commands can be more miserable than a person who does not know where their next meal is coming from. While someone who speaks and acts in a way worthy of God can be filled with joy no matter what. If we believe that God is who He claims to be then we will recognize His ability to bless us in ways that the world could never comprehend. I have met many foul mouthed “well off” people who were never happy and I have also met many sweet and kind people who were “poor” and they were truly blessed people.
B. But, perverseness in our tongue it breaks the spirit.
But! Solomon is saying pay attention, because that is not the end of the story. He uses the word perverseness which means: “spoken words that are crooked and perverted from the truth and so false” There are people who will say anything in order to make their point or get their way. They are not concerned with truth. This verse carries with it the idea that this person is actually causing harm to the people who they are speaking to. Sometimes we are so angry that we do not care if what we say or how we act gets us into trouble, but we need to remember that our words and actions have a powerful effect on those around us. When I was a teenager I was walking through the mall with a friend and a little girl that she was babysitting. The girl looked up to me because I was older and she was asking me a lot of questions and just enjoying hanging out at the mall. I smoked at the time and so after a while I said I wanted to go outside for a cigarette. The little girl looked at me and said “you smoke.” I said: ‘Yes I do.’ She began to cry so hard. Tears immediately ran down her face. She would never give an answer to why she was crying but it was obvious that she knew that smoking was a bad habit and maybe even that it could kill me. When you are carless with your words or actions you hurt or break the spirit of those around you.
Will you pray for God to show you the areas of your life that He wants to change so that He can bless you in the way that He so desires to do?
Will you ask God to forgive you for those around you that you have hurt?
Pray and ask God to make Himself real to you so that you never feel that it is safe to give into temptation.
Pray for those who are slaves to sin both in private and in public. Ask God to show them the way out of the darkness that they find themselves in.
