Proverbs 15:2 "The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness."
Solomon was a student of life and that made him a student of humanity. When God gave him wisdom, He gave him understanding about the human mind, will, heart and mouth. He understood what makes mankind tick. He realized why people did what they did. He knew why people said what they said. This is a proverb that addresses the spiritual science behind speech. Some people can just talk while others rarely talk. Some people seem to always have something to say while others seem to have so little to say. He surely asked the question, “What makes some people talkers and other people listeners?” This proverb doesn't address the genetically-based verbal tendencies of people but it does address the spiritually-based verbal tendencies of people. Just as women tend to talk more than men because of their unique gender makeup (generally-speaking), the foolish tend to talk more than the wise because of their unique spiritual makeup (generally-speaking).
The foolish don't talk more than the wise necessarily because they can't control their tongues. According to this particular proverb, a foolish man talks more than a wise man not because he can't bridle his tongue. This proverb is not addressing wisdom to mean silence or foolishness to mean excessive talking. It is addressing more than that and while it is painting a picture of two very different people speaking two very different ways, its emphasis is not on words but on the reason for the words. The primary contrast of the proverb is not NUMBER of words - it's the TYPE of words. The foolish pour out "FOOLISHNESS," but when the wise speak, they speak "KNOWLEDGE." What Solomon is pointing out is so important! What is inside us is far more influential in determining what comes out of us than we think.
To better understand what this proverb is emphasizing, think of knowledge as a healthy piece of cooked chicken and foolishness as a healthy piece of uncooked chicken. If you eat that piece of cooked chicken in any culinary form, your body would absorb it and "use it aright." If you eat that piece of uncooked chicken cloaked in marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese as chicken parmigiana, your body would eventually reject it and violently and "pour it out of your mouth." The chicken plays a direct role in whether it stays in the body or not; in whether it comes back out of the mouth it entered or not. In the case of the chicken, will-power of the consumer has nothing to do with whether it stays in the belly or not. Some things are just designed by nature to come back out of the mouth it entered. It is true in the spiritual realm. If a man or woman consumes foolishness, it will come back out of the mouth. Foolishness isn't designed to stay inside the heart. Knowledge, on the other hand, can reside in the heart of man and be used at the right time and in the right way.
The foolish feast on foolishness while the wise consume knowledge. The foolish spend their time scrolling through social media looking for something to tickle their curiosity while the wise spend their time observing life looking for something to inform and educate. The foolish spend their time listening to podcasts full of opinion and speculation while the wise spend their time listening to teachers and counselors full of wisdom and knowledge. The foolish consume thoughts and ideas that make them feel smarter than everyone else while the wise consume instruction and direction that make them feel smaller than everyone else. For this exact reason, the wise speak knowledge sparingly and appropriately while the foolish pour out their foolishness. Foolishness, by definition, thinks it’s wise when it's not. Foolish people then speak what they think everyone needs to hear when in truth, no one needs to hear it. The more foolish a person, the more they think what they foolishly think is wise. The more foolish a person, the more they think they have all of the answers. The more foolish a person, the more they think they know more than everyone else. The more foolish a person, the more they think everyone will be impressed with what they have to say.
The proverb's emphasis on knowledge over foolishness rather than on speaking sparingly over speaking excessive is important because it exposes the foolishness of "just sayin'" something that we felt needed to get off our chest. If we ever feel, as we often do, that we just have to say something, we're likely dealing with foolishness. If we ever feel like we have to say something to feel settled or at ease in a situation, we're likely entertaining foolishness in our soul. A wife that texts some foolishness to her husband with the hashtag, "just sayin'," likely needed to say that in order to feel better just as person who ate raw chicken needs to vomit in order to feel better. Husbands who entertain foolish feelings about their marriage can't keep in their complaints or their expectations in marriage. People who can't refrain from saying what they're thinking or how they're feeling has less of a control problem and more of a content problem. If you JUST have to SAY something to get it off your chest, that something is foolishness. Knowledge doesn't have to be shared. Knowledge doesn't have to be said. Knowledge is very content within the human heart waiting for the right moment to be revealed. The wise don't have to say anything to feel better. The wise don't ever just have to get it off their chest. The wise use what they know for a purpose and it's never to feel better or to be at ease. Foolishness needs to be said while Knowledge needs to be used.
According to James, the tongue is a problem for everyone. James 3:8, "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." Controlling the tongue is difficult for both the wise and the foolish but it is far more difficult for the foolish because they're entertaining spiritually-raw-meat. You can only keep your mouth shut for so long if your bowels are entertaining raw meat. If you're consuming foolishness on social media, in books, in podcasts, on YouTube or on television networks, you can only keep your mouth shut for so long. Foolishness is designed to be poured out of the human mouth. Be wise and consume Biblical and Spirit-led knowledge about God, life and people. That wisely-obtained knowledge will reside peacefully and quietly in your soul until wisdom chooses when, where, how and with whom to share it.
The foolish don't talk more than the wise necessarily because they can't control their tongues. According to this particular proverb, a foolish man talks more than a wise man not because he can't bridle his tongue. This proverb is not addressing wisdom to mean silence or foolishness to mean excessive talking. It is addressing more than that and while it is painting a picture of two very different people speaking two very different ways, its emphasis is not on words but on the reason for the words. The primary contrast of the proverb is not NUMBER of words - it's the TYPE of words. The foolish pour out "FOOLISHNESS," but when the wise speak, they speak "KNOWLEDGE." What Solomon is pointing out is so important! What is inside us is far more influential in determining what comes out of us than we think.
To better understand what this proverb is emphasizing, think of knowledge as a healthy piece of cooked chicken and foolishness as a healthy piece of uncooked chicken. If you eat that piece of cooked chicken in any culinary form, your body would absorb it and "use it aright." If you eat that piece of uncooked chicken cloaked in marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese as chicken parmigiana, your body would eventually reject it and violently and "pour it out of your mouth." The chicken plays a direct role in whether it stays in the body or not; in whether it comes back out of the mouth it entered or not. In the case of the chicken, will-power of the consumer has nothing to do with whether it stays in the belly or not. Some things are just designed by nature to come back out of the mouth it entered. It is true in the spiritual realm. If a man or woman consumes foolishness, it will come back out of the mouth. Foolishness isn't designed to stay inside the heart. Knowledge, on the other hand, can reside in the heart of man and be used at the right time and in the right way.
The foolish feast on foolishness while the wise consume knowledge. The foolish spend their time scrolling through social media looking for something to tickle their curiosity while the wise spend their time observing life looking for something to inform and educate. The foolish spend their time listening to podcasts full of opinion and speculation while the wise spend their time listening to teachers and counselors full of wisdom and knowledge. The foolish consume thoughts and ideas that make them feel smarter than everyone else while the wise consume instruction and direction that make them feel smaller than everyone else. For this exact reason, the wise speak knowledge sparingly and appropriately while the foolish pour out their foolishness. Foolishness, by definition, thinks it’s wise when it's not. Foolish people then speak what they think everyone needs to hear when in truth, no one needs to hear it. The more foolish a person, the more they think what they foolishly think is wise. The more foolish a person, the more they think they have all of the answers. The more foolish a person, the more they think they know more than everyone else. The more foolish a person, the more they think everyone will be impressed with what they have to say.
The proverb's emphasis on knowledge over foolishness rather than on speaking sparingly over speaking excessive is important because it exposes the foolishness of "just sayin'" something that we felt needed to get off our chest. If we ever feel, as we often do, that we just have to say something, we're likely dealing with foolishness. If we ever feel like we have to say something to feel settled or at ease in a situation, we're likely entertaining foolishness in our soul. A wife that texts some foolishness to her husband with the hashtag, "just sayin'," likely needed to say that in order to feel better just as person who ate raw chicken needs to vomit in order to feel better. Husbands who entertain foolish feelings about their marriage can't keep in their complaints or their expectations in marriage. People who can't refrain from saying what they're thinking or how they're feeling has less of a control problem and more of a content problem. If you JUST have to SAY something to get it off your chest, that something is foolishness. Knowledge doesn't have to be shared. Knowledge doesn't have to be said. Knowledge is very content within the human heart waiting for the right moment to be revealed. The wise don't have to say anything to feel better. The wise don't ever just have to get it off their chest. The wise use what they know for a purpose and it's never to feel better or to be at ease. Foolishness needs to be said while Knowledge needs to be used.
According to James, the tongue is a problem for everyone. James 3:8, "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." Controlling the tongue is difficult for both the wise and the foolish but it is far more difficult for the foolish because they're entertaining spiritually-raw-meat. You can only keep your mouth shut for so long if your bowels are entertaining raw meat. If you're consuming foolishness on social media, in books, in podcasts, on YouTube or on television networks, you can only keep your mouth shut for so long. Foolishness is designed to be poured out of the human mouth. Be wise and consume Biblical and Spirit-led knowledge about God, life and people. That wisely-obtained knowledge will reside peacefully and quietly in your soul until wisdom chooses when, where, how and with whom to share it.
Posted in Proverbs Commentary
Posted in Solomon, Speech, words, talk, fools, wise, foolishness, knowledge, James, Chicken, Vomit, #justsayin, Get it off your chest
Posted in Solomon, Speech, words, talk, fools, wise, foolishness, knowledge, James, Chicken, Vomit, #justsayin, Get it off your chest
Recent
Archive
2025
January
April
October
2024
January
September
2023
January
February
March
April
October
2022