Reading

• Wise and Foolish Talk – Prov. 14:3; 15:2, 7; 16:23; 18:6-7; 19:1; 23:15-16
• Righteous and Wicked Talk – Prov. 10:20-21, 31-32; 11:11; 12:13-14; 13:2; 15:28; 17:4
• Appropriate Speech – Prov. 15:23; 16:21, 24; 25:11; 27:14
• Maintaining Silence – Prov. 10:19; 12:23; 13:3; 17:28; 18:13; 21:23
• Controlled Speech – Prov. 15:1; 17:27; 25:15; 26:28; 28:23; 29:5
• Slander and Gossip – Prov. 10:18; 11:13; 16:28; 17:9; 18:8; 26:22; 20:19; 26:20
• Hurtful Talk – Prov. 11:12; 12:18; 15:4; 16:27; 25:23; 26:2
• Quarreling – Prov. 17:14, 19; 20:3; 22:10; 26:21
• Lying – Prov. 12:19, 22; 17:20; 19:5, 22; 21:6
• Power of Tongue – Prov. 18:20-21

Devotional

Today’s reading continues to focus on proverbs dealing with our speech. As noted yesterday, this is a critical—and difficult—aspect of our lives, especially for the godly person. Today’s devotional focuses on the importance of speaking wisely and in telling the truth.

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
(Prov. 15:2 NIV)

The fool talks too much and says things that don’t make sense. He speaks out of ignorance, not knowing what he’s talking about. By contrast, the wise person thinks carefully before speaking, and says far less words than the foolish man. You see, it’s impossible to sin with your tongue if you never speak. Speaking is an important, critical aspect of everyday life, but we need to be very careful about what we talk about and how much we say. It’s impossible to listen and speak at the same time. It’s been said that GOD gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason—that we should listen twice as much as we speak.

A fool’s mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
(Prov. 16:23 NKJV)

If there is one fundamental physical life lesson that will help you more than anything else, it would have to be: always tell the truth. Always!

The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.
(Prov. 12:22 NIV)

A false witness [meaning, one who lies about what happened] will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free.
(Prov. 19:5 NIV)

One of the most important things we have is our reputation—that is, what people say about the type of person you are…your character. A good reputation takes years to build and must be protected at all costs. However, if you lie you are in danger of developing a reputation of being untrustworthy—a liar. The unique thing about reputations is that even though they take years to build, they can be destroyed in a moment, with a single bad decision. You do NOT want to have the reputation of being a liar. It is most difficult to shake and people won’t trust anything you say. Tell the truth…always!