“The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips. Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul, and health to the bones.” Proverbs 16:23-24

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a high school drama production of the classic play by Mary Chase called “Harvey.” It’s a delightful story of a likeable man who has an imaginary 6-foot rabbit friend. One of my favorite lines in the whole play is, “For 45 years I tried smart. I much prefer pleasant!”

Reading in the 16th chapter of Proverbs one discovers that “smart” and “pleasant” have a common denominator—the heart of the wise. Godly wisdom flows from the heart and brings forth pleasant words that are as sweet as honey and edifying to both the hearer and the speaker. There is healing power in words that are sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. Proverbs 26:11 describes a word fitly spoken as “apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Pleasant indeed!

I’ve been the recipient of such words in recent days. Perhaps the one who said, “Thank you for showing me God” didn’t realize how much I needed to hear a word of encouragement that day. It was just the medicine I needed. On another day my sad countenance was lifted by words of hope from someone who has walked a similar path.

It’s a worthy pursuit—to fill our hearts with God’s wisdom, then drawing from that well teach our lips and taste our words before blessing another with “pleasant.”