Proverbs 10:14

Proverbs 10:14 "Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction."

This proverb could be paraphrased by the idiom, “loose lips sink ships.”

This proverb is not about obtaining knowledge as much as it is about conserving knowledge.  Solomon is not contrasting what the wise know to what the foolish say.  He is contrasting what the wise don’t say to what the foolish do say.  When the Bible uses the phrase, “lay up,” it is referring to “laying up in store” or to SAVE something.  When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and gave him counsel, he told him to gather corn for seven years and then to “lay up” or SAVE that corn in the cities for the future famine (Genesis 41:35).  When God gave Moses instructions on how to handle the manna that He would send, He told him to gather twice as much on Fridays and “lay up” or SAVE that additional amount for the Sabbath (Exodus 16:23).  At the same time, Moses told Aaron to “lay up” or SAVE some manna in a golden pot for future generations (Exodus 16:33).  God would tell the Israelites in Deuteronomy 11:18 to “lay up” or STORE His words in their hearts and souls.

What you know doesn’t necessarily determine whether you’re wise or foolish.  This proverb teaches us that what you say often determines whether you’re wise or foolish.  Knowledge is relatively easy to accrue.  For example, anyone can get on a jury and learn everything there is to know about a particular court case.  Each juror simply has to show up and listen up in order to obtain the same amount of knowledge about the case.  A college professor and a ditch digger as jurors can both accrue the same knowledge about the details of the case.  That knowledge doesn’t necessarily make either of them wise.  Their ability to maintain court-ordered confidentiality is what will reveal their level of wisdom.  If the college professor leaks the confidential details of the case to the local television station and the ditch digger doesn’t tell anyone the confidential details of the case, the ditch digger is wiser than the college professor.
 
Wise men “lay up” or STORE knowledge while the foolish use knowledge recklessly.  Having been to dry states like California and Arizona, I’ve seen signs for the conservation of water.  One sign in a restroom read, “Water is Precious – Please Use Wisely.”  Another sign read, “Please Use Wisely – Every Drop Counts.” In those communities where water is a severely limited resource, people who keep the water running for no good reason are foolish because they’re putting their own lives in danger.  In those communities, everyone has the same amount of water available to them but not everyone has the same amount of wisdom attributed to them.  The foolish have no interest in conserving water because they don’t have enough wisdom to see the ramifications of abusing water.  In communities where water is in limited supply, wasting water on just anything and everything can have severe consequences.  In some of these communities, wasting water can get you into big trouble.  How a person manages their resources reveals their character.  More importantly, how a person manages knowledge reveals their character.

The person who shares whatever they know to whomever they know does not evidence wisdom.  This person does not realize or does not care that sharing what they know to whomever they know can get them into big trouble.  The wise understand that there are some things you just don’t say and that there are some things you just don’t share.  There are a lot of things in life that shouldn’t be shared – they should just be stored.  When I worked for a machine shop, I was required to sign a confidentiality form since we worked with defense and space contracts and since our company didn’t want their manufacturing methods shared with their competitors.  Had I shared that knowledge with anyone outside the company, my job could’ve been terminated.  There are things that I learn within my occupation and calling as a pastor that require confidentiality.  I have to “lay up” or STORE that information in a place that doesn’t exit my mouth.  If I break that confidentiality, people will not trust me and I would eventually fail as a pastor.  There are things that people tell you that you shouldn’t tell anyone else.  There are things you learn that you shouldn’t share.  There are things that you learn that you shouldn’t share with particular people or at a particular time.  This requires wisdom to discern what knowledge should be shared and what knowledge shouldn’t be shared.  Wisdom is required to know what to share with whom and when.
 
The Bible is full of wise men who demonstrated such wisdom.  In Matthew 2, the Bible refers to a group of men traveling from the East to see the newborn King as “WISE MEN.”  In the story, King Herod demands that they tell him where Jesus Christ was living.  Herod lacked the knowledge of Jesus’ location and wanted it so he could kill Him.  The “wise men” followed the star and obtained the knowledge of Jesus’ location.  They were then warned of God not to return to Herod so as to avoid revealing to him the knowledge he sought.  God wanted them to “lay up” or SAVE that knowledge.  God wanted Paul the Apostle to also “lay up” some knowledge.  In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul refers to a time in his life when he was “caught up to the third heaven” and when he was there, he “heard unspeakable words.”  Paul would go on to say that it was “not lawful for a man to utter” those words.  He wasn’t permitted by God to share what he heard.  Paul had to “lay up” that knowledge for the rest of his life!  That would take tremendous discipline and wisdom to keep that knowledge STORED in his mind.  John the Apostle experienced something similar in Revelation 10.  While exiled on the island of Patmos, John was given the privilege of seeing the greatest prophetic vision received by man.  At one point in that vision, John hears seven thunders “utter their voices” and when John was about to write what they said, God told him not to write the words down.  He was told to “seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered.”  He was told to “lay up” or SAVE that knowledge.  That too would require incredible discipline and wisdom to keep what the seven thunders said confidential for the rest of his life.

Sadly, the Bible also records examples of fools whose mouths were near destruction.  One such man was for most of his life, a good and wise man.  Unfortunately, he became a fool in his old age when God granted him fifteen additional years of life.  Hezekiah didn’t have the wisdom necessary to “lay up knowledge.”  2 Kings 20 tells the story of a king whose neighboring nation came to see him and all of his riches.  Hezekiah failed to keep some knowledge of his wealth “laid up” in his head.  In fact, when the prophet Isaiah asked King Hezekiah what he showed the Babylonians, he said, “all the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing in my treasures that I have not shewed them.”  The prophet would immediately rebuke him for not conserving his knowledge.  Isaiah would go on to tell the foolish king that in short time, the Babylonians would come and take everything they saw from his children.  “Loose lips sink ships.”

The wise know that not everything they know needs to be said.  Furthermore, they know that not everything they know should be said.  You’re inviting trouble when you share everything you know.