Matins Devotion: June 13, 2024

Proverbs 13

“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” What does this mean? Well, it may sound similar to the Mark Twain line that it’s better to say nothing and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. But it’s deeper than that. Solomon isn’t merely reminding us to find the right moments to speak or to avoid giving offense or revealing our own ignorance. Rather, the message is that the wise man speaks words of freedom while the fool speaks words of slavery.

So the fool brings ruin upon himself because he speaks as though he does not have freedom. He doesn’t have the righteousness of God. He doesn’t have the honor of God. He speaks as though he needs to win the honor of men in order to be honored by God, as though He needs men to see Him as righteous in order to have the righteousness of God.

This is why we speak words that belittle our neighbor. This is why we speak words of judgment against our neighbor. It’s all a foolish attempt to show that we are worthy of honor and righteousness because we are greater than our neighbor, because we are worthier of these divine treasures than he is. This is why we insist on being right, why we beat people into the ground to make them see they were wrong to challenge us. This is why we constantly turn conversations into a platform to say the things that we know, to boast of our knowledge before the world so the world will give us the confidence that God also thinks we’re wise and worthy. And the more you speak this way, the more your life will come to ruin. If you’re ancient royalty, you may get yourself killed by revealing your ambition. But even for normal folks, you’ll anger people with your arrogance and cruelty. You’ll drive people away when you make it clear that you don’t want to love them but that you want to climb them like rungs on a ladder into the arms of God. This is what happens when you speak the language of slavery.

But you are not a slave. You are free. You are already clothed in the righteousness of Christ, poured out for you at Calvary in the blood of Jesus Christ. You have been washed in the waters of baptism. You’ve been added to the family of God. You have been clothed in a greater honor than that of kings and emperors. So stop speaking like you have none of these things. Stop judging those God hasn’t called you to judge. Those who already have everything have nothing to gain by doing so. Stop trying to prove to the world how right or smart or essential you are. Stop using your words to amass the favor you already possess. Hold your tongue in the moments when pride or anger swell within you and you will preserve your life, even as the One who redeemed your life will smile upon you.