Negative Potential for the Tongue (Various Proverbs)

In 1752, John Wesley and some of his associates signed a covenant. Some have termed it the “anti-gossip pact.” It consisted of six articles. (1) We will not listen to or willingly inquire after anything unkind or hostile concerning one another. (2) If we do hear anything unkind of each other, we will be inclined to not believe it. (3) As soon as possible we will communicate what we hear by speaking or writing to the person concerned. (4) Until we have done this, we will not write or speak of it to any other person. (5) Even after we have done this, we will not mention it to any other person. (6) We will not make any exception to any of these rules unless we think ourselves absolutely obligated.[1]

As we continue our study in Proverbs we find that one of its common themes throughout the book concerns the tongue. The power of the tongue is as well clearly seen in James.

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. ( ESV).

When we consider the tongue, we come to realize the incredible power it wields. Over the next couple of weeks, we will consider the negative and positive potential for the tongue.

This morning we are going to look at two negative uses of the tongue, the first being crooked speech. Crooked speech would include such terms as slander, gossip, murmuring, whispering, or backbiting. It’s used seven times in the Old Testament. Two of those times (, ) it refers to Israel’s complaining or murmuring in the wilderness, and the third passage references how, when they are sanctified, “those who murmur will accept instruction” ().

This concept is as well found in four verses in Proverbs. In each of these four instances it is translated as “whisperer” in the ESV. Other modern versions translate this word as gossip or slanderer, and the KJV consistently uses the descriptive term talebearer.

Crooked speech is perverse (16:28). In we have a good example of a simple parallelism. “A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends” ( ESV). The first phrase parallels the second phrase. In the ESV, dishonest parallels a whisperer and “spreads strife” parallels “separates close friends.” The NIV offers a little different wording for us to consider. “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends” ( NIV).

The Hebrew root word (tahpuka) translated dishonest or perverse comes from a word (hapak) which carries the idea of turning or overturning. While the word can be used positively, it is most often used in a negative context. For example, (1) God’s wrath was turned against Sodom and Gomorrah; (2) the miracles surrounding the Exodus involved the turning of water into blood and God turning the hearts of the Egyptians to hatred against the Israelites; and (3) leprosy turns the hair white.

In the context of speech, this word indicates that a truth, which was straight and correct, was turned and distorted into something crooked, perverse, faulty, detrimental, or manipulative. We can see this negative reality in the following verses used in Proverbs.

The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off ( ESV).

The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse ( ESV).

The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate ( ESV).

When the Word of God, the truth of an incident, or someone’s words are twisted into something other than what they really are, we are perverting the truth. When we pervert the truth, there are ramifications. God hates this perversion, and this perversion is destructive to ourselves and others.

Crooked speech results in strife and contention (16:28, 26:20-21). “A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends” ( ESV). “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife” ( ESV).

There are a couple of logical implications we can draw from these few verses. (1) When we murmur (or complain or argue) it negatively affects those around us. Rarely is murmuring not selfish. Often murmuring is the result of someone not wanting to keep their anger and frustration to themselves. Is it not true that “misery loves company”? When we murmur we are more concerned about what it does for us than how it will negatively affect those to whom we murmur. (2) Murmuring ignites destructive situations. It seems the propensity of people to be easily lit by a contentious man. The hot embers and wood are speaking metaphorically of people. There are some people who are just ready to burn and all they need is a light. Murmuring is likened to a fire which ignites hot embers and wood. When someone murmurs they are like a match lighting an explosive situation. (3) You are protected by avoiding murmuring and those who murmur. If we are not near the fire, we won’t get burned.

Crooked speech is addictive (18:8, 26:22). and 26:22 approach murmuring from the standpoint of the receiver. We find that the receiver of such crooked speech likes receiving the distorted truths. “The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body” ( ESV Cf. 26:22).

One Hebrew Lexicon describes these delicious morsels as “swallowed greedily,”[2] and they go down “into the inner parts of the body.” These inner parts reference (beten) “the deepest recesses of the person, and/or the seat of the desires . . . It is also used . . . to express the totality of the human person. [3]

People naturally like to hear tasty bits of gossip and murmuring. We love secrets, especially when they are about someone else. When a secret or gossip is set in front of us, we tend to consume the information. We probably don’t realize the affect it has on us. Will Rogers humorously said, “The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.”[4]

This gossip and murmuring affect us deeply. The reality is that this murmuring or slander affects us to our very core.

Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison; for it injures the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is told. Whether the report be true or false, we are by this precept of God’s Word forbidden to spread it.[5]

Consider how your perception of someone else is affected and potentially changed when you are told gossip about them. Have you ever noticed how we tend to interpret their actions and words through the grid of that gossip? For most of us, we can’t treat gossip like gum – chew on it for a little bit and spit it out. Instead, like a great steak, we gnaw on it for a while, consume it, digest it, and it becomes part of who we are. Remember, that gossip or slander is usually a distortion of the truth. It shouldn’t be something we even entertain, and yet it often defines our opinion of people.

As we look at various passages, we are going to combine the thoughts of hasty speech and a lot of speech. Hasty speech often accompanies a lot of speech. When we are quick to speak it is likely that we not only speak quickly but as well speak often. The sad reality for most of us is that we do not typically weigh our words as we ought. As believers we need to follow James advice and “be quick to hear and slow to speak” ().

One South African tribe took this to quite the extreme. They disliked long speeches to such a degree that a speaker was limited to what they could say while standing on one foot. As long as the speaker could balance himself, he could speak to his heart’s content, but the minute his upraised foot touched the ground, his speech was over.[6] While we wouldn’t suggest that type of requirement, like those South Africans, we would do well to consider the value in speaking less.

Hasty speech is accompanied by a lot of sin (10:19). “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” ( ESV). The ESV could be understood to say that when there is a lot of speech it is inevitable that one will sin. The BBE offers a little different perspective. “Where there is much talk there will be no end to sin” ( BBE). This translation seems to indicate that not only is there an inevitability for sin amidst a lot of speech but that there is a constancy of ongoing sin amid a lot of speech.

Remedy. The wise remedy, offered in this verse, to this sinful destruction is to restrain your lips. “The root [for restrain] refers to the free action of holding back something or someone . . . The actor has the power over the object.”[7]

Often when this word is used it speaks of holding something back that wants to naturally come out. Naaman wanted to pay Elisha for his cure and Elisha restrained him from doing so (). Job mentions how comforting words can restrain or hold back grief (). In Jeremiah, the people are condemned for not restraining evil but instead gave themselves over to it (). The Psalmist beseeches God to keep him from presumptuous sin ().

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. ( ESV).

In contrast to restraint, the “wicked pours out evil things” ( ESV). The idea of pour connotes an “uncontrollable or uncontrolled gushing forth [like] the swollen waters of a wadi . . . the rush of words from a fool’s mouth.” [8]

Remedy. The wise remedy to this wicked speech is to ponder or meditate on an answer. The first phrase in says, “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer.”

Hasty speech reveals one’s character. In our culture we have made it a virtue to “speak one’s mind.” While that can be refreshing at times, especially when dealing with people who hold everything in, we need to realize that speaking one’s mind isn’t considered virtuous in Proverbs. As well, we need to realize that when we speak our mind, we are as well speaking from our hearts. Everything we say reveals what we truly think and who we really are.

Have you ever said something and wondered or even said, “Where did that come from?” The truth is that it came from your heart. If how you speak concerns you, you need to take time to assess your heart. Christ addressed this reality with the religious leaders.

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ( ESV).

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ( ESV).

These two verses view this discussion from a negative perspective, but there are positive examples.

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ( ESV).

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. ( ESV).

“Let the words of my mouth” is parallel to “the meditation of my heart.” The verse ties together the meditations of our heart and the words of our mouth. When our meditation is on the truths of God’s Word the words that come from our mouth will be acceptable.[9]

tells us that “there is more hope for a fool than for” a man who is hasty with his words. There’s more hope for a fool? Proverbs indicates that there isn’t a lot of hope for even a fool, and yet this passage indicates that someone who is hasty with his words has even less hope. Now remember, Proverbs presents life as black and white. Everyone who follows after folly is destroyed. While the percentages are not in favor of the man who is hasty with his words, we find hope in the reality that the Spirit is never done working in us, and we do possess the power to change and become more Christ-like. Nonetheless, we ought to sense the severity of being a person who is hasty with their speech.

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. ( ESV).

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. ( ESV).

Hasty speech is not a common characteristic of the wise (11:12-13). “Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent. Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered” ( ESV).

A wise person does not insult other people. “Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense.” Belittling means to “hold someone as insignificant” or “to despise to the point of rejection.” [10] Belittling someone means that you hold them with disdain or disrespect. moves belittling from the category of lacking sense to simply declaring it sin. “Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.”

Scripture emphasizes the dignity of man () and whoever undercuts that dignity, whether for reasons of racial difference, economic standing, or even age (young despising old or old despising the young) is guilty of sin. To despise one's neighbor is failure to love your neighbor as yourself.

A wise person does not reveal secrets or gossip. “Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler” ( ESV). “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent” ( ESV). Instead of being quick to reveal secrets or gossip to others, the wise person is said to “restrain his words.” This word restrain is the same word that was used earlier in as the remedy to hasty speech. This idea of restraint can be found in other passages as well.

Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. ( ESV).

As we consider the negative potential for the tongue, we see that we have the potential to twist and distort our words and the words of others, in so doing we slander, gossip, complain, and lie. We as well have the potential of speaking to much and speaking too quickly. In so doing, we fall into a great deal of sin and reveal the true nature of our character. We would do well to meditate on Paul’s advice in Ephesians.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. ( ESV).

So then, we should only say things that (1) build up the person we are speaking to, (2) is appropriate to the occasion and timing, (3) is delivered with gracious speech and intent, and (4) all our speech ought to glorify God. If any one of those guidelines is missing, then we should stop talking.

Tzu-Ch’in asked Mecius, “Is it because of quantity that words become precious?” Mencius said, “Frogs croak day and night, yet men loathe them. But when the cock crows only once, everything under the sky comes into motion. It is important to speak at the proper time, and that is all. What is the good of talking much?”[11]

Closing thought. As we assess our lives and the speech that would characterize us, we may very well, and probably should, feel a great deal of conviction. I don’t want to soften your conviction, but I do want to soften your potential shame. An acknowledgment of sin is not grounds for shame. It’s normal for us to feel shame, but it’s not necessary. If we could be perfectly aware of and transparent with our sin, we would constantly be acknowledging sin in our life. Acknowledging sin shouldn’t result in shame, but it certainly is the right and helpful step in dealing with it. So then, lets (1) acknowledge it head on and deal with it (2) knowing that your position in Christ and his love for you is not affected by the sin in our lives (3) and finally our love for one another and our presence in each other’s lives should not affected by the sin present in our lives – assuming it is sin that is being dealt with. Unrepentant sin ought not affect our love for one another, but it probably would affect our presence in each other’s lives. Be encouraged by a wonderful truth that Tim Keller has often preached in his sermons, “In Christ I’m not just more sinful than I ever dared fear, but more loved than I ever dared hope.”[12]

[1] Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 526.

[2] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 529–530.

[3] John N. Oswalt, “236 בטן,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 103.

[4] Prochnow Victor Herbert, The New Speaker’s Treasury of Wit and Wisdom (New York: Harper, 1958), 190.

[5] C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).

[6] Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1417.

[7] Leonard J. Coppes, “765 חָשַׂך,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 329.

[8] Leonard J. Coppes, “1287 נָבַע,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 548.

[9] This truth is as well seen in other verses throughout Proverbs. (1) Whether you are wicked. “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things” ( ESV). (2) Whether you are a fool (or worse). “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” ( ESV). (3) Whether you are wise. “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook” ( ESV). (bubbling is the same word as pours in 15:28).

[10] Elmer A. Martens, “213 בּוּז,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 95.

[11] Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1420.

[12] Gavin Ortlund, “Three Ways to Respond When Slandered” (Gospel Coalition Blog, Oct 21, 2016), Accessed April 29, 2018, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/3-ways-to-respond-when-slandered/

[11] Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1420.

Negative Potential for the Tongue (Various Proverbs)

Crooked Speech (slander, gossip, murmuring)

Hasty Speech

Conclusion