Three Marks of a Godly Life (Proverbs 22:11)
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Proverbs 22:11
He who loves purity of heart,
and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.
This verse today gives us three distinct marks of a godly man or woman.
They are lovers of what is pure.
They are speakers of what is good and gracious.
And the King is their friend.
Not only that, but the verse supposes that the first two marks lead to the third. How so?
Well, whoever loves purity of heart loves not themself. The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9 that our hearts are “desperately sick,” and Genesis 6:5 says that “every intention of the thoughts of (man’s) heart (is) only evil continually.”
Our hearts are not pure. So if the godly man or woman loves purity of heart, to what or to whom is that love directed?
If we’re looking for purity in ourselves, we’ll come up empty. But Jesus is the One whose heart is truly pure. To love purity of heart is to love Him. And when we do, our own hearts are transformed and renewed by His Spirit.
Theologian Charles Bridges says, “Pureness of heart describes not the natural, but the renewed, man.” Our hearts become pure only through the blood of the Lamb.
So we look to and love Him – His pureness, His righteousness, His holiness. And in being renewed and transformed by Him, our speech becomes gracious.
Matthew 12:33-34 reminds us that when the tree is made good, the fruit is made good. It tells us that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” So when our hearts have been made pure, our speech, which flows from it, will be too. It will become gracious.
That means inner purity – a heart transformed by Jesus – often shows itself through grace-filled words.
And these two marks of godliness lead to the third mark, which is that the holder of those characteristics will have the king as their friend – God Almighty. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will be your friend. He is a friend of those who are friends of His, to those who receive and believe in Christ the Son.
It’s a verse like today’s that causes me as a believer to reflect on the state of my heart by checking my affections and also my words. And I encourage you to do the same:
Are you a lover of what is pure? What competes with God for your affection?
Are your words good and gracious?
And if being a friend of the King is connected to a transformed heart and gracious speech, what’s one step you can take today to walk in that friendship more fully?
If you don’t yet know the King as your friend, you can receive Him today. He is not distant, He is not indifferent – He desires friendship with you. If you do know Him, then let’s walk in that friendship boldly, drawing near to the King with confidence.
Let’s pray.
