RESPONDING WITH THE HEART

Proverbs 15:28 VW
The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.

Dear Believer,

Let me tell you about Mufu, a boy whose parents never really cared for, who lived in our neighborhood when I was a boy. He once came along to help my mother with a chore, and after that our pressing iron disappeared.

Everyone was convinced that Mufu stole it. Who else would? He was the only stranger who came close to where it was normally kept.

He was a hungry looking boy who sometimes begged for handouts from neighbors. His needs were obvious, and it was clear that he would steal whatever he could get to make things better for himself.

I stood with my sister outside our house and saw Mufu looking in our direction. Something about the way he looked at us convinced me that he was guilty. He couldn’t look us in the face. That was when I made up my mind about the matter. We must get back what Mufu stole!

But we couldn’t take action until my father knew about it. When Daddy was told, he categorically refused to let us confront Mufu.

“You’d better look for the missing pressing iron very well so that you don’t accuse the innocent,” said my Father.

We didn’t like his response but we had to suck it up. Father must be right even when he was wrong!

And I continued to hate Mufu.

Everything he did looked suspicious and he kept giving us more reasons to suspect him the more. His guarded words, his body language, his uncomfortable smiles — all showed his guilt. We were convinced he was the thief.

Until my little brother dragged the missing pressing iron out from under my bed. I had mistakenly pushed it, in boy-like fashion, under the bed along with some clothes I was hiding away so that I wouldn’t have to wash them.

Suddenly everything Mufu did didn’t look suspicious anymore. When I came out, he saw me and looked at me just the way he had done earlier, and smiled the way he had done before, but this time everything had a different meaning. It was a look and a smile of innocence.

Mufu was poor, but he wasn’t a thief. I was the clumsy accuser with an overly imaginative mind.

Thank God for my father’s restraint.

Today’s scripture focus shows that the righteous takes his time before coming to conclusions. His heart “studies to respond.”

The wicked, on the other hand, speaks loud and clear about what he isn’t even sure of — a matter he hasn’t studied.

Contentious issues are just an opportunity for the wicked to show the rot in his mind. He is not ‘slow to speak, slow to wrath.’ (James 1:19).

Believers are called to walk in discretion. There are many things in this world that aren’t the way they seem. A man whose favorite sport is jumping to conclusions shall soon jump into confusion. Trouble awaits the man who is eager to voice the doubts in other people’s minds.

Proverbs 18:13 VW
He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him.

Believer, learn silence. Learn discretion.

Proverbs 10:19 VW
In the abundance of words there is no end of transgression, but he who restrains his lips is prudent.

Before you respond with the mouth, or with the hand, respond with the heart first. Thoughts can be changed, but words cannot be taken back.

And get your ‘heart’ washed in the Word, for that is where thoughts are formed. Dirty thoughts stream from a dirty heart.

Pray about this.

And have a great day!

Your friend,
Deon.

Do you have any thoughts about this message? Please share them in the comments section below.