Mouth, ear, heart
[Proverbs 18:15, 20-21]
What do you think about Jesus’ saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man” (Mk. 7:20)? Jesus said, “Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him” (v. 18), but “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man” (v. 20). The reason is because what come out of the heart of men is “evil thoughts” (v. 21) and “All these evil things” (v. 23). That is why Proverbs 4:23 says, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” Are you watching over your heart well? How can you tell how you are watching over your heart? One of the ways is to look back at how we are using our own mouths and ears. In other words, by evaluating what we are quick to speak with our mouths and what we hear quickly through our ears, we can see the current state of our hearts.
In Proverbs 18:15, 20-21, King Solomon is talking about a person's heart, ears, and mouth. I would like to receive a lesson from God by thinking about “mouth,” “ear,” and “heart,” centering on Proverbs 18:15, 20-21.
First, let’s think about “mouth”.
Look at Proverbs 18:20-21: “With the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach will be satisfied; He will be satisfied with the product of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” We have already learned many lessons as we meditate on the tongue and mouth until Proverbs chapter 17. I have summarized these lessons in three ways.: (1) God loves a true tongue (12:19) that speaks the truth (8:7-8), but he hates a false tongue (6:17). We must avoid a deceitful mouth and devious speech (4:24, 6:12). (2) The mouth of the wise gives good knowledge, but the mouth of the fool pours out folly (15:2). In other words, even though the mouth of the wise (the righteous) is the fountain of life (10:11) that delivers (11:9), the mouth of the fool invites ruin (10:14; 18:7). The reason is because the mouth of the wise produces wisdom (10:31), but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence (10:6, 11), speaks what is perverse (10:32), and gushes evil (15:28). (3) We must restrain our lips. The reason is because when there are many words, transgression is unavoidable (10:19). In other words, we need to know how to keep silent (11:12; 17:28). We must never cause contention like the lips of the fool (18:6). In Proverbs 18:20-21, King Solomon is talking about the fruit of the mouth. What is the fruit of the mouth? If we are the wise or the righteous, the truth will come out of our mouths, and we will be satisfied by the fruit of it. But if we are fool and if crooked words or lies come out of our mouths, we will be perished by the fruits of those lies. So King Solomon said, “The tongue has the power of life and death” (v. 21). In other words, the tongue has a great influence. If we use our tongue wisely and well, we can save people and we can live. But if we use our tongue foolishly, we can kill others, and we can even die.
We must use our tongue wisely. In order to do that, we have to think carefully about the “power of the tongue” (v. 21). In other words, we must wisely control the power of our tongue. We must never tease our tongue to show off our strength. In a word, the power of the tongue must be restrained. From that point of view, as King Solomon said in Proverbs 10:19, we must restrain our lips. In other words, we shouldn't talk a lot (10:19). In particular, we shouldn't talk a lot in the church. As we shouldn't talk a lot, we especially shouldn't like to talk about others (18:8). Otherwise, we can crush the spirit of our brothers and sisters in Christ by our many words and stumbles in what we say, whether we intend or not (15:4). In particular, we must not speak reckless words that pierce like a sword (12:18). In other words, when we talk about others, we shouldn’t say any words full of hidden meaning. Otherwise, we will eat the fruit of the tongue (18:21). In other words, if we don’t use our tongue wisely, we will be ruined. Let us all speak the words of reconciliation. We are God's peacemakers. Therefore, in our mouths, we should speak words that are reconciling to each other. This is what is fitting for us to say (10:32). Look at 1 Corinthians 5:19 – “namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” Because we speak the word of reconciling, we must be at peace with all men if it is possible (Rom. 12:18). As King Solomon said in Proverbs 17:1, “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.”
Second, let’s think about “ear”.
Look at Proverbs 18:15b – “… And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” Looking back on the book of Proverbs we have already meditated on, King Solomon said that the wise keep knowledge (10:14) and are saved through his knowledge (11:9). And King Solomon said that the tongue of the wise commends knowledge (15:2). The wise loves knowledge that much. Therefore, the ears of the wise seek knowledge. That's why Proverbs 23:12 tells us this: “Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.” But the time we are facing now is "the time will come," as the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. What time has come? “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (vv. 3-4). Now, many people don’t believe that the Bible is God's word and that God's word is the absolute truth. As Paul prophesied, people's ears have already turned away from the truth. They hate to hear the truth of God, so they turn their backs and close their ears so that they will not listen (Zec 7:11). What is the reason? The reason is because their ears aren’t circumcised. That is why they cannot hear (Jere. 6:10). They don't like to listen because the word of the Lord is offensive to them (v. 10).
Hear what King Solomon says in Proverbs 17:4 – “A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue.” What does it mean? Those who do evil or who lie are listening to perverse words or evil words. What is the reason? The reason is because those who do evil or who lie are perverse and evil. That is why they are listening to perverse words or evil words. But we are Christians who believe in Jesus. We are neither evildoers nor liars. Rather, we are those who do good and speak the truth. Therefore, we must listen to good knowledge and truth. Like Mary in Luke 10, we must sit at the Lord's feet and listen to His words (Lk. 10:39). Therefore, we must press on to know the Lord (Hos 6:3). And we must grow in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:10). I hope and pray that we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13).
Third and last, let’s think about “heart”.
Look at Proverbs 18:15a – “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge ….” What kind of heart is the heart of the discerning man who gains knowledge? When I thought of this question, I remembered the Jesus’ parable of the sowing. In particular, I remembered “good soil” that Jesus spoke of in the parable. Look at Luke 8:15 – “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” The good soil Jesus spoke of is the good heart that listens to God's word, keeps it, and bears fruit by perseverance. I think this heart is the heart of the discerning, that the heart of the wise. The heart that listens to the word of God and keeps it and bears fruit by perseverance is the heart of the discerning and the heart of the wise. Such heart of the wise man acquires knowledge (Prov. 18:15). King Solomon has already said something similar to this in Proverbs 15:14 – “The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.” What does it mean? It means that the heart of the discerning, that is, the heart of the wise, longs for knowledge. So, his ears quickly hear the knowledge of God. As a result, the wise listens and adds to his learning (1:5). He acquires knowledge (18:15). Then the knowledge of God will be pleasant to his soul (2:10).
We must pay attention and listen to the word of the Lord, and put the knowledge of God in our hearts (22:17). We must hear and obey His word. Because we fear God [“the beginning of knowledge” (1:7)], we must obey God's commandments. That is our wisdom and knowledge (Deut. 4:6). Then our hearts can guide our mouths (Prov. 16:23).
What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean (Mk. 7:20). In order for what comes out of our hearts to be something good instead of evil, then our hearts must long for the knowledge of God. And we must fill our hearts with the knowledge of God. In order to do that, our ears must pay attention and listen to God's voice. Our ears must be quick to listen to the word of God. Therefore, the word of God must come out of our mouth. And we must speak the knowledge of God with our mouths. May God control our hearts, ears, and mouths.