“What Did He Just Say?”

Proverbs 18:1-7: 1 He who separates himself seeks his own desire, He quarrels against all sound wisdom. 2 A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind. 3 When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes, And with dishonor comes scorn. 4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. 5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good, Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment. 6 A fool’s lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows. 7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul. 

Have you ever been in a situation just being around someone when they say something so ridiculous that you just have to stop and say (mentally, or aloud) “What did he/she just say?”

Here in Proverbs 18, Solomon addresses this kind of person, but not only this kind of person, but someone who goes even further. We see a list of characteristics that this person has. They are: unwise (against wisdom), lacking understanding, wicked, contempt-filled, dishonoring, scornful, etc.

A fool despises wisdom. Not only does he not listen to it, or dislike it, but he actively fights against it. We know that true wisdom comes from God, so this fool actively fights against God in order to come to his own *unwise* conclusions.

One section I like from this text is the comparison of man’s mouth to deep waters. The reason I like this, is because I have seen this first hand as of late. Let’s run with this illustration a bit. Deep waters can be beautiful, mysterious, massive, and awesome. They can also be scary, they can whip you around, they can drag you under and drown you. Deep waters are often looked at in a negative light, but that is because we only focus in on the danger.

A fool’s mouth can certainly be his ruin (v.7), and a man’s lips can be the snare to his soul. Your words can trap your soul from going any further. When your soul is trapped, and has nowhere to go, it will die.

Because of this, I want to plead with you right now: watch what you say. I have freed my soul from its snare many times, even recently. We have to use these deep waters (words) for what they should be used for; beauty, awesomeness, and good. I have seen the snare far too much recently, and I couldn’t bear to see someone else fall into the same trap!

Guard your mouth, and strive to keep others from asking “What did they just say?”

Written by: Mason MacDonald

P.S- To my frequent readers,

I apologize for the irregularity in my writing as of late. With how crazy life has been lately (school ending, getting married, moving, starting a new job, etc.), it has been hard to write as consistently as I have in months past. That being said, normal weekly articles will be resumed the week of 6/15/25!

Thank you all for your patience,

Mason.

Bibliography

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Pr 18:1–7.