PODCAST
Discerning Lips Speak Wisdom
June 4th, 2025
Proverbs 10:1-13
Proverbs 10 speaks of those with discerning lips, whom the Proverbs teacher contrasts with those who have “no sense” (literally, “no heart”). “No heart” means lacking in character. We like listening to people with discerning lips because they speak words of wisdom.
Such a wise person was my maternal grandfather. I knew him in my boyhood years. He chided me when I failed to return a borrowed tool but complimented me when I remembered to do so. He took me alongside him as he fed his pigs and chickens and milked his cow. While doing so, he wisely taught me about the care of animals.
My family moved away, and I was attending a distant college when Grandpa died. I was unable to attend his funeral. In the rural culture of his area, the esteem with which a person was held was often gauged by the number of cars in that person’s funeral procession from the church to the cemetery. An aunt reported that in grandfather’s funeral procession were “50 cars!”
People had come from a radius of 50 miles around to pay respects to this humble man of wisdom, honesty, and integrity.
Author: Barry Ross