Proverbs 10:31 The tongue_

The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom, But the perverted tongue will be cut out. Proverbs‬ ‭10:31‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬

The word “flows” means to germinate and figuratively: to causatively make flourish. As if the mouth of the righteous was a garden that demonstrates the good seed planted in the heart. I love the word picture. The Lord plants many good seeds in his children. It’s not always obvious what He has planted or what it will yield. Yet, in good time there is fruitfulness and abundance. Something to share. People need nourishment and to here good things. What we hear impacts us. Not just the words themselves but the lives from which they come and the reality which those words represent. With alternate words I create a similar picture: I am the Lord’s secret garden, to me He flows and cultivates good things which produce abundance. Then those seeds which result are then scattered, planted, and flourish in others.

The perverse or fraudulent tongue will be cut off, or as some translate, cut out. What a graphic picture! Circumcision is another dramatic picture used during Israel’s history of something that is cut off. Both represent flesh that must be subjugated forcefully, all at once, not by subtle painless measures. Where circumcision represents man’s passion, the tongue reflects governance in the body – the heart.

What type of communication do I have? One that flows for good to those around me, or one that not only doesn’t benefit, but must be stopped? The Holy Spirit fills and flows and is a fire within – purifying that which needs to be separated from my life.