"Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince."
Proverbs 17:7
“Excellent speech becometh not a fool:”
No one expects a fool to have anything good to say or to be well spoken when he talks. The word translated “fool” here is only used three times in Proverbs, and each time it has to do with a rude, boorish, curt person,1 the kind of man who really does not care what comes out of his mouth. From this person there is never an expectation of any sort of good talk, nothing is expected other than their improper, poor speech. We never expect a person of low moral character to have good speech. The expression of the fool is indicative of his weak character.
While we do not have high expectations for what a fool will say, we do think differently of the wise man. We never expect a wise man to speak like a fool, nor a fool to sound like a wise man. This same principle is true of believers. You don’t expect a lost man to sound like a child of God, and we don’t expect a child of God to sound like a lost man. Why? Because they are of different characters, and the Christian should sound like his Savior. When God saves a man, that man begins to change from the inside out, becoming more and more like his Heavenly Father. A child of the King should sound like he is related to the King.
“Much less do lying lips a prince.”
What is the expectation between the character of the prince and his speech? He is a child of his father, and he is expected to act like a royal. His speech should not sound like he was raised in the gutter but in the palace. It matters how he talks. “Lying lips” are un-princely. If the prince is a liar, he will make a terrible king.
“It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness. Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right,” (Proverbs 16:12-13).
Believers, we need to remember who our Father is and speak like Him.
1. This Hebrew word for “fool” is nabal.