Stirring the Pot

A soft answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
    but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
    keeping watch on the evil and the good.
4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
    but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
5 A fool despises his father's instruction,
    but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,
    but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge;    not so the hearts of fools.
(Proverbs 15:1-7)
The first verse was the first verse I ever put in the back of a classroom. I wanted something to grab the hearts and minds of my middle school students, but guess who saw it more than anyone else? I did. Every day that year. I did not take it down.  Often in proverbs we feel like it is this scattering of wise sayings, but notice here Solomon keeps hitting us with the same thing: word, tongue, mouths, tongue, lips.  We can make a real mess with our mouths. We can act like real fools. We can act like we never learned anything.  Ouch. The bottom line is "What am I letting fill my heart?" That's where the words come from. That's what does the damage.  Let's imagine that first verse above every headline we read, ever person we see, every challenge we face.