The Wise Fool

“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.” –Proverbs 17:27-28

Every word has a meaning. Simple enough, right? The way each word rolls off our tongue, out of our mouth, and into someone’s ear. Each and every tiny little word has meaning. The way we say things can confirm or contradict the very words we speak. There are wise, loving, hurtful, shocking, funny, strange, made-up, serious, and so many other types of words. So what do our words say about us?
There are so many verses that talk about our words. There are at least 11 in Proverbs that I know of. In Proverbs 17:27-28 it says that even a fool can be considered wise when he keeps silent. “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances,” –Proverbs 25:11. A word spoken in the right circumstances is like gold and silver! Fools can be considered wise and words in the right moment are like gold and silver. Wow!
Our words are powerful. We should mean what we say…say what we mean…build each other up. All we have to do is be kind hearted in our speech. As a woman in a “leadership” position in my job I often struggle with how I am to handle certain situations. Proverbs 31 tells us we are to open our mouth in wisdom. We are to teach with kindness on our tongue. God has told us how to use our words. So are we willing to use our words as they were meant to be used? He has told us that we are to build one another up (I Thess. 5:11), speak with kindness (Proverbs 19:22), gentle in answer (Proverbs 15:1), keeping your word in accountability and not spreading gossip (Proverbs 11:13). He has told us that we are to keep silent until the opportune time to speak.
So if our words have so much power, what are our words saying about each of us? What do we spend most of our time talking about? One of my favorite things to remember is a simple phrase I heard someone say “we speak most of the things we love, what do our words say we love?” Just like with a married person, within minutes you will know if someone is married. You do not have to look on their hand to see a ring, just have a conversation with them. The person you talk to will start talking about their spouse. That is the same way we are to be with our Father. It should not be something that we have to force into a conversation. If we truly love our Heavenly Father our conversations will naturally reflect what we love. Our love for Him will overflow from our heart to our speech and from our speech to our actions. It spills over into our choices of movies, music, televisions, and friends.
I dare you to ask yourself (and your accountability partner or friend) what your words say about you.