Proverbs 15:2
"The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly." Proverbs 15:2 (BSB)
Observations
Once again, this couplet says the same thing twice: once positively, once negatively. There is rarely a middle ground in the Proverbs; they discuss wisdom and folly, never the "acceptable word" or the "neutral action". This proverb has our speech in view (again). The two sides of the couplet do not precisely mirror each other, that would read "The tongue of the wise speaks knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly." This asymmetry highlights a difference between the wise person and the fool. The fool does not know he is spouting folly, he thinks he is spouting wisdom! But the wise do not spout knowledge. They know to avoid the danger of "believing your own hype", so rather than trying to serve up knowledge, they commend knowledge instead. They encourage others to value knowledge. The lesson is similar to the opening chapters of the whole book; wisdom is found in seeking wisdom. Proverbs 15:2 more clearly reveals the foolish corollary of this. The fool thinks (at least consciously) his has already found knowledge/wisdom, so does not value further pursuit of knowledge. Whilst this proverb does not reveal why fools think they have arrived at the final truth, it helps us spot fools (both the fool "out there" and the fool "in here"). The fool "spouts", like an inanimate spring. A spring has not control over when it will spout water, but is determined by it's environment. When the rain comes, it will spout. In the same way, the fool cannot resist blurting out the (so-called) knowledge that has rained down on him.
Christ
Jesus never spouted. He was purposeful and deliberate with his words. He would often veil his meaning to invite the hearer deeper (see Mark's Gospel). By speaking in parables and aphorisms, he commended knowledge. That is, by using parables he required his hearers to reflect, study and discuss his words: thus coaching them in the pursuit of knowledge. We might be tempted to get annoyed at Jesus: why don't you just speak plainly so we could all understand?! But he knew that wisdom is found in pursuing knowledge, not in passively recieving information spouted by another.
Application
Let us listen to the wise by hunting wisdom. Let us value the truth by remembering we never know it in full. If we hear someone simply giving "hot takes", without inviting thoughtful consideration then we can be sure we are listening to a fool (fools are not in short supply, especially on the internet). When we are tempted to "spout", let's remember Jesus, who never blurred out his opinion. Instead, we can slow down, trusting God to guide us all into truth, and consider how to commend knowledge instead.