A: The best way to explain Proverbs 23:7 is to put it with some parallel passages. The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible!

The full context of the proverb says, “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose they sweet words” (Prov. 23:6-8).

It should be clear from the context of the statement “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” that it really has nothing at all to do with “healing by positive thinking.” Rather, the intent of the proverb is to point out the danger of accepting false hospitality. Where one that has an “evil eye” (i.e. a person of ulterior motives) might appear to be offering hospitality, the accepting of it will end in hardship. He is not as he appears but as he thinks in his heart – evil – and being associated with him will lead to bitterness.

An antithetical parallel can be found in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a forward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil” (Prov. 4:23-27).

Where in the previous passage there is a warning about those who present themselves one way but are really, in their heart, another way; this passage instructs us to be “straight” in who we are. We keep our heart pure so that we will be pure in our lives, we won’t have to pretend to be something we aren’t. The way we talk and walk will be what it should be because our heart is what it should be. Certainly, the instruction here is that we should be careful about what kind of information we allow to have influence on us. If we fail to keep our hearts with all diligence then we will begin to walk and talk according to the world rather than the word of God. The psalmist said it well when he wrote, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes” (Ps. 101:3).

Jesus also said, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matt. 12:34-35). This again shows the importance of what we allow to take root in our minds, the kind of information we feed our hearts on. If we fill our hearts with all kinds of corruption then no matter how hard we try to hide it, sooner or later, its going to come out. But if we are pure in our thinking we don’t have to worry about impure thoughts getting us into trouble.

There is a term used in computer programming that sums it up well, gigo – garbage in, garbage out. That is, if you feed faulty information into a computer then the output will be faulty. The computer only knows how to use the information put into it. We are much the same way, our conduct – the way we talk and act – is the result of the kind of input we have allowed into our minds. That’s why we need to only allow good things in and guard our hearts against the faulty information (Phil. 4:8).

Now, what about health and wealth by positive thinking? Certainly, it can be proven that people who are positive in their outlook generally do better than those who are negative. Medical studies have shown that people who believe they are going to get better generally recover faster and better than those who don’t. Studies in business show consistently that successful entrepreneurs are generally optimistic people. Psychological studies show that positive thinking people are generally healthier than negative people. So there definitely is something to be said for the power of positive thinking. However, the above verses are not the verses that show this to be true. Rather, it would be verses like Psalms 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” And, “Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).

While there is great value in the power of positive thinking it can also be taken too far. The false religion of Dietetics, for example, teaches that you can heal anything in your body simply by positive thinking. It says that people can heal themselves of everything from poor eyesight to heart disease. Also, New Age Spiritualism teaches much the same kind of thing. These are claims that have no scientific, medical or biblical foundation. For example, one of the New Testament writers was a doctor (i.e. Luke). If God expected us to heal ourselves by positive thinking why didn’t he have Luke repent of his unnecessary profession and teach “self-healing” by positive thinking? Also, if God expected us to heal ourselves then why did he give the gift of healing in the Bible? While there is great power in the way we are fearfully and wonderfully made, it remains that there are physical conditions that simply require medical attention.

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