one28 PodcastOut of the Mouth of Fools
Ecclesiastes 10:12-15
2008.03.02
one28 Sunday worship
I talk for a living. Communication is the majority of my job, whether I’m preaching a message, answering questions at a small group, leading a staff meeting, counseling in my office, writing a blog, or conversing with someone over coffee at my third place, my mouth is open a lot. Because of that, people judge me by my words. I am known and judged by what I say.
So are you. Though you aren’t held to the same standard as a teacher, every person is known and judged by their words. Others recognize us by our speech and Jesus said people will give account for every careless word they speak.
This morning we come to a paragraph in Ecclesiastes about words, specifically about what comes out of the mouth of fools. It’s not pretty.
Each and every one of us needs to be careful about our words, and young people are especially susceptible to the problem of foolish talking. I remember in my own life–sometime during the first couple years of college–when I realized that my words were atrocious. It wasn’t because I was cursing God or cussing people out but because I was wasting my words. You may not think it to hang out with me today but I used to be kind of funny. In high school I was quite a clown. I provided entertainment at parties. How else do you think I came to tell a +30 minute joke?
Then I started reading more and more Proverbs about words and I discovered I fit the role of the fool more than the wise. I began to make radical changes in my speech patterns–perhaps even swinging the pendulum too far to the serious side for a while. Nonetheless, I committed to start being a better steward of my mouth.
Based somewhat on my own experience, based somewhat on time spent with you guys, and based a lot on passages like Ecclesiastes 10:12-15, I need to tell you: I love you, and, some of you are fools. I almost can’t believe the things that come out of your mouths, the things you write on MySpace, the things I read in the notes you accidently leave behind. Some of you talk like goofballs, airheads, or morons; you’re talking like fools.
What you say says a lot about who you are. Maybe you say, “That’s not really me. That’s not what I meant. I’m different than that.” No. You’re not. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Just like you always do what you most want to do, everything you say comes from your heart. You might not like how it comes out, you might prefer to have better vocabulary, but your mouth is the first thing people recognize about you.
And that concerns me. It concerns me for your heart. It concerns me for the coming consequences of broken relationships and lost opportunities due to your words. It concerns me most for coming judgment. I know that I don’t even hear half of it (which doesn’t make me feel better). But God does and He is the One with whom we have to do.
I wonder how many fools Solomon listened to every day. I can’t imagine the endless parade of postulating fools he had to deal with. However much it was, he recorded for us some identifiers of foolish words in this paragraph. Ecclesiastes 10:12-15 shows us four things that come Out of the Mouth of Fools.
1. Self-Destructive Words v.12
Though they believe they’re earning advantage for themselves, the exact opposite is true.
12 The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor,
but the lips of a fool consume him.
The wise man makes his only appearance in this grouping of proverbs at the beginning of verse 12, The words of the wise man’s mouth win him favor. His speech is gracious, winsome, persuasive, and healing. It results in favor, in a good reputation and increased influence. A wise man’s mouth works to his benefit.
Not so for the fool. Instead the lips of a fool consume him. Based on the parallel nature of the proverb, being “consumed” is the contrast to winning favor. So rather than winning approval the fool loses respect when he opens his mouth. When the fool talks he tarnishes his reputation and decreases his influence. The imagery shows he has no one else to blame but himself. His lips…consume. He swallows his own opportunity. His words hurt others and most of all himself.
Your words affect the health of:
- your reputation (what people think about you)
- your relationships (how people interact with you)
- your influence (how people listen to you)
- your opportunities (what people let you do)
A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.. Out of the mouth of fools come self-destructive words.
2. Crazy Talk v.13
From start to finish the fool is out of his mind.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is evil madness.
This is a unique verse. It’s almost like an excuse for Solomon to say this is really, really bad, and it only gets worse.
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness. Verse 13 continues the description in verse 12b that the lips of the fool swallow himself. From the start his mouth is full of foolishness.
And the end of his talk is evil madness. From beginning to end, and everything in the middle, this is bad. Get the description, evil madness. This isn’t funny, it’s insanely sinful. It’s crazy talk.
I can’t get over madness. When we say someone is “mad” (not angry mad but crazy mad) we mean they’ve gone off the deep end. They are so far gone that normal behavior and social interaction is impossible. Extreme cases wear white jackets in rooms with padded walls. Likewise, fools are in such a frenzy that it’s impossible for them to fit in. They stick out because they are so ridiculously off the reservation.
Like I said, this isn’t funny crazy, it’s sinful. Solomon calls it evil. It’s wrong–and not only self-destructive but certain to be divinely judged. Out of the mouth of fools comes crazy talk.
3. Arrogant Verbosity v.14
I hate to love this verse. It is so accurate, so common, and so upsetting.
14 A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him what will be after him?
The fool is verbose, meaning he loves to talk. A fool multiplies words. He doesn’t just add them, he multiplies. This isn’t the first time in Ecclesiastes Solomon addressed bloviation.
Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. (5:2)
The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? (6:11)
The fool loves to talk; loves to hear himself speak, loves to share his opinion. His mouth pours out folly. In particular he loves to talk about his convictions on things he has no clue about, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him? Who can predict the future and the future after death? The answer is “No one.” Wise people listen and know their limits, fools babble. They go on as know-it-alls.
Some of the most wordy people are also some of the most arrogant. They’ve so convinced themselves that they know the answers, that they have true knowledge, that no one can convince them otherwise. Yet they have no understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
Ecclesiastes 10:14 is aimed directly at future-tellers, at those who talk big when they have no information and no way to get that information. But the application spills over onto all sorts of issues. It fires me up and tires me out reading blogs by people who have no flaming idea what they’re talking about yet they go on and on like the world’s been waiting for them to arrive with the answer. It’s like we’re expected to come, sit at their feet, and learn from their great wisdom. Actually it’s madness. The multiplied words don’t prove their argument, they demonstrate their arrogance.
Please, really, some of you, just stop talking. I’m flabbergasted how fools refuse to stop even when someone with wisdom kindly urges them–for their own good–to close their mouths. I’ve been to small groups where the leader, or even myself, tried to shut down some silly or gossipy or argumentative pontification and the student kept spouting off. Put a cork in it. Out of the mouth of fools come arrogant verbosity.
4. Lame Excuses v.15
You’d probably expect the connection between fools and excuses though you may not initially expect it to be the point of this verse.
15 The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know the way to the city.
Unlike verses 12-14 the word “words” isn’t found in verse 15. Neither are any of these: “mouth,” “lips,” or “talk.” Instead we have the word toil. So it’s tempting to take this as a switch in subject from the speech of fools to the conduct of fools. It may be. But the context pushes the problem of words and more than that, the proverb itself conveys more than laziness.
The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city. Here’s the question: what do directions have to do with being tired?
Obviously the first half of the verse deals with mock fatigue. The toil of a fool wearies him. He is exhausted by work. It overwhelms him. But how does that relate to knowing how to get to town?
I don’t think this means the fool is so worn out from failing to work smart (like in verse 10) that he’s delirious, walking around in circles with no idea where he is. Exhaustion can cause forgetfulness, but that’s an strange conclusion to the section.
I think this is a weak excuse. It’s more believable than saying there’s a lion in the road, but not by much. Everyone knew how to get to the city. To not know the way to the city is a sorry and unlikely story since it was an open street.
Bad excuses make you look like a bigger fool, not a better one. Out of the mouth of fools come lame excuses.
Conclusion
Out of the mouth of fools come self-destructive words, crazy talk, arrogant verbosity, and lame excuses. People know and judge you by your words.
Let me also caution the quiet ones among us. You can destroy yourself and your reputation without any words, it just might take a little longer. You can think crazy even if you don’t express it. You can certainly be arrogant in silence. And just because you don’t make lame excuses doesn’t make your laziness or disobedience any better.
If you are eager to change your speech–and I hope you are–there is something you can do about it. If the air is stale and you’re suffocating them open a window and take a deep breath. And if you want to breath fresh air into your words, open the window of your heart and let Scripture in.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)
The mouth speaks positive things out of the abundance of the heart just like it does the negative. So before you destroy yourself and your reputation by talking crazy and always spouting your opinion and making more lame excuses, ending up friendless and alone, follow Solomon’s advice: watch your mouth.
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