"The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth."
Proverbs 10:20
In our verse for today, the tongue and the heart are contrasted. It may seem an unfair distinction until you take a closer look.
“The tongue of the just is as choice silver:”
Solomon is speaking of the words of the righteous person when he speaks of “the tongue.” What the “just” man says is good, like “choice silver” is good. “Choice silver” is pure silver that has been refined and freed from all impurities. Interestingly, David compared God’s Words to pure silver.
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6).
The Word of God is undoubtedly pure, and of infinite worth, we listen to it daily! Likewise, are the words of the “just man” worth listening to. His words are wise words. When he speaks, people will listen to him. His words are worth hearing. He knows when to speak and what to say. His words must be relatively rare for they have substance and value to them.
We need to remember that Jesus taught the right words can only come from the good heart.
“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34-35).
The “just man’s” words help us to understand what his heart is like.
“The heart of the wicked is little worth.”
The wicked man’s heart is “little worth.” What about this “little worth?”
“…the Hebrew word being possibly taken in its primary sense as a ‘filing’ or ‘scraping’ of dross or worthless metal” (Barnes).
His words may look like they are good, but they are only the worthless dross from the wicked heart.
The just man’s words are as valuable as pure silver, how good then his heart must be for it is where his words originated. The wicked man’s heart is not worth much, how worthless then his words are, for they came from that evil heart!
What do your words say about your heart?
1. Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.