Walking with the Wise #65: Inestimable Worth

“The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.”
—Proverbs 10:20

How valuable are the words of the righteous? Those who are righteous and who endeavor to speak the truth in love prove to be invaluable, like “choice silver.” There is no amount of money that equals the value of integrity and honesty. And in a world of lies and plastic people at every turn, people who will sacrifice their integrity for fifteen minutes of fame, honesty and integrity become even more valuable.

The truth of the matter is, we need people of integrity in our lives—we want those who care enough about us to wound us in order to help us heal. Much like a surgeon’s scalpel are the words of the righteous—they cut, but their purpose is not to harm, but to heal the pain of our souls. We need men and women who care enough to tell us when we are doing wrong, or love us enough to speak the truth of who we are, where we are going, and what we are doing wrong. Like the little boy in "The Emperor’s New Clothes" who called out his nakedness, the righteous are to be calling out the naked lies of a world adrift in satanic slumber and cultural comfort. Our task is to speak the truth of Christ, consistent with Alexander Solzhenitsyn famous words: “One word of truth outweighs the whole world.”

One word of truth does outweigh the whole world. The greatest word ever spoken was the divine word—Christ. And those who live their life in accordance with the truth of who He is, will live lives of inestimable worth. But for those who are wicked, their words cannot be trusted and are worth little.

Are your words valuable? Are you living such a life that others want to hear your words? Or have you sacrificed your integrity so much that your words are worth little to those around you? Repentance is the only cure for those whose lives have been duplicitous. Practice honesty, speak the truth of life, and make sure that your life and words match, and then you will discover that there will be others seeking your counsel, because your words have attained value of inestimable worth. Amen.