Time and Wisdom: God’s Slow Work in You (Proverbs 10:31–32)
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Proverbs 10:31-32
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.
Do you remember, the 21st night of September? Happy September 21st folks! It feels like a holiday, even though it's not.
When I read these verses, I see something implied though never directly stated: time.
Notice — the righteous can “bring forth wisdom” and “know what is acceptable.” That doesn’t happen overnight. Wisdom isn’t a download. It’s the fruit of time with God, of years of training in His presence. Think of Abraham, waiting decades for God’s promise. Or David, hiding in caves and writing psalms before he ever wore a crown. Even Jesus spent thirty years in obscurity before three years of public ministry.
In other words: wisdom is slow-grown. It comes to those who linger with God, who let Him shape and mold their hearts, who — like Joshua — simply remain in the tent.
But Proverbs also warns us that time has another side. The perverse tongue, it says, “will be cut off.” In other words, words that corrode, deceive, and destroy eventually collapse back on the speaker. That’s what judgment is: God allowing the end of a self-chosen path. It may take time, but it comes suddenly.
So time is always shaping us. The question isn’t if but how.
Is your time forming a heart that knows what is good and speaks life?
Or is it quietly letting perversity take root, until it finally cuts you off?
On this Sunday the invitation is not simply: try harder to speak wisely. It’s: linger with Him. Let time with Christ change you, so that when you speak, others hear not just your voice — but His.
Let’s pray.
Thank for Gospel!
