We live in a “Who Do You Know?” kind of world.  The proper connections can open doors to places that would have been closed before.  Gaining entry to such places sometimes requires a bribe, or a secret password.  Nepotism, the right clothes, and the right ethnic background can also gain you access.  For this proverb, we must go straight to the heart.  It must be pure, not fettered with selfishness, nor boastful and filled with brash arrogance.  Having a ‘pure heart’ is mentioned many times throughout Scripture as being one who loves self-sacrificially, 1 Timothy 1:5, and it is a necessity to gain the blessings of God, Psalm 24:4-5.

 

Having gracious speech is not always easy on the road or behind the wheel.  We are more prone to speak out of anger there for the price of foolish driving is too high.  Filling our mouths with wholesome words even for the foolish so that we may be regarded as obedient to Him is an area beyond the ability of many, save One.

 

When I asked my kids “Where is Jesus?”, they said, “He has the purest of hearts and the most kind of words.”  We considered Him who, on the cross, gave us the utmost definition of sacrificial love, and when He could have called down judgement on those who had crucified Him, He beseeched God to forgive them, Luke 23:34.  Jesus fulfilled all of this so that we may take on His righteousness and be made among His friends, the King of kings, John 15:15.