DO NOT BREAK
Proverbs 15:4 and 13 NKJV
4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,
But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
13 A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance,
But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
As a pastor, one of the things I have seen over the years is the effect our inner condition has on almost every area of our lives. In our passages for today, we get insight as to how to protect our inner life and what can break us on the inside. When we are strong on the inside, our ability to handle the ups and downs of life is greatly enhanced. When a person is broken in heart or spirit or what we’ll call their inner condition, even the little problems can be overwhelming.
Verse four addresses words. A wholesome tongue is more accurately translated as a healing tongue. A healing tongue is a tree of life. Speaking right words helps our inner condition; our hearts become healthy and vibrant. A tree of life is always green, always fruit-producing, always valuable. Speaking words of faith, hope, and love to others and to ourselves is life to our inner man. Notice speaking healing words to ourselves is important. Important because the rest of this verse says that a perverse tongue breaks the spirit. Perverse is also translated as deceitful or crooked. Speaking in such a way as to deceive others is not healthy for our inner condition. But let me add something to this principle.
Speaking words about ourselves that contrast with what God says about us is a deceitful tongue. Saying that we are hopeless or that God has abandoned us breaks us. Saying we are not loved or that we are failures is in direct contrast to what God has said about those of us who are united with Christ. No athlete who wants to excel says negative things about himself. Many professional athletes pay sports psychologists a lot of money to help them get their minds primed for top performance. But they know they can’t speak negatively without having it affecting their performance in a negative way.
In the same way, we may not be professional athletes, but we are professional people. We know we must perform in life. It may be outside of the public eye, but we must still produce. It’s hard to produce good results with a broken spirit. We are all out to win, so we need to be strong on the inside, not broken.
And our inner life is affected not only by what we speak but by the thoughts we think. We can’t have a merry or happy heart and constantly feed on sorrowful negative thoughts. Too much sorrow can be heart breaking. We even use that term to define someone who has gone through a tragedy or loss. We say they are heart broken. When we are thinking negative thoughts, it will eventually show up on our face. It’s not hard to read when someone is happy or sad. When someone is fearful or full of faith, it will show.
So how do we build up, not break up, our heart, our spirit, our inner man? The very best thing is to feed on the words of the One who created us and knows best how we are meant to live. Feed on His words in the scriptures. Speak words of healing and health which will align with what God says. And keep God’s words, which are His thoughts, on our minds instead of what the world around us is communicating. We want to be strong on the inside so we can change our outside world.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank You for making it possible for me to be very strong and happy on the inside. Following You and Your Word is the path of strength and healing.