At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)
“He that hath knowledge spareth his words: And a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit” (Proverbs 17:27).
There are different variations on this theme. One American proverb says that it is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
But this proverb is a bit different. The one who is in actual possession of real knowledge is economical with his words. He spares his words. Someone who is garrulous is not demonstrating insight to the whole world, but rather the opposite. The person with knowledge does not feel the need to unload the entire truck. He can look at his supply of words, select the best ones for the occasion, and bring them out as appropriate. And, as is the case in other areas as well, less is more.
This proverb is structured as a parallelism, not as a contrast. This means that the one with knowledge is paired with the “man of understanding,” and the one who “spareth his words” is paired with having an “excellent spirit.”
And this means that being economical with your words should not be confused with being taciturn and truculent. If a man goes to a party, and stands in the corner all evening with a little black rain cloud over his head, the few words (or grunts) that he utters are not a sign of an excellent spirit. Quite the opposite.
Rather, he places his words the same way that an excellent craftsman would place jewels in an intricately wrought ornament. “A word fitly spoken Is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Prov. 25:11). Just like real estate, the value of a word spoken the right way at the right time is a matter of location, location, location.
