- Proverbs 12:14a (NIV) A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words,
- Proverbs 24:14 (NIV) A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
- See also Proverbs 16:21,23-24
The tongue is a dangerous muscle. Powerful. Words do hurt. Godly leaders are called to offer a distinction to the world by their words. Words that encourage and do not destroy. Insightful words. Communication that motivates and inspires followers. Words that correct without demeaning the hearer. Words appropriate to the occasion.
Saying the right thing at the right time is scripted in movies, but it is not in real life. The witting rejoinder, the pithy comment, the quick insight seem to travel so swiftly off the tongue of actors, that viewers are sometimes wishing they could be that quick. It is not real, for the Evil One even counterfeits God's way of appropriate speech - of attractive communication. Sure, non-Believers can, at times, exhibit gracious speech: but the truth emerges when life gets ugly.
How does a fitting reply, words aptly spoken become part and parcel of a Believers speech? I'm not thinking here of the witty rejoinder that flows out of a personality type. I'm thinking here about words that bear fruit. Good fruit.
Both Nehemiah and Joshua are examples of "apt" speech in trying situations. Nehemiah before the king; Joshua before the people he is now leading. In both stories, prayer preceded their proclamations. And interestingly enough, both were "afraid." But it was their relationship with God that made the difference. They communicated to Him first and then they were better able to communicate to the king (Nehemiah) and the people (Joshua). Nehemiah's words to those at Jerusalem were filled with the leader's language of intrinsic motivation. He chooses words that touched the heart that rang of truth and that were painted with the brush of authenticity.
Observation certainly supports the theory that extrinsic motivation (most generally the If...Then approach) does produce results; but that motivation proves to be prone to pandering to the flesh. Think about it: the first source (The Evil One used this approach with Eve) in Scripture demonstrates both the power and the potential destructive nature of extrinsic motivation. There are times it must be used – but do so wisely.
Christian leaders must be different in this area of speaking to others - so different that the world would notice. Christian employees and employers must bring their heart to the workplace - a heart that is cleansed by the Holy Spirit: a heart given over to God. The result will be "apt words" for the fruit of the Spirit would be borne in our speech.
In Ecclesiastes 10:12 Solomon observed, "Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips." Graduate school can well prepare the mind for leadership: it is only God who can prepare the heart. We are warned that out of the mouth comes what the heart intends. Leadership is a heart thing. It begins there. It lives there. It ends there.
Christian business people, who make a difference in the marketplace, have dealt with the issues of the heart. Have you?
Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell
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