Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Competency
- Competency: Being able to accomplish what one is called to do.
As we
surge through Proverbs, I find it interesting that we still seem to focus on
the “fool.” In today’s chapter, we get
to focus especially on the tongue of the fool.
As I spoke about yesterday, it is better to be thought a fool than to
open my mouth and prove myself to be one.
For
example, take the contrast given to us in Proverbs 18:4 and Proverbs
18:6-7. In Proverbs 18:4 we hear that
the mouth of the wise is like a bubbling brook.
By this Solomon means that words of wisdom are refreshing and they bring
comfort. By in Proverbs 18:6-7 we hear
that a fool’s mouth is his ruin and a snare to his soul – inviting the fool
into dangerous places. Even in Proverbs
18:21 we hear that life and death are in the power of a tongue.
The truth
is that there is great power in what we say.
When we speak just to hear ourselves talk we give bad advice and show
ourselves to be a fool. But when we are
silent until called to speak forth in God’s wisdom we give good advice and show
ourselves to be wise. Our tongue is one
of our greatest weapons and tools.
This is
what brings me to the idea of competency.
Our tongue – our words – are such an incredible power. The difference in whether our tongue is a
weapon or a tool is really an issue of competency. If we are competent with our tongue, we are
wise and our tongue is a tool that brings forth God’s truth. But if we are incompetent with our tongue, we
are a fool and it becomes a weapon of destruction in human hands under human
control. Those competent with their
tongues bring refreshment to the people around them in the truth that they
speak. Those incompetent with their
tongues bring destruction in their folly.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment