II. Wise Men Are Slow to Speak
Having established that it is good and right for men to develop meaningful and deep relationships with one another, there remains one more foundational item. Men that are wise are men that speak little, and listen much. Try reading each of these proverbs out loud twice... go slow and let their truth sink in.
A common Biblical theme is that too many words leads to trouble:
Proverbs 10:19 “When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”
Proverbs 13:3 “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”
Proverbs 17:27 “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.”
Proverbs 21:23 “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue
keeps himself out of trouble.”
So Solomon rightly asks:
Proverbs 29:20 “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
What is a man to do, then? Clearly the spouting off of pat answers is not going to do! How is he to relate to other men?
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