Fountain of Life

For Monday, June 6, 2005
Proverbs 10:11

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

The words spoken by the righteous give life, as a river gives life to the land it flows through. For the words that come out of a person who is Christ-like are words of truth, love, and grace. The words spoken are true, not false; frank, not deceptive; faithful to God's Word, not adding or twisting his meaning. The words are loving, not violent; intended to build up, not tear down or win a score. The words are gracious, spoken with kindness and generosity.

But the words of the wicked harm and destroy life. They break the spirits of others; they are deceptive; they are harsh; they are spoken by a person desiring his own advantage over others.

Whatever the words are, they neither make the speaker righteous or wicked. Jesus said as much in Mark 7:14ff and in Matthew 7:15ff. What comes out of the heart defiles and reveals a person. This is also the perspective of proverbs. Out of a righteous heart life giving words will come; out of a wicked heart, harmful words will come. To our shame and confusion, we speak both kinds of words. As James notes in 3:10: "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing." Be reminded that though Christ has saved us and imputed his righteousness to us, that we nevertheless have the old sinful nature clinging to us. The work of sanctification will always be necessary in us. All the more then, to dedicate ourselves to praying for words that are a fountain of life to come out of us. Think of this way: we have the fountain of life in us - the life-giving Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, the plumbing through which the water passes through and out of us is still tainted with sin-germs. Diligent filtering still needs to take place to prevent harmful words from coming out. The best filtering monitoring device is still conscious, consistent, honest prayer.