Thought for the Day

Verse 23 - Proverbs is a wonderful book from which to teach our children the wisdom to become overcomers. This verse goes to the very heart of what determines our destinies; the "issues of life" that come from our hearts. We are born in wickedness, having inherited a sin nature from our forefathers, beginning with Adam. It will destroy us unless we come to Jesus for a heart cleansing. "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man" (Matthew 15:11).

Verse 24 - We are commanded to guard our hearts; to be cautious of what we embrace and take into our spirits, and to stop speaking things that are not right. Obedience in these two areas determines the kind of life we have on earth. "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." (Proverbs 23:7a). We must put away a froward tongue and stop gossiping, lying, criticizing, and so forth. Through this sort of talk, we can release curses upon others. Eventually, we will receive them back upon ourselves, because we reap what we sow.

"And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be" (James 3:6-10). We will be unable to tame our tongues unless we allow Jesus to help us, for our "mouth problem" is actually a heart problem. To correct it, we must ask the Lord to cleanse our hearts. We must speak God's Word over ourselves and others.

Verses 25-27 - Notice that not only is the heart mentioned, but the mouth, the eyes, and feet. To live righteously and walk in God's blessing and wisdom, we must make a total commitment and serve God with all of our hearts, minds, and physical beings.