Proverbs 12:13 The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
I read Proverbs 12 this morning and noticed a pattern. In fact, I read a few verses to my neighbors here on the Ranch and asked them to tell me what common trait all the verses had. I’ll do the same with you right now. Put on your thinking cap.
What do all these verses have in common? Proverbs 12:13 says, “The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.” Verse 14 says, “A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompense of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.” Verse 15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” Verse 18 says, “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.” Finally, verse 20 says, “Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil.”
So, what do all these verses have in common? You may have noticed that they all talk about parts of one’s body; lips, mouth, hands, eyes, tongue, and heart. We so often use the word “heart” to mean something more than the organ pumping blood, that we may not realize that all these words are representing something a little deeper.
When I preached in Honduras a few years ago, I was reminded of the fact that there are so many colloquialisms in our English language, so many turns of phrase that would not make sense in another language. If we say, “Let’s raise the roof with our singing,” we don’t literally mean to raise the roof. Some of those pictures don’t translate well. For instance, if I am speaking in American Sign Language, that doesn’t translate. “Raise the roof” means literally to raise the actual roof.
Famously in the New Testament, the Bible talks about “bowels of compassion.” Are we talking about someone’s innards? No, but there is a connection between the physical, the hands, eyes, etc., and what is in one’s heart. Sometimes we draw distinction between the brain, the organ in your skull, and the mind.
The bottom line is that who you are is revealed by how you use what you have. There is a who, a how, and a what. Who you are is revealed by how you use what you have. The Bible says in Proverbs, “A forward man speaketh forward things.” Even if you don’t know what forward means, it makes sense that a forward man speaks forward things. In Proverbs 12:16 it says, “A fool’s wrath is presently known.” How do you know a fool’s wrath? He opens his mouth. Verse 23 says, “A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.” How does he proclaim foolishness? He opens his mouth. Proverbs 13:16 says, “Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.” How does a fool lay open his foolishness? He opens his mouth.
A wise person shows wisdom by what he does not say and a fool by what he does say. So, there is speaking and doing. Verse 14 talks about the hands. We are not talking about the physical hands, but about what somebody does. Verse 14 says, “A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompense of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.” How do you spend your actions? You will get that paid back to you.
Verse 15 talks about what you see, your eyes. It talks about your way of life because of your perception of life. In the New Testament, Jesus talked about an evil eye. Was He literally saying that someone’s eye, the physical eye, can be evil or virtuous? No, He was talking about your perception.
Verse 20 is about the heart. The heart can refer to the mind, emotions, or will. It is used in various ways, but here the context seems to be what one imagines. “Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil.” It is an image that you have in your heart, in this case, in your mind.
How I use my lips, my mouth, my hands, my eyes, my tongue, and my heart reveals something far deeper than those physical things. It reveals who I am. So, who you are is revealed by how you use what you have. How are you using what you have? You may not have the eyes you wish you had, the brain you wish you had, or a healthy heart physically, but the issue here is not so much what you have, but how you use what you have. Ultimately, you have a will, a choice. Just as my hands are agents of my will, so I am a person who has agency, who has a will.
Today, what I do is important. It is important because it reveals what I am in my life.