What I want to share with you is that I grew up believing the maxim “Better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt,” so I learned not to be too talkative. That viewpoint is upheld by Pr 17:28 “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” This frugal use of conversation is advocated further in Ecclesiastes where King Solomon admonishes us to be careful about making vows. Ecc 5:2,3 “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.” Jesus also puts our words in a serious light in Mt 12:35-37 “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. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” As a child, I truly felt that the only thing that could come of conversation was to prove I was a fool, and condemnation. There is certainly merit to this conclusion enumerated in Jas 3:2-6 “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” Earlier in James, he also wrote 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:” Clearly, Pr 1:5 applies tangentially; “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.” If one is hearing, one is not speaking. Not only that, but in Ec 10:2, we see “A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.” To refrain from speaking is an act of governing your heart, and a wise man can do this more easily than a fool - to be able to keep your own counsel is the mark of wisdom.
However, if I quit here, I think I would be leaving out the important biblical counterpoint. Towards the end of Proverbs, we see that Solomon admonished his audience with a different instruction. Pr 23:15,16 “My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.” Here he expected to see the wisdom of his student in the spoken word. If we cast back over a passage I already quoted, we may look at a different emphasis. Mt 12:34,35 “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.” Here, Jesus was also longing to hear someone “speak right things.” When he didn’t hear it over time, he was grieved and spoke out. The “bringing forth good things” in vs 35 refers to the speech of the man whose heart treasured the truth. Surely the evil ones speak evil things, but it is hard to know a person’s heart if they do not speak (Pr 17:28 a person who doesn’t speak is deemed a man of understanding, until he speaks and shows what he treasures.) In vs 36 of Mt 12, if we look closely, it is the idle words that we shall give an account of. What makes words “idle?” I am sure you can see as easily as I can type, that these are words that are spoken without goal, or purpose. If we have a good goal or purpose, we should not feel constrained to keep silent. In fact in Pr 5:11 ““A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Obviously we will give account of these words too, but won’t we be glad to report “I was trying to do some good thing?” To (I guess) belabor the point, if our purpose or goal in our words is wicked, we will certainly give account of that too, so there will be no words left out - all of them are “on the record.” But look at Pr 10:11 “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: But violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.” Christ’s words were the water of life eternal, but here we see that the words of any given righteous man can be spiritually sustaining to those around. In Pr 10:32, we can observe, “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: But the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.” If we are concerned about what is acceptable, we can look at Pr 18:10. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe.” That particular vs is more or less without context, but I would advance the reasoning that if we do things in the name of the Lord, we have a scripture for the action. Likewise if we invoke his authority the words can be drawn from some scripture or the other. Using scripture is where the righteous man derives the safety of speaking without trangressing at all. Jesus shows this another way in Jno 7:16-18. “Jesus answered and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.” How do we seek God’s glory? By using his words. In fact vs 18, there is no unrighteousness in that person. This harks back to Jas 3:2 (partial quote,) “...If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man...” Perfect/no unrighteousness - never use our own words, only scripture. So if we are so concerned about our words that we can never speak, according to Pr 18:10, we can at least show our treasure by pointing out appropriate scriptures now and then. Pr 10:21 “The lips of the righteous feed many: But fools die for want of wisdom.” Wisdom and righteousness both go into the process. But to personify Pr 10:21, we do this not for a few, but for many. Lets look further at Pr 12:18. “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: But the tongue of the wise is health.” Sometimes our best intentions fail us, and even a scripture can pierce like a sword. ( We even commonly refer to the Bible as our spiritual sword.) We will not be transgressing to quote any passage at any given time, but there is still room to show wisdom or not. So why don’t we always have words to speak? Pr 15:28 “The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.” Don’t have an answer? The righteous is characterized by not answering “off the cuff.” At some point I need to unify my discussion by reviewing Ecc 5:3, and observing that “...a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.” Moderation is what the fool lacks. Or consider in Jas 3:3-5 “Behold, we put bits in horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! ” How do we resolve this issue? Consider that if we don’t use it even moderately, we might as well not have a tongue. No tongue, no rudder. No rudder no steering. A ship without a rudder is useless, and a horse without a bit is useless (Ok , he could be a plow horse... You got me there :) My point is, we should be willing to expose our heart, whether good or bad, by speaking sometimes. Pr 15:2 “The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright:: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolisheness.” Vs 7 “The lips of the wise disperse knowledge : but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.” Vs 23 “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth : and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” Vs 26 “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord : but the words of the pure are pleasant words.”
What about “small talk,” and the idle words we speak at social gatherings? I personally have a couple of goals even in conversing about the Cowboys, or Computers... I guess I should here lump in all the things that do not pertain to life and godliness. I consider it to be exposing my heart to my brother so that he can be confident that he knows me, and if I show folly, he may correct me. If he is not a brother, it may be the bridge that opens a door later. In an eternal context, these things can be considered inconsequential and foolish, but most of us don’t have the spiritual talent or privilege to make our living in the Lords word full time. If I have a foolish heart, I can hide it by never speaking, but that is never going to do good to those around me. But in James 1:5, we see that entreating the Lord for wisdom can never raise his ire... he even gives wisdom liberally to those who are not Christians! “... who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” Tom likes to emphasize the “here am I send me” attitude of Isaiah. However, I take more encouragement from the example of Moses in Ex 4:10-15. “And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant : but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do.” This is more of my heart’s answer to a call to teach publically. But we see that even though Moses made God angry at him, he did fulfill the Lord’s command. I take consolation that if Moses could do it, so can I.
There is also a kind of “lemma” for Ladies. Consider I Pet 3:3,4:
[3] Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
[4] But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
If this applies, it is noticeable only to those who also notice subtilty (Pr 1:4) and humility (Pr 22:4, I Pet 5:5.) A meek and quiet spirit just doesn't leap out and shout its virtue from the mountain tops. This is a lawful and important reason to be taciturn, and it is important to understand the counterpoint (see the music defn of that term,) which is illustrated by Pr 31:26:
26] She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
We have established, then, that mute silence is not enough. We must have something of substance to say. When we take thought on what we can say to edify those around, we are by definition “Devising good.” This invokes the blessing of Pr 14:22 “Do they not err that devise evil? But mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.” Mercy even if our efforts go astray, and better understanding of truth in the area of good we are devising. Not only that, but in Pr 16:6 “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by fear of the Lord men depart from evil.” However it works, the mercy and truth obtained by devising good purges iniquity (from our heart, or the hearts of those around us that learn by example.) This is a win/win, even if we are embarrassed. How then do we resolve the issue in Jas 3:8 (6-11 included for context.)
[6] And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
[7] For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
[8] But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
[9] Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
[10] Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
[11] Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
In vs 8, no man can tame it, but in vs 11, we are expected to effect some change such that the water is consistently sweet. My answer to this is that no, no man can tame the tongue, but God can. Pr 16:1
[1] The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD
Moreover by “thinking on these things,” for example, we are expected to effect changes in the heart, from which treasure flows the fruit of the lips.
In closing then, lets consider Pr 18:20,21
[20] A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
[21] Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
We are not necessarily commanded to love the work of the tongue, nevertheless, we shall be rewarded according to its use. Death is in its power, and they that love it may find death as their reward, but so is life. So let’s consider how we can give evidence to brethren around us that we are of the 7000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal (Ro 11:3,4.) Review at will, and see if there are not ways that we can use the tongue to the glory of God!
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