A engineer friend of mine worked for years constructing plants for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. Quality control is paramount. The fabrication process demands multiple levels of refinement and purification as raw materials coalesce into compounds for medicinal use. Physicians and patients expect the highest level of quality, and anything less results in scandal.

In contrast, the words we hear and use every day undergo no refinement at all. I’m guilty of spouting off thoughts better left unsaid again and again. I’m not alone, as opening up a newsfeed or social media stream clearly demonstrates.

David wrote about the braggarts and blowhards he experienced. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

Then he looked upward: The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

The opinions we hear and the arguments we read rarely carry the sagacity necessary for a flourishing life. Often the loudest voice carries the day, and social media loves a good mob. Fortunately, a better source of wisdom exists.

The Words of the Lord are worthy of ingesting. Trust the the refinement process of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures come to us wholesome, pure, and free from contamination. No better truths exist to heal our minds and souls, and move us to serve those around us.

Psalm 12

Photo by National Cancer Institute