Your Words Have Power: Proverbs 15:1-33

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Hey, everybody, welcome to the Bible Guys. Yes, yes, we are here. Yes, it is Thursday. Yes, and if you're listening day by day, of course, if you're bing, it doesn't matter what it is, whatever. Day you're listening, that's correct, that's very profound. So it's it's actually technically Thursday. For us filming, it is too we're filming on a Thursday. And none of that matters. And so today we're going to star. Well, what does matter is that we bring our listeners only the finest news, always, only the finest news from the finest sources. Yes, and today is about a very serious topic. I spend a lot of time on airplanes. And I don't know if you heard, but the worst airline in the world. Did you hear that? Did you hear about that? Did you hear this? The airline in the world. Yes, proved that they're not true, that the Spirit Airlines is not the worst. Dayline in the world. Is so bad. I got to tell you they have the coolest planes. I'm pretty sure Spirited Airlines was on the verge of just putting up and getting rid of all the chairs, just putting up poles and. Handles, and you just got to hang on his stay for three hours. It was awful. Spirit is absolutely horrendous. This is the worst travel experience ever. So they did. File bankruptcy last week. And here's the headline from only the finest news sources. Babylon b is our favorite news source. Yes, if you don't know, Babylon b is a parody site, but it says this. Here's the headline. Spirited Airlines announces they will tell you why they went bankrupt for an added fee of fifty dollars. That is, because they charged you for everything. That's so great, they charge you for everything. This is written so cleverly. Dani Beach, Florida. Spired Airlines has filed for Chapter eleven bankruptcy protection and for a small additional fee of fifty dollars, they'll tell you why. Quote. We know everyone is curious to know exactly how our universally beloved airline went under, said one spokesman while beating an old woman with the club for having a. Slightly two large carrier carry on by. We know Everyone is curious to know exactly how our universally beloved airline went under, said one spokesman while beating an old woman with a club for having a slightly too large carry on Bag's. Beating an old woman. During his press conference. We would love to explain exactly what went down. Anyone wishing to know can pay a one time fee of fifty dollars or more and one of your flight attendants will come down the island whisper it in your ear. The airline is apparently taking steps to recoup some of its financial losses, such as charging extra for toilet paper and the laboratories, passing an empty hat around the cabin to collect spare change, and of course offering to divulge their bankruptcy details for only fifty dollars. We trust that we will soon emerge from this sad time a stronger and more capable airline, said CEO Edward M. Christy. The third. Also, here's my venmo for anyone interested. Oh my goodness, the publishing time Speared Airlines had up to the ante by announcing any passengers who refused to pay the fee would be ejected mid flight. Wow that is amazing. It's very very clever. It's very funny. That caught me off guard. That was a really good one, and you. Know, only the finest news. Yeah, the Babylon b is is so sophisticated in as humor. I don't know why I don't read that daily because we only I only seem to read it when you know, Desiree gives us a link to it to read it. But man, is that funny. I love it. I love the Babylon Bee. Sometimes it seems like I don't know why, but Saturdays sometimes I get on it and then I can't stop. Right, Oh is that right? Yeah? Article article. I'll tell you. Spirit Airlines, I literally when I sat down the seat, you know, for the first time in a long time. I don't think I flew them for like ten years, and I sat down in one of the seats, and I could not believe how thin and hard and uncomfortable it was. It was literally one of the worst I sat down. I go, no way, yeah, there's no way, this is the seat. Well, the last time I flow on Spirited Airlines, I sat down on a bench that was along the side. We were all sitting on a wooden bench at some guy with like bullets on his saying and his chickens running up and down the aisle. We have ropes for seat belts. It was horrible, just a horrible thing. The flight attendant came over with one of those pads of paper and. Went to show me the movie. You know what I mean. It was just a sketch of you know, cartoon. It was horrible. It was terrible. It was terrible. Did you ever make one of those as a kid? Yeah, yeah, I did all the time. Yeah, that's great, that's funny. Actually that whole sequence was from a Jerry Lewis movie back in the day. Really, yeah, it's very funny. Yeah, And he complains to the flight attendance, excuse me, ma'am, I think there's a mistake. Because he's sitting on a wooden bench against the wall, you know, of the thing with all. These people sitting next to me. He caused a flight attendant over and you know, he's playing all the characters, which is funny. But he calls her, he's excuse me, ma'am, I think I think there's a mistake. I was I was supposed to be in first class. She goes, oh, this is first class, and he looks wrong. You know. It's there's chickens running up and down the aisle, and hey and all this stuff. He goes, where's the economy? And she lifts just like a hatch in the floor, and there's all these hands reaching out, impoverished hands reaching out from the floor. It was so funny that every time I've ever written on Spirited Lands, I think of that Jerry Lewis movie. Yeah, it was horrible, that's funny. Last time I got on it was I don't know, fifteen years ago, and I thought why am I Ten years ago? I thought why did I do this? I fooled myself than thinking I was saving money. You don't save money, and then it's a miserable experience. So yes, yeah, it ends up being pretty close to what you would pay somewhere else. I am a very pro business person. I hope businesses succeed except for that one. Right right, Okay, anyways, but they're not going man, we're being mean today. They're not going away. That's no, they won't. They'll survive. They're like roaches. Such nuclear war and all of a sudden that's all gonna be left is spirit Airlines. Wow. Okay, Wow, Anyways, we are in episode five sixty nine, and this might be our last one people, so let's let's jump in on it. Proverbs chapter fifteen, speaking off, speaking of things that survive for a long time. These proverbs have been around for thousands of years. Wow, you know, I always forget that. We have a cheesy transition. You've done every transition. Well, I'm just trying. I'm trying, man, really, yeah, I'm looking for help. That's really good. Maybe I'll do tomorrow. Okay, you do tomorrow. All right. So Proverbs chapter fifteen. You've already quoted this earlier this week? I did? Yeah. It is it like a preview, a sneak preview. Yeah, well, you can't get too much of the Bible jest. Yeah, for our listeners. For our listeners, you already heard quick quote verse one. Do you want to quote it again? No? No, you're the reader. Okay, you're fifteen one the reader. A gentle answer deflex anger, But harsh words make tempers flair. We could have stopped there. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness. Does that count? For like the first six minutes of an episode. Right, no doubt, belches. I love the word belches. That describes our first six minutes. Matter of fact, in the notes, it just says belch out foolishness. That's what it says in the notes. Okay. The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good. Gentle words are a tree of life. A deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. Only a fool despises a parent's discipline. Whoever learns from correction is wise. There is a treasure in the house of the godly, but the earnings of the wicked bring trouble. The lips of the wise give good advice. The heart of a fool has none to give. The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but he delights in the prayers of the upright. The Lord detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue godliness. Whoever abandons the right path will be severely disciplined. Whoever hates correction will die. Even death and destruction hold no secrets from the Lord. How much more does he know the human heart. Mockers hate to be corrected, so they stay away from the wise. A glad heart makes a happy face. A broken heart crushes the spirit. A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash. For the despondent, every day brings trouble for the happy heart. Life is a continual feast. Better to have little with fear of the Lord than to have great treasure and inner turmoil. A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate. A hot tempered person starts fights, a cool tempered person stops them. A lazy person's way is blocked with briers, but the path of the upright is an open highway. Sensible children bring joy to their father, and foolish children despise their mother. Flishness brings joy to those with no sense. A sensible person stays on the right path. Plans go wrong for lack of advice. Many advisers bring success anyone who enjoys a fitting reply, or everyone enjoys a fitting reply. It's wonderful to say the right thing at the right time. The path of life leads upward. For the wise, they leave the grave behind. The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but he protects the property of widows. The Lord detests evil plans, but he delights in pure words. Greed brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live. The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking. The mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words. The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous. A cheerful look brings joy to the heart. Good news makes for good health. If you listen to constructive criticism, you'll be at home among the wise. If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself. But if you listen to correction, you grow an understanding. Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom. Humility precedes honor. There you go, Humility proceeds honor. I love that. It's almost like a just a little add on. Yes, it's like Genesis one sixteen. He created the planets, oh, in all the stars as well. Right, it's just a little ad on that has so much, so much in those little words. Yeah. So you know the thing about this is, uh, you know. It starts off the chapter with I told you, one of my favorite verses, yep, and uh it changed my life. And I think I've told the story before, so I don't have to retell it, but I'll just say this. The first time that I discovered that, uh, when you when you diffuse anger with soft words, uh, the other you know, the other person I literally saw it in front of me is my brother Chuck, who was shouting and then I just talked normal, and then all of a sudden he went ooh and he de escalated and went down. I thought the Bible was magic because because it was the advice I was given by another person, by a pastor, who said, try this. And I was like, that's not gonna work. Like you have any idea who my brother is? Do you have any idea how many fights we get in? Do you have any idea like like, really talking calm is going to work. I literally was just clueless. And then from that point on you realize that like, there there is there's so much more that comes with just diffusing a fight. There there's a there's a character thing attached to it, there's a there's a reconciliation thing that comes from it. Right, It's it's better for relationships all the way around. It's better for everybody, uh not to and you know, and and by the way, it goes hand in hand with uh with it talks about uh, those with anger, right are foolish, those who have a quick temper, uh will will bring harm to you know, everybody. It's just interesting how anger and temper and quick reactions is is coupled with foolishness and and everything bad. So it it's really caused me, honestly to be irritating in my arguments with my wife. So if my wife, oh, that's that's an added bonus then, right, I know. So like we'll be arguing and I'll just talk like this, and and I'll say, well, who's the one yelling? And of course that's. Not a good thing to say, no, right, yeah, and then she you know, then she hits over. There, didn't say one of the ones we read that a foolish person gets beat because of his words, right, yes, so the beatings come after that, even though you said it pleasantly. Yeah. I was actually watching an episode of have you ever seen Young Sheldon? No, Young Sheldon. It's it's a great wholesome show and it's about the Big Bang theory when when Sheldon was young. Anyway, the point. Is is that, uh, the women were arguing and one of the one of the sons. That father and the son are eating at dinner table and they're just like keeping their heads down, you know, and the women are just shouting back and forth, and all of a sudden, the one of the brothers decides to chime in and he says, well, that's not what you said. And then they turn around. They just yelled them like this, and then uh. And then the father looks at the son and he goes, dumb, dumb, you know. So don't speak up, don't you know, Just to keep your head down, you know. Only he didn't say dumb dumb. I said it nicely. But anyway, that's what it, Liz, So what else is. In here, Jeff, Well, there's a whole bunch of things about words, obviously, right. This is a theme that words really matter. Words, the Bible says in a couple different places, words have the power of life or death. Right, Well, you can kill a relationship, or you can breathe life into a relationship with your words, you can uh. And and a lot of it is perspective. Solomon, have you noticed how there's this or that kind of balance to most of his proverbs? A wise person is hungry for knowledge. The fool feeds on trash, right. Yeah, yeah, there's the there's the side you want to aspire to and the side you want to avoid. Almost all the time, there's that that kind of idea. But I think it's it's interesting. Where was it. I was just looking at verse fifteen. For the despondent, every day brings trouble. For the happy heart, life is a continual feast. They're both experiencing the same day, right, But a lot of times it really is perspective. Right, So the words that we say have a positive or negative effect. Have you ever heard any as somebody say before, if you think you can or if you think you can't, you're probably right. Have you ever heard that rame? No? But I remember the Chucci train. I think I can, I think I can. Yeah, No, I think it was. It was it's some famous American guy. I want to say. It was like, I don't know, Henry Ford or President Eisenhower or somebody. You know, somebody like that, somebody just I'm going to pick one, Mark Twain. I don't know somebody. I've seen it many times. It's a famous quote. If you think you can or if you think you can't, You're probably right, and there's something to you. I've seen this qu A lot of it is a prospective thing. If you start off with that negative. For the despondent, every day is problems right right. That word despondent doesn't have to mean, you know, depressed or miserable. It's just the person who has a negative outlook, is what I'm talking about. If you look at life from a negative perspective, of course, trouble's coming, right, But if you're a happy person, if you're a positive person, life's. A continual feast and there's this something. Yeah, go ahead, Henry Ford, was it, Henry Ford? It was my first choice, was it? Really? Yeah? I said, Henry Ford? Or president eis an hour or whether. You think you can or you think you can't. You're right, Yeah, there you go. That's great, So Henry Ford, I should trust my gut more. I know. I'm pretty sure Salomon said not to do that, but yeah. That's fun. First thing. So that phrase, anyways, is it's all about attitude. And so a lot of what Solomon talks about on the surface is words. It sounds like he's talking about words, but a lot of it really is attitude. In that fight. If your attitude is I want to fight, buddy, it's gonna get messy. If your attitude is I'm not going to fight, right then, So a lot of it really is the perspective of the thing. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. We read that the other day. So if you're the kind of person who wants to fight, it doesn't matter that they were disappointed by a thing. Now you just want to defend yourself and fight, as opposed to if you have the outlook or the attitude of just saying, Okay, I get it, you're disappointed. How can I help you? Right? Then you can change things. And so so many of the one liners that he has a gentle words or tree of life, right whatever, If we could just learn the importance of our words and the importance of our attitude, those two things is about a third of everything he writes. Well, I mean, think about this, and I know this is a weird sort of thought, but you know, God created humans and then he gave us the ability to number one, have words with each other and then have actions, you know, with each other. Right, So words is most of which you know, it's one of the most important. If not the most important thing in our lives. Words, right, and we have the power, which is why there's so many verses that talk about the tongue and the dangers. You know. So the Book of James says that the. Tongue has the power to set the whole what does he say, the whole hell on fire? Right right? What does he say? He says, it's like a rudder of a ship. It's a small little rudder that controls the entire ship. It's the spark that can set an entire forest on fire. That is the tongue. That's the power of the tongue. And then there's other things in the scripture that say what a word spoken in due season, how good it is, And it talks about the importance of encouragement edification of one person. You know. The Book of James stresses let your yes bys and your no b no. There's another one that talks about how words can be like a surgeon's scalpel, or it could be like a sword that pierces, and so it could it could literally be used as a weapon. I told you my story behind that didn't have Burger king. I said, I don't know when I was uh my best friend is Jeff Miller. You know, I'm always up for a good burger King story, right. Right, my best friend. It's a quick one. My best friend was. Jeff Miller and still is. And so we were in like the eighth grade, and we know it must have been like the tenth grade. We had just started going to church, just started. Going to church, and we were in uh uh Burger King, and as we were there, uh, we both ordered the same thing. And then Jeff started eating my fries and and I said, the Bible says gluttony's a sin, and you're fat, so leave my fries alone. And then he said, well, you know, the Bible also says that if somebody asked for your shirt, give them give him your cloak also, And I said, well, the Bible also says thou shalt not steal. And he says, we know, the Bible also says forgive one another, and so forgive me for this. And he took a bite of my hamburger. And so we're going back and forth quoting the Bible verse and so and so. Anyway, so that so there's like this old man who is eating by himself, and he gets up and he walks over and he literally leans down and gets right between us and our faces, and he says, you know what, the Bible also says. Kids, We're just like, who's this old guy? You know? He goes the Bible. There's somewhere in the Bible that says that your words can be healing like a surgeon's scalpel, or it could be harmful, like a sword. And he said, you get to choose which they are. And they got up, threw his stuff away, and we never saw that old man again. And so and so I was an angel. Well back then there was no internet, So back then you literally had to scour the Bible trying to find out where. This piece of information was. And so I went on a journey for months and then eventually came across that version. It was in Proverbs, and I don't even know where it is now, but I think it's seventeen or something where it talks about that. And so, anyway, all that to say, that's my story, but it's it's a once again. It's an emphasis on the power of words, you know, all throughout the scripture. And then you also see he always tends to come back to money or resources. But from the perspective of whise people invest well. Wise people work hard. Wise people take care of their resources. Wise people plan for their future. Wise people, you know, leaving inheritance to their children's children. So the this and that kind of statements here verse six says there's treasure in the house of the godly, but the earnings of the wicked bring trouble. You know, sometimes you look at people who have a lot of stuff and you go, wow, you know, they're they're really great. But don't don't don't be fooled by that. I can remember I had a kid in my class that I liked, and I was always impressed by just their stuff. I mean, they had so much stuff, and we were poor, right, so I grew up pretty poor. His parents had come rolling in the big Cadillac. They had a big house, they had a swimming built in swimming pool in the backyard. He always wore all the fancy clothes. He made fun of me because I didn't wear ayesad back then, Nike's you know whatever. Well, then the next year I come to school and he lives with his grandparents, and I'm like what, and he didn't say anything. It took a while found out. So his dad had been stealing money from his company and eventually got caught, goes to jail, lost everything, right, So the surface, what's on the surface, what's on the outside, you can't know. So this treasure is really it's on the inside, right, the treasure in the house. There is treasure in the House of the Godly inside. Yeah, there's treasure. It's it's really what's inside is what matters. But he says the earnings of the wick could bring trouble, and man, if you're stealing, if you're sneaking around, just trust it's coming. Yeah, judgment's coming, right, And that's what happens there. And I just remember thinking when I discovered that, how you know, my friend and his brother paid the price for the fact that his dad brought. Trouble to them. And but and then I thought, we don't have trouble in our house, right, there's piece of my house. So we didn't have We weren't rich, but we were rich. My mom and dad were still there. Everything was good, you know, And so you know, sometimes you see the treasure in a different way after you watch somebody else's kingdom fall down around them because they did the wrong thing, and then you realize, man, I am so thankful for godly parents that built our home and our family the right way. There was a lot of stability there, so that's great. Yeah, well, hey, I want to go ahead and read this little chart here in the Life Application Bible, real quick, a couple more minutes. And so basically what this is is it says the difference between wisdom and foolishness. And here's what I thought would be a really cool thing. Okay, if I list the it lists characteristics of the wise, the reputation, and the results. Okay, here's what I want the listeners to do. Try to think of the people in your life who are known for these characteristics. Okay, you read the wise, I'll read the foolishes. Okay, so try to think of a name in your mind of somebody who the characteristics are described as this. They give encouragement, or they lack of common sense? Yes, right, yeah, but I think I think. The wise. Yeah yeah, and then you do the fullest. You just do the because it's. Easier to come up with names as you read descriptors all the way down. Okay, So they give encouragement, they enjoy living wisely, they consider their steps. They're hungry for knowledge. They value wisdom above riches. They respond to correction. They pursue wisdom, they profit from correction. They trust in wisdom, and they control their anger. So who in your life? It comes to mind, And then the reputation is they're crowned with knowledge, they calm anger, and the results of their lives are they stay on the right paths. They have a reputation for that. They their wisdom conquers others' strengths. They avoid wicked past, they grow stronger. So try to identify those people in your life. If you came up with a name, you're like, those are the wise people in my life? All right, now, let's these people may be fun, right, the foolish people you're about to try, they may be fun. But try to picture and come up with the names. So all these kind of people or all these behaviors are mentioned in Proverbs between chapter ten and verse twenty nine. Chapter twenty nine. The foolish lack of common sense. They enjoy foolishness. They tend to be gullible, They avoid the wise. They feed on the trash of foolishness. They don't respond to punishment. They pursue elusive dreams. They blame failure on God. They wind up being an example, a bad example to others. They're proud and arrogant. They despise wide advice, they make truth useless. They repeat their folly, doing the same dumb things over and over again. They trust in themselves and they consistently unleash their anger. And so their reputation is that they're clothed with foolishness. They cause corals, they receive no honor, and they stir up anger. And then the results are they enjoy the wrong paths. They lash out when they're discovered in their folly. They they're endangered by their own words. They walk a treacherous road. They'll never be chosen as leaders. They must be guided by hardship, and they persist in their foolishness. Wow. And so if there's a name that comes to your mind and it's attached to those characteristics or reputation. Avoid those people. Avoid those people. Yeah, Yeah, that's isn't that a great exercise? Walk with the whys and be wise, walk with the foolish and be foolish, is what it says. Yeah, that's exactly what it says. Okay, well, hey, that is our time, so hopefully we will see you tomorrow as we wrap up this week on the Bible. Guys,