Proverbs 10:10-12 – Eye, Tongue, and Heart
The contrast in verse 10 is between one who brings trouble on others and one who brings it on himself. But how can a winking eye cause trouble? You’ve probably seen people do it – they say something seemingly harmless about someone then wink trying to imply all sorts of things that may or may not be true without actually saying it. They are slandering the one they are talking about and they are misleading and deceiving others by their body language. And as we saw yesterday, a chattering fool has no time to hear the things of God. Sometimes we are so busy talking and thinking about ourselves, we completely block God and other people out. The result will hurt ourselves more than anyone else.
Verse 11 talks about a situation only possible with believers. For only those who have trusted in Christ have received the Holy Spirit who enables them to do what is good and pleasing to God. Only the Holy Spirit can cause us to use our tongues for good, to encourage, to talk about Christ, to speak of the Gospel. The tongue is far too powerful for us to control on our own. The wicked man left to himself, without the restraining hand of God, will use his tongue for nothing but evil.
Verse 12 lays out a powerful contrast. Hatred is found in all sinful hearts. It continually stirs up trouble, creates trouble and keeps it alive, attacks the troubles of others, adds insult to injury, and resents the littlest thing, brooding over wrongs suffered. We all have the capability of being like this, and we need to set a watch upon ourselves and in place of hatred, practice love. Love covers, overlooks, speedily forgives and forgets, and assumes the best not the worst about others. We have been greatly loved, we should greatly love others.
Questions
- How can we use our tongue for good?
- How can we get rid of hate in our heart?
Prayer Points
- Pray that we would grow in our love of each other.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.