Series: Wisdom That Works
Message: Two Paths
Preacher: Jenniffer Ogden
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Jessyka Dooley
Live Beyond: J. Murdock
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Proverbs 4:1-27 in The Message (MSG). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: “Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips” (Proverbs 4:24)
Some definitions: Perversity: A deliberate desire to behave in an unreasonable or unacceptable way; to be contrary. Corrupt: Having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.
It’s interesting to me that the wisdom writer doesn’t (at least here) warns against perverse or corrupt behavior. He explicitly warns against letting talk or celebration of these things come out of our mouths. Words matter.
I’ve found in my life that the more I speak things, the more I end up thinking and acting on the things I speak.
About a year and a half ago I was sitting in my living room when my dad looked over at me and said, “Hey, sonny boy, you’re getting fat!” I was offended. Then I went in the bathroom, dusted off my scale, and stood on it. Two hundred and thirty pounds is what stared back at me. Stupid scale must have been broken.
I decided then and there that I was going to lose some weight. Not just any amount of weight; my goal was to weigh less than I’ve weighed in 30 years. Two hundred and seven was my previous low. I wanted to get under 200. Now, I’m six feet six inches tall, so this would make me what I would describe as slim.
I started telling everybody who would listen about my goals. I was explicit. I will not eat anything after 3:00 p.m. and I will exercise at least 45 minutes a day. The more I talked about it, the more convinced myself that it could be done. Every day I spoke my truth, and every day my reality followed the words that came out of my mouth. When it was all said and done, I had spoken my reality into a 195 pound reality.
Our words don’t only affect us in positive ways; they can also affect us in negative ways too. Have you noticed that people who complain and gripe all the time are always unhappy? Have you ever noticed that people who are always speaking out against the people or situations in their lives that block their happiness and success are always unhappy and unsuccessful? Words have power.
If we find ourselves speaking evil, it won’t be long until we start making our words a reality in our lives. I think it best that we start speaking the realities we want in our lives. Proclaim the good news about yourself. I dare you.
Recalibrate: How has your own positive speech influenced your behavior in the past? How about your negative self-speak?
Respond: Pray these words: “Father, give me words of praise and motivation and keep me from speaking negativity into my life and into the lives of others.”
Research: Read Your Words Are Powerful: 8 Positive Speaking Habits to Build Yourself Up by Margie Warrell.
Remember: “I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths” (Proverbs 4:11, ICB).
Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Sunnyside Adventist Church in Portland, Oregon.
Our granddaughter Zoe is learning to talk. It is the best thing ever! However, I have learnt that I have to watch what I say. I have a habit of saying, “No way!” For example, if a friend tells me they got 50% off a pair of shoes, my response is, “No way!” Our little Zoe, however, has taken those same two words and applied them in her own way. For example, “Zoe, say hello to your friends.” “No way!” “Zoe, it’s time to go home.” “No way!” Words are powerful things and how we say them speaks to the heart of our intent. How are we sounding today? How do our children sound? I know I made some language adjustments when I heard my precious Zoe repeating my words. Let’s speak life with all the best words.
Find your favorite piece of clothing. Maybe it’s a hat or a headband, a shirt or a pair of shoes. Wear it today! How does it make you feel when you’re wearing it? When I’m wearing my favorite pair of shoes, I feel like I can do just about anything! Proverbs 4:9 tells us that having wisdom is like putting flowers in your hair or a crown on your head. Wisdom makes your life beautiful just like your favorite shirt or dress might make you feel beautiful on the outside. How do you think wisdom might make your life beautiful?
In Proverbs 4:10, Solomon tells the reader, his child, that they are supposed to do more than just listen to the story their father is telling them—they are to accept it. But for the next nine verses, Solomon speaks to his kid as if to demonstrate that there are specific reasons this advice is good and sound. In the end, Solomon can teach until he is blue in the face or shout his advice into the minds of anyone reading this message today. But none of it matters if the message isn’t accepted. If it isn’t accepted, it won’t be lived. Ultimately, without someone deciding to actually make this teaching true, we wouldn’t actually have these words today.
Think for a second about what it took for the Bible itself to be written so long ago. Then think about what it took for the writings to be preserved for as long as they were. And then think about a room full of people sitting in an ancient city deciding which books to include in the Bible as it was being crafted. And then think about you reading it today. In every single step of that process, do you know the two things that were always present?
God and wisdom.
Without God and wisdom, we wouldn’t have any of this to talk about! But we do have it, which means there must be some good reason for us not only to listen, but to apply it to our lives!
So what are you going to do with this wisdom you’ve been given?
“Is cursing a sin?” I get this question from teenagers almost weekly. In America there are “rules” about cursing. Only adults can do it, and Christians don’t. (Or at least we aren’t supposed to!) Yet, there is always that kid who says to me, “But what about in other countries?” And then they continue, “A cuss word in America may not be a cuss word in England!” And you know what? They are correct! So what do we do with cursing? I think this verse today is helpful. Not because it says to not say perverse things, but because if you follow the logic of it, it is really speaking about the heart. Cursing, cussing, perverse talk, and nasty jokes are all subject to culture. But you know what isn’t? Your heart. Whenever we say something with a heart posture that isn’t for good we are not building one another up. When I look at my life, everytime I have used words to tear down, that decision has come back to find me. Set out to be a person who is focused on the good in life and others. Make that your meditation. It will change the way you view school, work, your friends, and even your enemies!
Zan Long is GRC director for faith development for ages 0-17. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Jessyka Dooley is assistant youth director for the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Denver, Colorado.
J. Murdock is associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church in Boulder, Colorado, where he focuses on youth and young adult ministry.
Kyle Smith is the associate pastor of youth and family ministries at New Haven Adventist Church in Overland Park, Kansas.