Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver
Have you ever said the wrong thing and gotten yourself in trouble? Maybe you have said the right thing to the right person. Maybe you said the right thing to the right person at the wrong time. Or maybe you did all of that right, but you said something in the wrong way. God says a lot about what we say. Apparently, it is important to Him.
In Proverbs 25 you find words like brawl, boast, tongue, and ear. Much of the content of Proverbs 25 is about communication, what we say and how we say it. Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Of course you know what apples of gold and pictures of silver are, right? Well, I’m not exactly sure either, but I think the bottom line is that the right word is a beautiful thing. It takes time and work to do the right thing or even the wrong thing, but saying the right or wrong thing can happen in just a moment. So, the right word is a beautiful thing.
The Bible says, “A word fitly spoken.” Fit means right. There are things that may be true but are at the wrong time or at the right time but to the wrong person, etc. So, we are talking about something that is fit, like a missing puzzle piece that finds it place to complete a picture. Apples of gold in pictures of silver. This is beautiful.
How about art? I’m not an art critic nor an artist, but good art is a good story beautifully told. If you look at a painting, it oftentimes tells a story. It is not just a beautiful image; it is communicating something. I love Western Art. If you look in Wall Drug Store in South Dakota, they have this massive collection of Western Art. I love looking at those paintings. Oftentimes you can see a story being told. Oftentimes it is told subtly by the details in the painting. These artists can beautifully tell a story by their art. In like manner, the right word is a beautiful thing.
What does it mean to say the right word, a word that is fit? It means the right thing. I remember years ago, back when phones were attached to the house, my mom taught me to answer the phone by saying, “Hello, this is Wil speaking. May I help you?” I also was taught to say, “Thank you for the food. May I be excused,” when I was done with dinner. These are good phrases, but I sometimes got them confused. Once my aunt called and I answered the phone by saying, “Thank you for the food. May I be excused.” It was a good thing, but it wasn’t the right thing.
Verse 14 says, “Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.” You see a big storm cloud, but nothing ever comes from it. You see a person who is a blowhard, who blows like the wind, but nothing ever comes of it. It is the wrong thing. You can’t rely upon it.
Verse 18 says, “A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.” So, to be the right thing what you are saying must be true. We hear it said that sometimes the truth hurts, but it is falsehood that is a maul, a sword, and a sharp arrow. It is falsehood that is a hurt. So many times we listen to gossip when what we need is something good and true. So, a fit word is saying the right thing.
It is saying the right thing to the right person. Verse 9 says, “Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another.” So, that is saying the right thing to the right person. Have you ever been talking to a friend or someone you don’t know well and you are so accustomed to telling your wife, for instance, when you hang up the phone, “I love you,” that you automatically say that to some person you didn’t intent to. Maybe you do love your friend or acquaintance, but it is not something you would say in closing on the phone. It was toward the wrong person at that time.
So, a word fitly spoken is the right thing to the right person at the right time. Verse 13 says, “As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.” You may be working in the garden or mowing your grass in mid-July and someone brings you a tall glass of ice water with lemon. That is refreshing. It is hot outside and cool inside the glass. It is the right time and the right person.
Verse 20 says, “As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather…so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart.” Saying the wrong thing is like taking away someone’s garment when it is cold outside. It is the wrong time. Verse 25 says, “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” That is saying the right thing at the right time. Proverbs 15:23 says essentially the same thing, “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” So, we don’t want to waste the right words at the wrong time with the wrong person. We want the right person and the right time.
We also want to say it in the right way. Suppose I tell my wife, “You look good today.” What does that mean? It depends on the way it is said. I could say, “You look good today.” I may be responding to her telling me how badly I look. “I just didn’t get any sleep, but you look good today.” Or if I say, “You look good today,” I may be responding to her telling me how she feels. I am saying, “You may not feel well, but you look good today.” Or if I say, “You look good today” it may mean, “You looked bad, but now you look good.” If I say, “You look good today,” what do I mean? I might be saying, “You usually don’t look good, but you do today.” My point is that saying things in the right way is very important. It shapes our communication.
It occurs to me that good preaching and writing, which are not natural, are the discipline of right thoughts. It is not a matter of big words, but of clear thinking. Garbage in, garbage out. Good in, good out. That is why Proverbs should be a good part of your life because it gives God’s practical instruction for your mind. If you think right, that will pop out when you don’t even intend it. The same is true of things that are bad. So, put the right thing in so the right thing will come out. The right word is a beautiful thing.