Ps 37:30-31 "The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip." NIV
What we believe finds its expression in our conversation. What we value is what we speak about. In Luke 6:45 Jesus said, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Each person has accumulated an abundance of ideas and beliefs in the very center of their being. The beliefs that flow out of how we have responded to our pain, the truths or lies that we have embraced as we have interpreted the events of our lives and things that we have chosen to place value on have all shaped every person to be who they are. Many people are simply a reflection of a series of passive responses to input. We have interpreted life the best we could based on the input we have received either right or wrong for understanding life and its events. The problem is that in many cases a significant portion of the information that we have used to find peace and interpret events has been based on lies. One man justifies the mistreatment he has received by saying to himself “I am unworthy of love.” Another man justifies his mistreatment of others by saying, “I was treated poorly by others therefore I am justified in treating others poorly.” This kind of thinking extends into all forms of wrong conclusions and ungodly beliefs. And out of these conclusions and beliefs our life is shaped and formed.
Prov 18:21 teaches us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” The general principle operates in this manner: what we believe we speak, what we speak, we become. Our confession shapes us and our testimony reflects how we have interpreted our life’s experience. Two men have the same experience and for one it is the path of learned wisdom, for another it is the focal point of pain and a negative outlook. What is the difference; the lens through which we have interpreted our experiences.
The scriptures were intended to be the tool that we use to interpret life’s events. Within its pages there is a treasure of wisdom and understanding for building our values system and our philosophy for how we will respond to and interpret life. The life of Christ and his many teachings were given from the Father not just to provide salvation but to provide for us a living representation of God’s values and as a visible example of how to respond to life’s events both good and bad. There is much revelation about life that is revealed to the heart when that man walks uprightly. When our hearts have been formed by building them upon the word of God wisdom and revelation about life have access to our hearts. However, if we have never received the word of God into our hearts as the primary building block for our view of life and its journey then in many cases we will form ungodly beliefs within ourselves that poison us and distort what we believe and how we respond to the people and events that take place around us.
David’s exhortation in Psalm 37:30-31 is that the righteous man will speak wisdom and conclusions that are just. His message to us is that it is the word of God that is the source of this wisdom and this just interpretation of life. God desires to shape us through the implanting of the Word of God. David’s promise to us through these verses is that the life that is built on the Word of God will be a life that does not slip, a life that is stable and sure footed. Too many of us are overcome by the events of life rather than living as those who “overcome evil with good” as the word of God encourages us that we can. When our lives are touched by the challenges that all men face the knowledge of the word of God gives us a powerful weapon to speak into our own hearts and the hearts of others to build us up and keep our spirits pure and free from the stain of ungodly beliefs. There are two ways to interpret every event that touches our lives. One interpretation, that which comes from the scriptures, leads us to life and peace and makes us wise for helping others. The other carries with it the seeds of death as our hearts are formed around a wrong understanding that in time will produce death and pain. It is our responsibility to search out the counsel of the scriptures and form a godly interpretation of every life situation. If we do this we will build for ourselves a life that can stand the trials of the day with peace and joy. When I know that God is working in me in the midst of every circumstance it becomes an anchor for my heart!
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