“The wise in heart will be called prudent, and sweetness of the lips increases learning. 22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it, but the correction of fools is folly. 23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth and adds learning to his lips. 24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. 25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 16:21-25).
Just as each fruit has its own distinctive characteristics, the wise in heart have common traits. In these five proverbs, Solomon gives four. Let’s consider the first two.
The wise in heart are prudent teachers (v. 21). Having a head full of knowledge and dispensing it without any forethought given to how it ought to be arranged and delivered is not prudent. The mind is like the stomach—it is best instructed in bite-size portions. No one can consume a large pizza in one bite. Attempting to do so is an unpleasant and unprofitable experience. If a teacher’s information cannot be arranged in a logical and orderly manner by his students, the maximum amount of learning will not occur.
The wise in heart have common sense (v. 22). Increasingly, the phrase “common sense” is becoming a misnomer; folly, not good sense, is becoming more common. Common sense is simply being insightful into human nature and the world in which we live: 1) Because of Satan and sin, all of us have a dark side; none of us lives out the best version of himself every day. 2) All of us know how we want to be treated; therefore, we ought to treat others accordingly (Mat. 7:12). 3) We live in a cause-and-effect world, even in the realm of human behavior. Understanding these three simple truths is a wellspring to living wisely.
