Proverbs 30:32–33: If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth. For as the churning of milk produces butter, and wringing the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife.
Insight
A humble heart will repress the sparks of this unholy fire. A spirit sorrowing for the evil of our thoughts is an essential part of the cure. We should not readily indulge the sin for which we have been truly humbled before our God. When we lack this genuine spirit, how reluctant we are to acknowledge our offense toward each other! How difficult it is for us with our proud tempers to be the first to put a hand over our mouths! We are quicker to open our mouths in self-justification. Oh hasten the blessed time when the church will be fully transformed into the image of her divine Lord, when it will be a church of perfect love in a world of love. 1
Application
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Romans 3:19
When was the last time you humbled yourself before God and admitted your guilt and shame, and asked for His forgiveness? What has been your joyous experience, when you have found yourself walking in the Spirit throughout the day?
Motivation
A perverse man sows strife, a whisperer separates the best of friends. Proverbs 16:28
The best words are the words that build others up in love. – TWEET IT
Prayer
Father, forgive me for thinking the thoughts and saying the words that brought strife and pain to others. I was wrong.
1. Bridges, C. (2001). Proverbs. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
