Proverbs 13:1-2 (ESV)
1 A wise son hears his father’s instruction,
but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
2 From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good,
but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.
Proverbs again exhorts the wise son to listen carefully to the instruction of his parents. Every day we are surrounded by messages competing for our attention and influencing our thinking. We hear truth from God’s word yet quickly move on and often forget what we have learned. New voices arise, and new opinions challenge what God has said. The pressure to drift from wisdom is constant. Yet the wise person keeps returning to the truth. She listens carefully, receives correction humbly, and continually adjusts her course so that she remains on the path that leads to life.
In contrast, the scoffer rejects the path of obedience because he is convinced his own way is better. He may acknowledge that God exists, yet he lives as though God’s authority can be ignored until some distant day of accountability. Until then, he intends to do what seems right in his own eyes. Solomon says the scoffer “does not listen to rebuke.” The Hebrew word translated “rebuke” is musar, referring to correction or discipline. The scoffer has no desire to benefit from such correction because he does not believe he needs it. Even when confronted with clear sin, he resists repentance, clinging stubbornly to his own judgment as though his wisdom were greater than God’s.
Just as good fruit nourishes and refreshes the body, wise and godly words bring blessing to those who hear them. The son who humbly feeds upon the instruction of his parents, allowing their wisdom to direct and correct him in godliness, eventually becomes someone whose own speech nourishes others as well. Solomon’s point is that words bear fruit. They produce real effects in the lives of both the speaker and the hearer. The one who uses her mouth wisely will enjoy an abundance of good.
The treacherous person, however, has an appetite for something entirely different. Rather than desiring what is good, “the desire of the treacherous is for violence.” The unfaithful person seeks to wound others. Her words are used to manipulate, mock, divide, and harm. She finds satisfaction when others are torn down rather than built up. She has no appetite for what nourishes the soul because her heart craves what is rotten.
How sobering to realize that there have always been people who take pleasure in wounding others with their words. God is not indifferent to sinful speech. He sees every careless word, every hidden motive, and every attempt to harm those made in his image. So, examine your own heart carefully today. Do your words strengthen, refresh, and nourish others with truth and grace, or do they leave discouragement, suspicion, and pain behind? Our mouths reveal what our hearts truly treasure.