Mensa Otabil - The Heart of the Wise

Watch
Donate

This week, as you know, we are looking at the Book of Proverbs and learning practical ways to live our Christian lives. The Christian life is spiritual, but it's also practical. That means what is within us must manifest in what we do and how we act. In the Book of Proverbs, we find how we can practically live a godly life.

We have been looking at chapter 16, and we go to verse number 23: "The heart of the wise teaches his mouth and adds learning to his lips." When the Bible talks about the heart in this context, it is not referring to the physical pump that circulates blood within our chest; it is talking about what is at the core of our being, our inner drives, our inner motivation-who you truly are on the inside-which eventually manifests on the outside of your life.

So, it says that your heart, my heart, teaches the mouth. In other words, what we say comes from within us. Jesus put it this way: "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." What is your predominant motivation? What is your predominant drive? What is your predominant intention? Eventually, it is manifested in what you say. To a very large extent, you can judge what a person has within them by what they say.

When a person speaks, you can tell whether they are true to themselves, whether they are wise or unwise, whether they are good or not good. How are you going to know? By their words. The kinds of words they use, the kinds of language they employ, always show the nature of what is within them. Wisdom and foolishness are both manifested in the words we speak. But the heart of the wise person-the person who is wise-allows what is within them, which should be wisdom, to guide and teach what they say. In other words, you have to be careful in planning how you articulate yourself. Wisdom teaches our speech.

Then it says that not only does wisdom from our heart teach us in the way we speak, but wisdom in our heart adds learning to our speech. This means that when a person is wise internally - how does a person become wise internally? They observe what is going on; they learn lessons, apply them, shun their mistakes, and learn the right thing to do. When they do that, it adds learning to their lips.

What does that mean? In other words, it says when a person is wise, eventually, when they speak, they speak like someone who is learned; they speak like someone who is informed; they speak like someone who is knowledgeable. Sometimes a person can have a pile of degrees and the highest educational qualifications, but if their heart is not wise, their head may be knowledgeable, yet their heart is not wise. When they speak, you wonder where they got their degrees from. Who gave them the degrees? How could this be a PhD? Why? Because their heart has not taught their lips, and you do not see wisdom manifested in the words they speak.

In the end, it is not just about education; it is about applying the lessons of life to the way you speak, communicate, and apply the wisdom that God has given you. So if you truly believe you are wise, then your words will tell us who you are on the inside.

Let's pray: Say with me, "Heavenly Father, fill my heart with your wisdom and teach my lips to speak wisely. In Jesus' name, amen and amen."

Well, I'll catch you again tomorrow. I'm Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.