by Bruce Billington

Weekly Devotional 17th of April, 2026

In this session, we will continue to look at Proverbs Chapter 10.

Proverbs 10:20-21 – “The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, The heart of the wicked is worth little. 21 The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of understanding.”

The tongue and heart are linked here. From the heart come the words, and the words reflect the heart. The verse encourages us to be righteous because then our words will be of choice silver, meaning they will carry great value. The heart of the wicked can produce all sorts of treachery, violence, deceit, and, as such, is worthless. 

The righteous speak words that edify, encourage, and strengthen others. This is because they speak God’s truth, and His Word always nourishes the soul and spirit. The prophet Jeremiah said, 

Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart… O LORD God of hosts (Jeremiah 15:16).

In total contrast to this, fools die. They are spiritually famished and weak; they starve to death for lack of wisdom. The word wisdom (leb) here is significant. It is the word for heart, meaning that it is the centre of the intellect, emotions, and will. Solomon uses this word to describe a person who, from the heart, exercises sound judgment, understanding, and common sense (6:32; 7:7; 9:4, 16; 10:13). 

Fools go hungry for the spiritual nourishment that God’s Word provides. His Word does much more than just keep them alive; it feeds their hearts and minds beyond what they can imagine, helping them live wisely and with integrity. However, lacking the wisdom and nourishment that only Scripture offers often leads to reckless choices that can result in physical death.

Righteous people spiritually build up and strengthen others through what they say. Words are incredibly powerful. When we speak the Word of God to others, we are giving life and encouragement. This does not mean we should wander around constantly quoting Scripture carelessly. Instead, when we feed our hearts on God’s Word, the words we speak will come from a heart that is in harmony with God and will uplift and motivate others. 

V21 says that the lips of the righteous feed many; for they are full of the word of God, which is the bread of life, and that sound doctrine wherewith souls are nourished up. Pious discourse is spiritual food to the needy, to the hungry.

While many are nourished by the words of the righteous, fools die for lack of wisdom; and indeed, they are fools to die for lacking that which they could easily obtain. Fools die for lack of a heart (as the word is); they perish due to a lack of consideration and resolve; they have no heart to do anything for their own good. While the righteous nourish others, fools starve themselves.

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”

Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). God takes notice of every word we say, even those that we ourselves do not notice. Vain, idle talk is displeasing to God, which tends not to any good purpose, is not good for any use of edifying; and is the product of a vain and trivial heart. 

In our journey through life, we should seek out those who will speak words of edification, life, and truth to us. The few choice words of one righteous person give life to many. They speak life-sustaining words that strengthen both themselves and others. They speak God’s truth, and God’s Word nourishes the soul and spirit. This is what words can bring.