Blessings on the Head of the Righteous + Christopher Cross Concert
Day 21: Wisdom, Words, and the Legacy of the Tongue in the Season of Lent
We continue our examination of the second collection of Proverbs in chapter 10. Proverbs 10 summarizes what the rest of Proverbs is accomplishing. Proverbs is training sons and daughters to make their Father glad. Solomon argues that we please our Father by living and possessing wisdom.
And if there is such a thing as wisdom, there is also such a thing as foolishness. In our circles, we talk a lot about antithesis and the myth of neutrality. Proverbs confirms this biblical reality. In the Scriptures, you are either a wise person or a fool. There is no neutral ground.
Yet wisdom does not arrive fully formed in a moment. It matures slowly. We must work hard to cultivate it in our lives. Just as the Christian works to grow in wisdom, the fool also works diligently to deepen his foolishness. Habits are never neutral. They are always forming us toward righteousness or toward destruction.
Lent reminds us that Christian maturity requires discipline. It requires attention to our bodies, our habits, and especially our words.
The Body as an Instrument of Wisdom
Proverbs 10:6 declares, “Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.” Proverbs trains us in wisdom by shaping our bodies and habits. Even ordinary things such as table manners, etiquette, and daily conduct become arenas for wisdom.
Blessing in the Bible is closely connected to the reshaping of our rhythms and rituals. The work of the Spirit often happens through the body. If this is true, then we must learn to use our bodies wisely and appropriately.
Notice how this section of Proverbs emphasizes body parts. We read about the head and the mouth in verse 6; the heart and the lips in verse 8; the eyes and lips later; the mouth again in verse 11; and the lips and back in verse 13. The body and how we use it become central in gaining wisdom.
The fool, however, prostitutes the body. He gives it away without reflection. He uses his mouth, his eyes, and his actions without considering what is right and wrong in God’s sight.
Lent calls us to discipline our bodies so that they become instruments of righteousness. Fasting, prayer, and self-control remind us that the Christian life is lived not only in our thoughts but in our embodied habits.
Words That Shape Our Legacy
These verses also emphasize the power of language. Proverbs suggests that our words will carve out the eulogy spoken at our funerals. Our use of language paints a picture of who we truly are.
Funerals are not meant for flattery but for Christian legacy. This is why Proverbs says that blessings are on the head of the righteous. The righteous man uses his tongue with wisdom.
Words are powerful. When God spoke, the world came into existence. His speech formed reality. While our words do not create worlds in that same way, they do shape the people and environments around us.
A wise man understands this. He does not treat words lightly. He carries his speech and actions like sacred things.
People notice when your body and speech are shaped by good Christian habits. They want to be around you because you build them up. You encourage them. You strengthen them to follow Christ. You go out of your way to make others feel valued and needed.
The fool operates differently. He waits patiently to seduce and destroy the innocent. He uses his body and his words to manipulate. Yet Proverbs reminds us that evil speech eventually collapses upon itself. What the wicked intend for harm often returns upon their own heads.
This is a sobering warning. Our unkind remarks, false characterizations, and premature judgments about others build a culture of immaturity. Words travel farther than we imagine. Lent, therefore, invites us to repent of careless speech.
Are there blessings upon your head because of the words of your tongue?
The Memory That Remains
Proverbs then gives the ultimate contrast. “The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.”
Literally, the text says that the memorial of the just is for blessing. This refers to the way a righteous person lived. His speech and deeds leave a legacy that blesses his church, his family, and those who knew him.
We are heirs of such legacies. The faith once delivered has come to us through generations of faithful saints. We remember them with gratitude. If you grew up in a Christian home, call your parents and thank them for giving you Jesus.
After the righteous are gone, they continue bearing fruit through their children and their children’s children. But the wicked leave a different memory. Their name decays like a corpse. Their reputation rots like wood eaten by worms. No one invokes their name in blessing.
Scripture even gives memorable examples. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are remembered not for honor but for rebellion. Their names remind us what happens when men refuse to obey the Lord.
Your name carries more than family identity. It bears the mark of belonging to God. The righteous carry the Lord’s name with honor, righteousness, and glory. The wicked carry it in vain.
And so Lent calls us again to wisdom. It calls us to shape our bodies, guard our tongues, and leave behind a legacy that will bless generations to come.
Nuntium
The day we returned from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, someone kindly gave us a couple of tickets to the Christopher Cross concert here in Pensacola. It had been at least a decade since I had listened to his music with any regularity. So my wife and I made a point of revisiting it as we drove through the Northeast.
Listening to “Sailing” again after nearly twenty years stirred a flood of childhood memories. Certain songs have a way of carrying you back to particular seasons of life, and that melody did exactly that for me.
It was wonderful to see Cross, now in his seventy-fifth year, still performing so splendidly. He was joined by a group of musicians clearly worthy to tour with a legend of his stature, and together they delivered a performance that was both nostalgic and genuinely impressive. My gratitude to this sweet couple who provided us with tickets here in Pensacola.