My dear readers,

The Sowing Mouth! (Prov 15:7)

In this proverb, words are portrayed as seeds by God. It is said that on an average, a man or woman speaks about fifteen to sixteen thousand words per day. This means that we speak from four hundred and fifty thousand to four hundred and eighty thousand words every month. That is a lot of seeds to sow every month! Yet we do not feel the strain at all. Furthermore there does not seem to be a supply shortage. After a good night’s rest, a new batch of seeds is sown again. The question God asks is: “What kind of fruits are these seeds bringing forth?”

The life of every child of God is meant to touch other lives for God’s glory. The only way to do that is to point others to Christ. The words of the child of God are crucial in accomplishing this. The words reveal what is inside of us. Words will impact all who read or hear. It will result in emotions and ideas that will change actions and lives because the thinking has been impacted. Proverbs 15:7 teaches the dual and contrasting impact that words can have upon whatever they fall. Which describes us best?

– There are people who look at the lips of whoever is talking to them. It helps them to focus and understand what is said. Hence

are used here to convey this unconscious action of looking. When it is

the words that come forth will sow knowledge. The knowledge here refers to the precious Word of God. In order for the wise to sow the good seeds (the Word), they must study God’s Word daily. Otherwise their words will not be God’s Word. Only God’s Word gives true knowledge. All the knowledge of the world will fade when the world is destroyed at the end of the last days. The knowledge of the world includes all languages, all sciences like biology, physics, chemistry, computer science, engineering and all arts like literature, design, etc. These are only good for this world to keep body and soul together. However this worldly knowledge will not bring eternal life. It is powerless to take away sins from the sinner’s heart. Many sinners such as experts of all the arts and sciences of the world will still die in sin. The wise know that. Thus they will fill their heart and mind with the knowledge of the Word of God through daily consistent study of God’s Word.

In this way, the words they sow from their lips will bring forth Christ-centred knowledge. Sinners who listen to them will be saved from their sins. Their words are like the salt that will bring holy flavour to their lives, to help retard sin and sinful behaviour as they speak the Word of God. The presence of God is felt when the wise are present. Fellow believers will love them as their words draw them closer to the Lord. The wisdom they utter points them to Christ. The knowledge helps them overcome ignorance. The wise shed light on hard issues with the wisdom from God. They make righteous decisions when others are stumped. They know that what they say is right because they are anchored in God's Truth. The confidence of the wise is not in self but in Christ. There are few things that are “grey” to them. Almost all issues in their lives are either black or white. The wise know what to do and what not to do almost all the time. Their lives bring joy and blessings to all around them, especially to fellow believers who also love Christ. Through their lips they too would gain the knowledge of Christ, not just head knowledge but experiential knowledge that transforms life and conduct.

Sowing Foolishness? – In contrast, the foolish are not able to sow knowledge. The reason is not their lips but the source of all their words, i.e. their heart! Thus instead of saying the “lips” of the foolish, the Bible says the “heart” of the foolish. The foolish are not born again in Christ because their hearts are still captured by sin. Selfishness and self-centredness characterise their inward being including their mind. They think of ways to gain and benefit self. Their motives are carnal and thus earth-bound. To the sinful world they might seem to have great “knowledge” because the world benefits through the clever inventions and carnal wisdom. The foolish may alleviate the poor through their generosity and genius inventions that make life more comfortable for all; but they are temporal. The delusion from the world’s accolades makes the foolish even more sinful because of the pride of life that consumes their inner being. Their lives are impotent to help sinners fulfil their greatest need - to get rid of death in their lives!

Only children of God in Christ can possess the knowledge to do that. The foolish are characterised by foolish wisdom that deludes and is powerless to help. Instead, their lives hurt the people around, influencing them to become more carnal and sinful. Take the lives of men like Charles Darwin who is regarded by the world as a great man who has contributed tremendously to the advancement of knowledge. Yet from God's perspective, men like Darwin are fools. Their knowledge has done more harm and has damaged the lives of millions if not billions of sinners throughout the ages. Men who are condemned in their sin remains condemned. The god of this world used them to blind the minds of millions so that they would not believe in Christ. Long after their death the god of this world continues to use their foolishness to hurt and ruin lives. What a tragedy!

Conclusion – The “lips of the wise” are the lips of the children of God. Their lips will sow knowledge that saves sinners and builds up the faith of fellow believers. They glorify God in what they say because it comes from hearts and minds that are filled with the knowledge of Christ. However, the “heart of the foolish” brings forth death and deception. It stirs up pride and inflames the lusts of the eyes and the flesh making sinful men sin more.

Are we sowing knowledge or foolishness?