Walking with the Wise #484: The Weight of Words

“A proverb in the mouth of a fool


is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.”
—Proverbs 26:9 (NLT)

There is something about having what you say validated by who you are and what you do. Words by themselves are powerful, but they are much more powerful when backed up by actions.

Think of Jesus for a moment. He said some crazy stuff—to claimed to forgive sin, give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, and raise the dead. It's only crazy though, if He can’t do it. It’s the real deal if He can, as C.S. Lewis so brilliantly captured it:

“For instance, He went about saying to people, ‘I forgive your sins.’ Now it is quite natural for a man to forgive something you do to him. Thus if somebody cheats me out of £5 it is quite possible and reasonable for me to say, ‘Well, I forgive him, we will say no more about it.’ What on earth would you say if somebody had done you out of £5 and I said, ‘That is all right, I forgive him’? Then there is curious thing which seems to slip out almost by accident. On one occasion this Man is sitting looking down on Jerusalem from the hill above it and suddenly in comes an extraordinary remark—‘I keep on sending you prophets and wise men.’ Nobody comments on it. And yet, quite suddenly, almost incidentally, He is claiming to be the power that all through the centuries is sending wise men and leaders into the world. Here is another curious remark: in almost every religion there are unpleasant observances like fasting. This Man suddenly remarks one day, ‘No one need fast while I am here.’ Who is this Man who remarks that His mere presence suspends all normal rules? Who is the person who can suddenly tell the School they can have a half-holiday?”

It’s only because His life backed up His Words that His Words can have any lasting impact. The same must be true of us. While we are not Christ, if our character and suffering reflect the Lord we worship, then our words will carry more weight, unlike the character in today’s proverb. He’s a drunk who is swinging around a thorny branch while spouting proverbs. While the proverb he’s spouting may be true, without his life to back him up, it means nothing. People can say whatever they want to, but it is the reality of our life that intensifies the meaning of our words. The drunk may be looking for a fight, believing he is going to inflict some real damage on people while swinging around a thorny branch that is undoubtedly cutting himself in the process, but without a life to back up his claim, he looks like a complete idiot.

Make every effort to conform your life, by the power of the Spirit working through the means of the Word, to the pattern of Jesus Christ. Let your words and actions harmoniously work together as instruments in an orchestra, creating a symphony of praise to our Savior and King for whom we have been purchased and purposed to glorify—for His glory and our joy. Amen.