You may have seen, or even unconsciously done it yourself, reading a news story by its headline and then immediately commenting on it. In digital spaces and in everyday conversations, judgements are often formed from very limited pieces of information. The way a person speaks, dresses, or behaves at first glance is often used as a basis to stigmatise them. We live in a fast-paced age, but that speed is often at the cost of depth and wisdom.
This reality becomes a relevant backdrop when we read Proverbs 10:1-16. In this section, the wisdom teacher sets up a series of contrasting proverbs: between the wise and the foolish, the righteous and the wicked, edifying words and destructive words. Wisdom in the Book of Proverbs is never understood as an abstract idea, but rather as a tangible attitude of life, visible in the way one works, judges, and especially speaks.
Section 11 asserts that "the mouth of the righteous is the source of life." In wisdom traditions, organs are often used to describe human actions and character. "Mouth" here does not simply refer to the instrument of speech, but to words as a medium of knowledge, judgement, and relationships. A righteous man not only speaks the right things, but stores up knowledge and releases it in due time. His words give direction, calm, and sustain life together. In contrast, the mouth of the wicked "hides violence." Words are used to justify prejudice, cover up injustice, or perpetuate stigma. In today's context, this can be seen when people judge so easily based on a headline, a video clip, or someone's outward appearance. Words born without knowledge and wisdom narrow the space for living, not grow it.
Friends of the Bible, today's Proverbs reminds us that true wisdom is growing. It is not hasty, not reactive, and not fond of labelling. Wisdom teaches us to store up knowledge, weigh before speaking, and use words as a source of life. In the midst of a fast-paced and superficial culture, the call of the faithful is to speak words that give space, hope, and a future, because that is where life grows.
