The Well-Dressed Truth Text: Proverbs 15:2
Introduction: Words as Weapons and Garments
In the great spiritual conflict that defines all of human history, words are never neutral. They are not inert little pebbles we toss about for amusement. No, words are weapons, words are tools, and words are garments. A man's speech is a direct revelation of the state of his heart, which is another way of saying it reveals whose side he is on. Jesus told us this plainly: out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man brings forth good things from his good treasure, and an evil man brings forth evil things out of his evil treasure (Matt. 12:34-35). You can tell the nature of the tree by the fruit it drops, and you can tell the nature of a man by the words that drop from his lips.
The book of Proverbs is God's inspired manual on practical wisdom, and it returns again and again to the subject of the tongue. This is because wisdom is not an abstract, Gnostic secret that one holds silently in the mind. Wisdom must be lived, and because we are covenantal creatures who live in families, churches, and societies, it must be spoken. And how it is spoken matters immensely. It is not enough to have the right facts in your head. The devil has plenty of right facts in his head. The great issue is this: is the truth you speak clothed in the fear of the Lord, or is it a bare, ugly thing, or worse, a truth twisted to serve the father of lies?
Our text today sets before us a sharp antithesis, a stark choice between two ways of speaking, which are really two ways of being. There is the way of the wise, and there is the way of the fool. One adorns the truth, making it attractive and fitting. The other simply vomits up his own internal chaos for all to see. In this great war of worldviews, we must learn not only what to say, but how to say it for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom.
The Text
"The tongue of the wise makes knowledge look good, But the mouth of fools pours forth folly." (Proverbs 15:2 LSB)
The Wise Tongue: Adorning Knowledge (v. 2a)
The first half of the proverb shows us the great task of all godly communication:
"The tongue of the wise makes knowledge look good..." (Proverbs 15:2a)
The Hebrew here for "makes look good" can also be translated as using knowledge "aright" or "commending" knowledge. The idea is that the wise man knows how to dress the truth. He is a good tailor. He takes the raw material of knowledge, which is grounded in the fear of the Lord, and he presents it in a way that is fitting, beautiful, and persuasive. He adorns it. This is not about compromising the truth or sugar-coating it to make it palatable to the unregenerate. God forbid. This is about presenting the truth in its own native beauty.
The truth about God's world is the most glorious, coherent, and beautiful reality there is. When a wise man speaks of God's creation, of His law, of His gospel, he does so with a sense of that glory. He uses words that are apt, seasoned with salt, and timed for the right moment. He knows that a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver (Prov. 25:11). He is not just a fact--spouter; he is an artisan of words. He understands that the truth deserves to be presented well, just as a king's daughter ought to be clothed in finely woven gold.
This is where so many well-meaning Christians get it wrong. They think that as long as they are "right," it doesn't matter if they are harsh, clumsy, abrasive, or just plain weird. They treat the truth like a bag of rocks to be dumped on people's heads. But the wise man knows that how you say something is part of what you are saying. To speak the truth of a gracious God in a graceless manner is to lie about His character. The wise man makes knowledge attractive because he knows the God of that knowledge is supremely attractive. He commends the truth because he loves the truth, and he wants others to love it too. This requires skill, timing, love, and a deep understanding of both the truth itself and the person you are speaking to.
The Fool's Mouth: Gushing Folly (v. 2b)
In stark contrast, we have the fool. Notice the shift in anatomy. The wise man has a "tongue," an instrument of precision. The fool has a "mouth," a gaping orifice.
"...But the mouth of fools pours forth folly." (Proverbs 15:2b LSB)
The verb here is graphic. The fool's mouth "pours forth," "gushes," or "belches out" folly. There is no skill, no art, no restraint. It is an uncontrolled eruption. While the wise man is carefully clothing the truth, the fool is just spewing his raw, undigested insides. And what is inside? Folly. The fool, in the biblical sense, is not a man with a low IQ. He is a moral rebel. "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 14:1). Because his foundational premise is corrupt, everything that flows from it is corrupt.
The fool's speech is a torrent of nonsense, rebellion, and pride. He does not adorn knowledge because he hates it. He despises wisdom and instruction (Prov. 1:7). His words are not designed to build up, clarify, or persuade toward the good. They are designed to assert his own autonomy, to tear down order, and to make himself the center of attention. He is not clothing the truth; he is stripping naked his own foolish heart for the world to see.
This gushing forth is a picture of utter lack of self-control. The fool has no governor on his mouth. Whatever thought, grievance, or vanity flits through his mind comes bubbling out. He is a leaky faucet of foolishness. And because he is a fountain of folly, he makes everything he talks about ugly. He can take a glorious truth and, by touching it with his proud and rebellious lips, make it seem like a lie. He is the sort of man who can talk about the grace of God in a way that makes you want nothing to do with it. His very mouth is an anti-evangelist for the truth.
Application: Are You a Tailor or a Volcano?
So the application for us is quite direct. When it comes to your speech, are you a wise tailor or a foolish volcano? Do you take the glorious truths of God's Word and seek, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to adorn them, to speak them fittingly and beautifully into the lives of others? Or do you just erupt, pouring forth your own opinions, your frustrations, your half-baked ideas, with no thought for the effect they have?
To become a wise speaker, you must first become a wise man. And wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. It begins with humbling yourself before the God who spoke all reality into existence. It means submitting your mind and your tongue to the authority of His Word. It means you must be a man of the Book before you can be a man of wise words.
Second, it requires discipline. The wise man thinks before he speaks. He considers his words. The fool just lets it fly. We must pray for God to set a guard over our mouths (Psalm 141:3). We must cultivate the habit of listening more than we speak. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion (Prov. 18:2).
Finally, it requires love. The wise man adorns the truth because he loves God and he loves his neighbor. He wants his words to be a means of grace, a conduit for life. The fool loves only himself, and so his words are instruments of his own pride. The ultimate example of a wise tongue is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. All who heard Him were astonished at His gracious words. He was the incarnation of truth, and He spoke that truth perfectly. He is the Word made flesh, the ultimate well-dressed truth. Our goal is to have our speech increasingly shaped by His, so that when we speak of the knowledge of God, we make it look as good as it truly is.