As we noticed in the previous section, we should never underestimate the power of words – both good and evil. Understanding how important our speech is, we must be sure that our words reflect wisdom at all times.
Speaking Truth or Lies
One area in which there will be a sharp contrast between the wise man and the fool is that the one who follows after God’s wisdom will speak truth. The one who rejects divine wisdom (which is truth in itself) will speak what is false.
“He who speaks truth tells what is right, but a false witness, deceit. There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only for a moment” (12:17-19).
The wise man mentions a couple of the benefits that come from speaking the truth. First, speaking truth imparts “what is right” (12:17), or “righteousness” (KJV). Second, speaking truth “brings healing” (12:18). Third, there is a long-term benefit for those who speak truth in that they will be “established forever” (12:19). This is in contrast with the one who speaks lies. Solomon says, “A lying tongue is only for a moment” (12:19). Speaking lies leads to punishment, as the wise man says elsewhere: “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells lies will perish” (19:9). Speaking falsehood will not only cause trouble in this life; it causes trouble beyond this life. So Solomon says, “He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles” (21:23). We must work to control our tongues so that we do not get ourselves into trouble, either in this life or in the next.
“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight” (12:22).
The reason why lying causes trouble for one after this life is because of man’s accountability before God (cf. 24:12). Lying is “an abomination to the Lord.” It is completely contrary to His nature, as He “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2). Lying is in harmony with the nature of the Adversary – the Devil – who is called “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Therefore, God opposes and will punish those with “lying lips.” On the other hand, “those who deal faithfully [truly, KJV] are His delight.” As a result, those who speak the truth will be blessed by Him.
“Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you” (4:24).
Knowing the Lord’s attitude toward falsehood and the benefits of speaking truth, we ought to be diligent to put away deceitful and devious speech. Later in the book of Proverbs, Agur mentions two requests he had before he died. The first was, “Keep deception and lies far from me” (30:7-8). Our attitude toward falsehood should be like Agur’s in that we abhor falsehood so much that we not only want it far from us, but that we keep it from entering our own mouths.
“A trustworthy witness will not lie, but a false witness utters lies.” “A truthful witness saves lives, but he who utters lies is treacherous” (14:5, 25).
The first verse contains a statement which we would expect about who will lie and who will not. False witnesses lie. Trustworthy witnesses speak the truth. The second verse mentions the consequences of the words of these two witnesses. “A truthful witness saves lives,” in that he keeps the innocent from wrongful punishment, and brings the wicked to rightful punishment, thus saving any future victims from suffering at the hand of the wicked man. The wicked man, through his false testimony, “is treacherous,” because his words threaten all those who are true and right.
“Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely” (25:14).
Clouds and wind often signal the coming of rain. When these are seen by those who need rain, a hopefulness is produced as they anticipate the approaching showers. If no rain actually comes, the hopefulness turns to disappointment or despair, depending on how badly the rain was needed. It is the same when one boasts of his gifts. Hearing of these may cause one to become hopeful if the boaster’s gift would be helpful to him. But if it is a false boast, it will only produce disappointment and resentment among those who thought they may be helped by the one who claimed to have certain gifts. Many people are tempted to lie about their abilities in order to impress others. The wise man will not do this, but instead will be honest with others about his abilities and gifts so that others will recognize him as being trustworthy and reliable.
Carefulness and Discretion
We sometimes hear the phrase: “think before you speak.” This principle is found in the book of Proverbs. Solomon encourages us to exercise carefulness and discretion in our speech.
“He who winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will be ruined.” “On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks understanding. Wise men store up knowledge, but with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand” (10:10, 13-14).
“A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly” (12:23).
The “babbling fool” – one who will not control his tongue or be careful what he says – “will be ruined” (10:10). Those who are discerning will be careful to speak the words of wisdom (10:13). But the fool who “lacks understanding,” brings ruin upon himself because he is not careful about what he says (10:13-14). It is better to say nothing than to speak that which is foolish. So Solomon says, “A prudent man conceals knowledge” (12:23). It does not say he avoids speaking things which are false. We have already seen how the wise man will avoid this. But here he is discussing knowledge, which implies things which are true. Not everything we know needs to be made known to others. The fool does not understand this.
“He who despises his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding keeps silent. He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy conceals a matter” (11:12-13).
“He who conceals a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends (17:9).
Again, these verses are not talking about speaking things which are false. They are about speaking things that, although they may be true, should not be made public. If our neighbor is involved in some private sin, or he has sinned against us, it is better to address the matter directly with the neighbor in private rather than turn it into a public matter that everyone finds out about. To conceal a transgression is not to ignore or tolerate sin. Rather, it is to keep a private matter private so as to (hopefully) lead the transgressor to repentance.
“He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent” (17:27-28).
Carefulness and discretion in speech is so clearly a characteristic of wisdom that Solomon says that a fool who restrains his words and “keeps silent, is considered wise” (17:28). The reason why refraining from unnecessary speech is a characteristic of wisdom is because the more one speaks, the more trouble can be caused by his speech. The wise man even goes so far as to say, “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable” (10:19). One who does not learn to control his tongue can expect to sin with his tongue. James said the tongue was “a restless evil and full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). Therefore, we must take great care to restrain our words and only speak things which are good and right.
“He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him” (18:13).
James wrote, “But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (James 1:19). It is easy to jump to conclusions before understanding a matter. When we do this, we inevitably say things that are incorrect and unwise. Therefore, the wise man will wait to speak and pass judgment on a matter until after he knows the whole picture. A few verses after this, Solomon says, “The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him” (18:17). If we speak without a complete understanding of the facts, we may find ourselves to have made an error in judgment, thus bringing “folly and shame” to ourselves.
“It is a trap for a man to say rashly, ‘It is holy!’ And after the vows to make inquiry” (20:25).
Before we endorse or promote something in religion, we must be sure it is right. To rashly declare something to be “holy,” without first searching the Scriptures to see if it is approved by God, is to set a trap for ourselves. We must first know what is right in the sight of God before we claim that something is holy. Our words cannot make something right. Only God’s word can be used to show what is right in regard to spiritual matters.
“The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin” (13:3).
To guard one’s mouth is to be careful in one’s speech. One who is careful in this way keeps himself within the realm of God’s approval, thus preserving his life. One who is careless with his speech, and therefore makes it so that “transgression is unavoidable” (10:19), will ruin himself.
“Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (29:20).
The fool in this verse is not one who has rejected God’s wisdom, but one who is simply ignorant of what God would have him to do. One who is ignorant still has the possibility of being taught so that he can gain understanding. On the other hand, one who is “hasty in his words” is not accustomed to thinking before he speaks. He is not interested in learning, only in speaking. As Solomon says in another passage: “A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind” (18:2).
Teaching
One of the important things we can do in our speech is teaching. Solomon discusses this in the book of Proverbs as well.
“The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not so” (15:7).
The wisdom that comes from above is not intended for an elite few while others are left without it. If we have acquired knowledge, we should want to share what we know so that others can also gain knowledge and become wise. It is the mark of a fool for one to not want to spread knowledge and help others learn what they ought to know.
“He who says to the wicked, ‘You are righteous,’ peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him; but to those who rebuke the wicked will be delight, and a good blessing will come upon them. He kisses the lips who gives a right answer” (24:24-26).
The prophet Isaiah said, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Though there is often a tendency today for men to praise those who do what is wrong, we help no one when we call the wicked righteous. We must be willing to call sin for what it is. We should rebuke wickedness, not praise or excuse it. If we rebuke wickedness we will be blessed. If we fail to do this, and praise the wicked instead, we will be cursed.
“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he not be wise in his own eyes” (26:4-5).
These two verses contain similar phrases about answering a fool, but there is a significant difference between them. “Do not answer a fool according to his folly,” means we must not answer the fool in kind. We should not respond with foolishness. Though it may be tempting to stoop to his level, we must avoid doing so because it helps no one and only hurts ourselves (we become like the fool). Instead, Solomon admonishes, “Answer a fool as his folly deserves.” Rather than answering a fool in kind (with foolishness), we should respond with wisdom. This includes rebuking wickedness (24:25) so that others will not engage in the same sinful behavior (cf. 1 Timothy 5:20). The important thing is that no matter how foolish and wicked others may be, we must always answer with wisdom and not foolishness.
“An evildoer listens to wicked lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue” (17:4).
If you speak the truth, some are simply not going to listen. Often, an evildoer will choose to listen to those who will proclaim error that supports his wickedness. Paul stated this principle when he wrote to Timothy: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires” (2 Timothy 4:3). People will find those who will tell them what they want to hear. This does not mean we should cease proclaiming God’s wisdom so that we do not lose our audience. We must teach what is right, whether others want to hear it or not. But we must be prepared for the reality that some will simply not listen to the truth.
“He who leads the upright astray in an evil way will himself fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit good” (28:10).
This verse reminds us of the seriousness of teaching. If we, through our teaching, lead a righteous man to turn from God and follow wickedness, we will suffer consequences for it. We must be careful what we teach so that we always lead others in the way of truth. We will be held accountable for how we do this (cf. James 3:1). We cannot force others to accept the truth and do what is right, but we must always point them in the right direction.
