Proverbs and Civil Discourse

Dan Hawk posted the following on his Facebook page.

The Book of Proverbs, among other things, is concerned with commending and cultivating those practices that enable people to live in peace with God and with each other. Wise people enhance communal wellbeing. Stupid people ruin it.

Few things build up or tear down community more than the ways people talk to each other. The Sage, therefore, devotes considerable attention to the way stupid people and wise people express their opinions. Viewing today's polarized Christian speech through his eyes, we see a church awash in a tsunami of stupidity.

The Sage would insist that we can turn back the tide only by recognizing and rejecting stupid ways of speaking and intentionally practicing wise ones. So, here’s the Sages challenge to us, transposed into the cadence of an old Jeff Foxworthy routine:

"You might be a stupid speaker if”:

You don’t care about understanding an issue but only about expressing your opinion (18:2).
Your argument is hot with emotion but short on knowledge (19:2).
You are quick to express how someone has offended you (12:16).
You just spew your thoughts as they come to you (12:23; 15:2).
You feed on and applaud stupid arguments (15:14, 21).
You step on others while they’re speaking, rather than listening to what they’re saying (18:13).
You feel angrily secure in your opinion (14:16; 29:11).
You mock reasonable arguments (23:9).

On the other hand, “You might be a wise speaker if”:

You hold your tongue when stupid people are ranting (10:19).
You overlook insults and ad hominem attacks (11:12; 12:16; 19:11).
You try to bring healing rather than strife (12:18).
You resist ranting and keep a cool head (17:27).
You support your arguments with sound knowledge (15:2).
You value education (15:7; 16:23).
You are patient and don’t let anger get the best of you (14:29; 29:8).
You try to scale down strife and to bring calm (29:11).

We Christians can model civil discussion to a watching world. All it takes is for those who claim to take the Bible seriously to actually take the Bible seriously.

James and the Discipline of Silence

  

Seeking to apply James 3:1-18, William Brosend offers the following suggestion: 

"The practice of the discipline of silence for a time or a season enriches the Christian life in many ways. And just like fasting can increase one;s appreciation for food, so can silence aid our understanding of speech. Homiletical exhortation to control the tongue is likely to  prove fruitless. everyone knows and has felt the danger and powerful sting of the tongue yet failed to keep it in check.  A more encouraging word can be offered for the practice of silence. While James did not specifically call for silence, the logic of his argument suggests it. The practice of silence will likely further our appreciation for it."

William F. Brosend II, James and Jude, New Cambridge Bible Commentary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 98.

Proverbs 25:11: Right Words

Jason Hardin has a helpful challenge drawn from Proverbs 25:11. He offers simple questions to ask so that we might speak the right words at the right time.

• “Is what I am about to say appropriate?”
• “Does it fit the audience?”
• “Does it fit the situation?”
• “Does it fit the character of the One in whose footsteps I’m walking?”
• “If He were physically sitting right next to me, would these words still be the ‘right’ words?”