Wow wow wow! Proverbs 15 is just truth after truth. God really reminded me of something that I forgot heavily affected both myself and others. Proverbs 15 emphasizes the impact our words have on both ourselves and others as well as the importance of pursuing wisdom in our hearts.
I had forgotten that words carry so much power to, not only change relationships with others, but change how we view ourselves (both in a good and bad way). I mean, just praying to God moves mountains! So imagine what our words do to our individual person and those around us.
Words reveal what is truly in our hearts. If we are deceptive, that will eventually reveal itself through our words. If we are dishonest, that will reveal itself. If we are faithful and good, that will reveal itself. God has a talent for revealing what is in our hearts, so it is important for us to ask God if there is anything about ourselves we are blind to or in denial of so we can start to work to be humble and good people. Proverbs 11:3 explains that, "the integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity". WOW. If that doesn't make you want to talk with God about your character, I don't know what will.
I just want to be clear. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone does something that hurts someone else. The difference between the wise and the foolish in regards to dealing with duplicity is how they react to it. The wise will listen to advice and correction while the foolish will remain prideful and ignore advice and correction (Proverbs 11:2, Proverbs Proverbs 12:1). So, do not be too hard on yourself if you make a mistake (I do this all too often and it is not worth it to dwell on the past, believe me). Instead, come to God with an open mind and an open heart, ask Him to forgive you, and ask Him for the guidance to grow from that mistake. It is also important to go to the person you wronged and apologize to them.
God is here to help all of us become the best versions of ourselves. He is here to help us love others like He loves them. He is gracious and loving and just. It is a great gift that God has given us to be able to directly communicate with Him whenever we are in trouble or whenever we need to get things off our chest. He is there 24/7, whenever we need Him. I am thankful that He can help all of us turn our words of poison into words of honey so that we may bring healing to ourselves and others.
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