"Feasting on Folly"

"The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feast on folly." Proverbs 15:14

Dear Daughters,

The latter part of Matthew 12:34 has often caused me to cringe at the thought of seeing, or hearing rather, the contents of my own heart. According to scripture, "out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks." 

When we harshly criticize others, whether it be in our marriage or other relationships, when we make snide comments or rude remarks under the guise of "sarcasm," when we purposefully defame another person's reputation in order to make ourselves look better, when we use foul language or inappropriate jokes to seem cool and down to earth, it all points to the same place…a heart issue.

This is not a fun topic for most of us. It's too in our face. It hits too close to home. It's too personal. Besides, if no one ever hears us, does it really affect anyone? 

I seem to be reading and hearing a lot lately that relates back to the relationship between our hearts and our words. Words can be life-giving and affirming, or can bring death and curses. Scripture has much to say about the power of words. 

When it comes to our speech, scripture warns us against being hasty, harsh, perverse, obscene, slanderers, careless, rash, unwholesome, corrupt, and so on. Instead, the wise man knows when to hold his tongue, when to speak gracious words for the purpose of building up and bringing healing, and when to speak a timely word appropriate for the situation. Basically, sometimes we just need to shut our mouths and think before we speak. 

This is a particularly difficult task for some of us, including yours truly, because we have an overwhelming desire to be heard, to get our point across, to be justified, and to show off our knowledge and understanding about a certain situation. 

I read Proverbs 15:14 recently and the last little phrase has stuck with me. It paints such a dramatic word picture that it has begun to hover over each part of my daily life. I long to be a woman who speaks out of a heart of wisdom, love, and grace. But, as the saying goes, what goes in, will come back out. If I allow myself to consistently "feast on folly," folly is indeed what will come back out. 

"Folly" is a word I don't use much in my daily life, but it portrays the opposite of wisdom perfectly. It means to "lack good sense" and is equivalent to foolishness, stupidity, idiocy, lunacy, madness, rashness, recklessness, imprudence, irresponsibility, indiscretion, thoughtlessness, and so on. This little phrase has caused me to seriously evaluate my life and ask the Lord to help me discover ways I might be "feasting on folly." It may be simply scrolling through social mediums and clicking on random articles that leave me feeling discouraged, fearful, opinionated, judgmental, or the like. It may be watching things that do not reflect the life I am called to live in Christ, with the excuse that I am mature enough to look past it. Maybe it is spending time reading or watching things in order to "stay informed" but all the while, feeding my flesh and depositing "folly" into my heart.

It's easy for me to give myself grace in these areas under the guise of freedom in Christ. I might think the things I spend my time doing, reading, watching, or talking about are not that big of a deal compared to what some "other" people may be doing, reading, watching, or talking about. In reality, this is a cop out. According to Paul's letter to the Corinthians, there are things that may be permissible, but are not necessarily beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23). Do I practice the art of telling myself, "no?" Do I consistently indulge my desires simply because "I can."

The question to ponder here is, what am I "feeding" on the most? Am I feeding on things that are beneficial? Secondly, what do I consistently see coming out that reflects what is in my heart? Whether that be my words, which the Bible lists as a clear gage for the content of my heart, how I spend my time or my money, how I choose to portray myself to the world around me, and on and on.

"Out of the heart, the mouth speaks." What if we went a step further in evaluating our lives and said, "out of the heart, our money is spent," or "out of the heart, our time is consumed?" At the end of the day, our hearts and the contents therein dictate everything about our lives. And, what we consistently "feast" on, has a tremendous impact on the contents of our hearts. It's all related.

Lord, help me to cling to wisdom and flee from folly. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me; help me to keep my heart with vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life. (Psalm 51:10; Proverbs 4:23)