Pondering Proverbs – Witness (5)

 

 

“With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.” Proverbs 11:9.

 

What does this verse have to do with witnessing? What do we see in this painting?

 

What do you see in the structure of the verse?

 

At the outset, there is much to be gained by seeing this verse in the context of 11:1 – 11, there is a story here, a narrative, and we could write a play based on this passage.  While I am tempted to take a detour and spend some time in exploring 11:1 – 11 as a unit – a very intriguing story – I am going to remain focused on verse 9 in the context of witnessing the Gospel.

 

Regarding structure, in 11:9a we have the godless man and his neighbor, but in 9b rather than having the righteous man and his neighbor, we only have the righteous man. In other words, in 9a we see how the godless man affects his neighbor, so we might expect to see how the righteous man affects his neighbor in 9b, but we don’t.

 

Another apparent disjunction is that in 9a we read about the “mouth” of the godless, while in 9b instead of reading about the “mouth” of the righteous we read about the knowledge of the righteous. Is there nevertheless a relationship between “mouth” and “knowledge” so that we can compare the two?

 

To help us better see what I’m saying it is helpful to read Proverbs 11:1 – 11 aloud a few times to catch the rhythm of the passage and to see that verse 9 is a bit different.

 

Well now, how might the godless man destroy his neighbor with his mouth? What can you think of? Slander and gossip? For sure, we have probably seen this in our lives at school, in community, at work, at (sadly) church. What else can you think of?

 

What about when we speak of a gospel which is not the Gospel? That is, what about when we either propagate teaching that isn’t true but deceptive – thus leading others to spiritual death, or when we acquiesce in conversations that run amiss of the Bible by not speaking up with the truth of God’s Word? How many times do we give tacit approval to what goes on around us by our silence and body language? The silence of our mouths can be as deadly as false words from our mouths.

 

What about when we speak a gospel of politics instead of Christ? What about when our message is one of culture wars and not of Christ?

 

What we say, or do not say, influences our neighbors; we can be instruments of destruction or of salvation – which will it be?

 

In Proverbs 11:4, 6, 8, and 9 we read about the deliverance of the upright (this is part of the narrative of Proverbs 11:1 – 11). God has indeed given us an Ark of deliverance in our Lord Jesus Christ – but what about our neighbors? If the mouth of the godless is destroying those around us, surely we want to be God’s agents of salvation. Let’s consider Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16:

 

“Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

 

O dear friends, how we live matters to others, whether they know it or not; what we say matters to others, whether they know it or not. We are called to be faithful to Christ in our words and deeds, and this faithfulness is expressed in our relationships and interactions with others – are others seeing the words and actions of Jesus Christ in us? Is the Incarnate Word being expressed in us and through us?

 

I do not pretend to understand the mystery behind 1 Timothy 4:16, but I must not ignore it – my fidelity to Jesus Christ matters to others, your fidelity to Jesus Christ matters to others; they will likely have no idea of this, but we must remember that by faithfulness to Jesus in word and deed we “will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

 

What is the knowledge that delivers the righteous? Is it not the eternal life that comes with knowing the Father and Son? “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). All wisdom and knowledge that the righteous has flows from the Trinity, and to be sure, it is a knowledge and wisdom that is quite unlike that of the present age (1 Cor. 1:17 – 2:16).

 

Well then, are we agents of destruction to our neighbors, or are our lives – in word and deed (for we must have both!) – offering deliverance and salvation and life, in Jesus Christ, to others?