Words Like Golden Apples
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in baskets of silver" (Proverbs 25:11). This passage tells us that when someone says something that suits a situation or circumstance perfectly, people cherish such words like golden apples in silver baskets. This means that such words are precious to people. But why are such words so precious?
A reason may be that such words come from someone who speaks with the wisdom of God. When someone speaks with the wisdom of God, their words will fit that specific situation, question, or problem perfectly. People usually want an answer that is true and will benefit their lives. And God provides this communication. Nonetheless, people who speak with the wisdom of God must first listen to God. The prophet Isaiah gives us insight into this process. Isaiah says, "The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he awakens morning by morning, he awakens mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away my back" (Isaiah 50:4-5). Here, Isaiah tells us how he speaks with the wisdom of God: "Golden communication" is the result of listening to God and being obedient to the voice of God. Isaiah says that God spoke to him, and he obeyed. Thus, speaking a word in due season is a product of obeying God. When we obey the voice of God and follow his commandments, God enables us to say wise things— righteous things. This golden communication, thus, does not come from things we learn in worldly books or knowledge we receive through worldly education, but through a correspondence with God.
Words That Build Up Others
"The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked" (Proverbs 10:11).
Initially, it seems that this passage is talking only about the person who is using her or his mouth because the passage does not mention another person. So it may seem that the well of life or the concealed violence pertains only to the person who is doing the speaking. But the second part of this passage hints at something else. When we translate the second part of the passage correctly, it is the mouth that conceals violence, not violence that conceals the mouth. Thus, we can imagine a wicked person saying something in a manner to cover up violence that may be going on unnoticed. This wicked person would not be hiding something from himself or herself. And since the author contrasts the righteous man and the wicked man directly, we can safely assume that the effect of words in both cases is the same. Therefore, I believe this passage emphasizes the power of our words on others. This "power" is not magical in any way. Yet, the power of the words this passage talks about is real and something we have probably all experienced. Now, it may surprise some people that our words can affect people as much as this passage suggests. People might think words cannot nurture life for others or be violent against others. But most people know how it feels when other people hurt them with insults, rumors, or unkind words. This hurt is an example of violence. People also know how they feel when someone else compliments them. Such compliments can encourage someone to keep on doing what they are doing or do better in life. This response is an example of someone, so to speak, drinking from a fountain or well of life. We may not study the lasting effects of such words. We might have to take time to consider just how compliments or insults can affect someone over a period of time. Still, it should be reasonable to see how constant reinforcement of a positive or negative word to the enrichment or detriment of someone else can affect the outcome of their life. To be sure, everyone has a choice and power in how much they let the words of others affect them. But we should also not be in denial of how much positive or negative words affect us and others.
The apostle Paul writes in a letter to the Ephesians that we should, "let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29). Here, Paul emphasizes the effect of our words on others. Paul calls what I call "others" as hearers. In this passage, Paul links the responsibility of our speech to our connected obligation to those who hear us. These hearers are not the speakers of life or violence, but the hearers of it. I believe the passage in Proverbs has a similar emphasis to the passage in Ephesians because both stress the effect of our words on other people. In the Ephesians passage, Paul goes on to say, "Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:31-32). In this passage, Paul clarifies that our words serve to build up (edify) other people. But he also suggests our words can have the opposite effect if we speak with hate, anger, wrath, unforgiveness, and bitterness. These emotions, especially in this passage, refer to affections toward others and not ourselves.
Today people seem to focus mostly on how their own words can affect their own future because we live in a very selfish culture. Many things in our culture, from advertisements, entertainment, and products, are geared toward self-satisfaction. When was the last time you heard an advertisement from a fast-food restaurant or just a regular restaurant mention feeding the poor or mentioning something you can do to support them feeding someone other than yourself? Thinking about the well-being of others is not common in our culture today. But I believe strongly that God wants us to focus more on how our words can have a positive or negative effect on others. I believe this because of the emphasis given through the previous scriptures. Of course, we must be careful what we say regarding ourselves. We should not be careless and speak words of death or negativity over our own lives. Yet, it is equally, if not more, important to be mindful of how our words affect others. So, if we believe God cares about how our words can affect our future or trajectory in life, we should also believe that God cares even more about how we understand how our words can affect others' future and trajectory in life. We should not be so selfish to think the power of our words pertains only to ourselves and disregard the positive and negative impact we can have on other people. Again, I do not claim our words hold magical powers. Still, our words are powerful, existing in the real world, containing a force to change the world we live in.