“He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend” Proverbs 22:11 ESV.
Purity, tahor in Hebrew, means pure or clean. The verse continues that those who are pure or clean will be clothed in gracious speech and have God the King as a friend.
The verse above speaks about purity in the way we communicate. For many, gossip and condescension can explode into a habit by destroying relationships and fostering selfishness and greed.
Develop Purity
My go-to for spiritual guidance, although often difficult, has three parts:
- Purity in speech recognizes God knows what we’re thinking or saying before the words are uttered.
- Purity in speech means I don’t say anything negative about the person(s) who are absent from the conversation.
- Purity in speech nudges me to pray about those who have offended me. It’s difficult to despise someone who is on our prayer list.
When I pray for my teenage grandchildren, purity is at the top of my list. I have faith that they can journey life with God in the forefront of their minds and keep them pure from the evils of the world. This verse is a guide not only for young people but believers of all ages.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word” Psalm 119:9.
The Protection of Purity
Believers who possess purity will fall to temptation when human nature seizes control. But we have a great God who forgives when we ask, and through His Spirit guides and directs our next step and the next. He longs for us to come to Him with a pure heart, so He can bless us with eternal life in His presence.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:7-9 ESV
When our motives are aligned with God, we are guiltless, clean, and our behavior is innocent. Those are traits we strive to emulate, and we don’t give up when we have the Holy Spirit working to help us mirror God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
How do you move forward in the quest for purity? Do your speech and actions line up with God’s standards?
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” Matthew 5:8 ESV.
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She creates action-packed, suspense-filled novels to thrill readers. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists, won two Christy Awards, Golden Scroll Awards, and finaled in the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. DiAnn teaches writing all over the country.
Connect with DiAnn via her website
Find more Words on Wednesday here