“Like a [common] clay vessel covered with the silver dross [making it appear silver when it has no real value] are burning lips [murmuring manipulative words] and a wicked heart.” (Proverbs 26:23, AMP)
I had a favorite necklace in high school that I never took off. I got it on a school field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It was a gold necklace with a small camera charm. In my junior and senior years, one of my favorite classes was photography; between learning to develop film using chemicals and being in the darkroom, the camera was a big symbol to me back then.
But because I never took the thing off, and the fact that it was costume jewelry, the gold layer rubbed off, revealing a cheaper-looking, coppery metal underneath. For a long time, I still wore it because I loved it, but eventually let it go, as it looked super beat up and other things grabbed my interest.
The necklace was precious when it was new– gilded in what looked like gold, but hiding something lesser beneath. If the necklace was real gold, it might still be in my jewelry box now, but the wearing and fading of the material of the necklace made it a short-lived, albeit very loved, trinket.
In Proverbs 26:23, Solomon draws a similar picture. Imagine a clay pot covered in silver dross. The clay is a practical material– used in holding liquids or items. Clay is porous, so while it does hold water, it doesn’t maintain it. The water will seep into the absorbent walls of the vessel, and at times seep out. That is why most pottery classes also teach students the art of glazing a vessel. Without some sort of protective layer, like a glaze, the clay pot isn’t entirely suitable for the job of holding liquid without it.
But Solomon’s illustration describes this layer as silver dross. It’s important to note that silver dross is not the same as silver; it’s a lesser material. Silver dross appears to be like silver, but it contains all the impurities in the raw metal, such as scum, waste, and baser metals. Thus, it’s a metal of lesser quality. It would need the required refining to burn off the dross before it could be proper silver.
So this clay pot is glazed in this silver dross glaze, giving the appearance of silver, but in reality, it is not only mere clay on the inside, but the plating is not as precious as it appears. The pot is not as fine or impressive as it appears.
Solomon uses this picture to explain the deception of a wicked person. On the outside, this person may seem upstanding, trustworthy, and impressive, but the inside– the actual make-up of their being– has no real value.
How many times have we encountered this in real life? Sometimes, the most well-connected people with the finest pedigrees prove themselves to be wicked and unrepentant in their sin underneath. Solomon says these people have burning lips; their words are pure manipulation and their hearts are corrupted and evil. They might even appear righteous from far away or when you aren’t looking very close at them, but getting too close or inspecting closer reveals that their goodness is thin, sheer, and covering up rampant unrighteousness.
The warning here is twofold: first, don’t be someone with this wicked heart and burning lips. Don’t pursue God for the appearance of righteousness. Because just like the silver dross, an apparent righteousness can’t really pass as real righteousness. Apparent righteousness won’t be enough in front of wise Christians who know the Source of all holiness and it certainly won’t be enough when you stand before that Source. We cannot mimic sanctification in Christ or reverence for the Lord. These are things that must be forged and refined in us by a life closely lived with God. He is the Refiner that holds us before the flame of His Word, allowing His wisdom and conviction to burn off the wicked dross in our hearts.
It’s only through the reading of scripture and worshipping Him that we are transformed and purified.
The second warning is that as Christians, we must ask God for the discernment to see this deception in others. Because when these wicked hearts and burning lips reveal themselves to those who allow themselves to get too close, it can mean destruction. How many people leave the Church and are turned off by God entirely because such a deceptive person was claiming they were a Christian, all the while burning people with their murmuring, manipulative words?
We, as Christians, need the wisdom found in God’s Word so we can discern those with ill intentions pretending to be trusted brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to be able to look at the fruit of that person’s live and carefully allow the Holy Spirit to weed those people out.
In some circles, the gift of discernment can seem like a mystical thing, something that is intangible or secretive. In reality, discernment is something that is the result of knowing God’s Word, being refined by it, and understanding it to the point where it becomes a lens of sorts over our hearts and eyes. If we know God, then we know what God is not. If we know God, we know what pleases Him, what He delights in, and His nature. We also know what angers Him, grieves Him, and what is not in His nature. Just like if someone who knows real jewelry sees my little camera necklace and another one made out of real gold would probably be able to pick out the one made of real gold. When you are familiar with the real thing, counterfeits become easier to see.
The gift of discernment is knowing God to the point where you can see beyond the performative exterior of someone who is merely using God as a means to get ahead, assume power over people, or appear impressive. If we know the Lord that we follow, it becomes easier to recognize other people that are also truly following Him. Because those people are like vessels of pure, refined, shining silver, reflecting the light of Christ outwards and acting as little pots to hold His poured out Spirit.
Those people will have good, righteous hearts that were made by living closely with God. They will be sanctified and have Godly wisdom not only as stored knowledge in their minds, but also lived out and evidenced as spiritual fruit. Their words will be echoes of God the Father and will reflect more of that beloved Bible we’ve hidden in our hearts. And that discernment is built, like a muscle, when we endeavor to know more of God Himself through the wisdom He’s left for us in His Word.
