Anyone who knows the Bible would not argue that King Solomon was a wise man. In I Kings 3, we can read of his request to God to be given an understanding heart to judge the people.

God responded to Solomon and gave him wisdom beyond what anyone had or has ever had. He made good decisions as long as he remained faithful to God.

Solomon left us with some words of wisdom found in his Proverbs. Even though they were written many hundreds of years ago, they are still applicable to us today.

There are at least 10 places in Proverbs where Solomon referred to what or how we should speak. I want us to look at these just briefly.

1. Proverbs 4:24—“Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.” Froward means disobedient. Perverse means contrary or stubborn. So it is a disobedient and stubborn person Solomon is talking about here. One of the ways people show their stubborn attitude when we are talking about the tongue is by cursing. Profanity, euphemisms, and such like are products of the mouths of the stubborn disobedient person. God is holy, and we should reverence His name.
2. Proverbs 6:17-19—“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” From Solomon we know that God hates those that lie. Notice that Solomon does not say “black lies”. He says God hates all liars. Lying is often a habit. We need to tell the truth, and we need to teach our children to always tell the truth.
3. Proverbs 10:18—“He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.” Isn’t that interesting that lying comes from hatred. Obviously, the result of such feelings is slander. Those that spread malicious gossip are really harboring hatred.
4. Proverbs 10:19—“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” Solomon is simply saying, “Don’t talk too much”. Sometimes we need to just remain silent and let others do the talking. It is indeed a wise man that can accomplish this. Try it! You will see that it is not as easy as it sounds.
5. Proverbs 11:13—“A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.” The word “secret” means to keep private. So Solomon tells us that to be considered to have a faithful spirit, we must learn to keep secrets. When someone tells us something, we should consider it private. Even if they don’t tell us not to tell, we should not tell it.
6. Proverbs 15:1—“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Solomon tells us to simply watch what we say. It takes a lot of work to avoid words that cause distress to others. If we can remember to use a soft voice and calming words when someone is angry with us, it will be difficult for them to continue being angry.
7. Proverbs 15:28—“The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.” Simply put, we need to think before we speak. It is the wicked man that pours out one hateful remark after another in retaliation for something someone has said or done to us. Those remarks can become vicious and mean.
8. Proverbs 18:13—“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” We need to listen carefully. Speaking before we hear and understand what is said is shameful. How many times have you spoken out only to discover you misunderstood what was said?
9. Proverbs 27:2—“Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.” This proverb tells us two things, be generous with praise of others, and don’t brag on yourself. Sometimes we feel justified in bragging on ourselves because it seems that no one else will. But Solomon says this is not a good idea. One way we can avoid being concerned about what is being said about us is to be generous with our praise of others. Don’t let an opportunity go by that you don’t compliment or brag on another person for a good deed, accomplishment, or some act of kindness.
10. Proverbs 28:18—“Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.” The word “perverse” means contrary or stubborn. We need to learn to say, “I’m sorry”. What happens to those that can’t say they are sorry? They will fall. When we can’t admit our mistakes, we tend to lie, slander, talk too much, speak before we think, and fail to show appreciation to those that deserve it.

James tells us in chapter 3, “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.”

Our goal should be to take the words of Solomon and James to heart and set as our goal to learn to control our tongues.

Sandra Oliver