Discount Words

(Proverbs 14:23 KJV)  In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

In spite of the popular saying, “talk” (1697) is not cheap.  It is expensive.  Our mouths get us into more trouble than any other part of our body.  Just think how things would be different if we could call back the words, turn back the clock and start all over again. 

Here it gives a specific consequence of cheap talk.  I like the KJV “penury” (poverty NASB) (4270).  If the wages of sin is death, the wages of talk is “poverty” (4270).  There is another word for poverty used in Proverbs.  It is straightforward.  This one has some nuances.  Its definition includes the idea of a thing needed.  It makes me go back to the opening words about talk being cheap.  The idea is cheap as opposed to quality, not expense.  This is the screwdriver you got at the 99 Cent store along with three other tools as opposed to the Craftsman that you inherited from your father.  One is only good for filling a drawer or chipping ice.

So?  I want my words to be worth something.  That will take some work.