Even a fool when he holds his peace is considered wise… – Proverbs 17:28 (AMP)

There is a humorous cultural proverb that goes like this:

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.

Although often attributed to Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain, evidence suggests that the true source of the proverb was Mr. Maurice Switzer, and he used the proverb in his book, Mrs. Goose, Her Book, published in 1907. Regardless of the true orginator, the proverb is quite funny, and it has been used countless times, both privately and publicly, for over a century.

Good humor always has an element of truth in it, and Switzer’s proverb is no different. The “element of truth” upon which this proverb is based is a real proverb found in the Bible. Proverbs 17:28 (AMP) teaches us that:

Even a fool when he holds his peace is considered wise; when he closes his lips he is esteemed a man of understanding.

One reason a silent fool appears wise is outlined in Proverbs 10:19 (AMP):

In a multitude of words transgression is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is prudent.

How does the sin of gossip occur? It occurs when people say too much about a subject they should not be talking about in the first place. When do people get unnecessarily offended (Incidentally, it is sometimes necessary to offend people, like when you confront them in love, as the Bible commands, regarding their sin.)?  People are unnecessarily offended when other people speak without thinking, saying something totally insenstive to the values of others. How are friendships broken? Oftentimes they are broken when someone expresses an opinion about a friend that was inappropriate, destructive, maybe even vindictive, and which should never have been entertained in the heart, let alone spoken with the mouth. In short, by saying less, we sin less, and the less we sin, the more wise we appear to be (and are).

Another reason a silent fool appears wise is stated in Proverbs 18:2 (AMP):

A [self-confident] fool has no delight in understanding but only in revealing his personal opinions and himself.

The biblical fool is a person who discards God’s wisdom because he or she is filled with pride. Pride makes us think we are smarter, swifter, and stronger than we are, and when we are proud, we don’t hesitate to talk about how good we are. Oh, we may not think we are proud, but if we try to turn every conversation into a celebration of our accomplishments, then we have a pride issue. When we are proud, we are biblical fools, and the more we open our mouths, the more we prove it to those around us.

Is God teaching us to never talk at all? Of course not! But as we gradually learn to think more like Christ, we become more able to discern when the time is right to speak and when the time is right to keep quiet. As God put it so well in James 1:19 (AMP):

…Let every man be quick to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry.

May God help us to exchange our sinful blabbermouths for tamed tongues guided by wisdom.

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