17 An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.
18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
19 Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
20 Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.
but those who promote peace have joy.
21 No harm overtakes the righteous,
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.
22 The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
23 The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,
but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.
but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.
My dad used to tell me to always be honest; to tell the truth when asked, but that it wasn't necessary to tell everything I know. This was usually after, as a child will, I had shared something embarrassing.
Truth and wisdom are commonly intertwined in scripture. The search for truth and knowledge is a noble thing in fact. Solomon wrote about it extensively, then concluded: "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body" (Ecc. 12:12b). In context, that statement is a caution to heed the words of the wise and not add useless extra thinking to it. We seem to do that a lot, particularly in theological circles. Don't misinterpret me here, I love theology and the mental prodding and goading (as in the context of the aforementioned statement); however, over-thinking (the writing of many books) is a failing of theologians; which has led to many a divisive argument (which is one of the fruits of the flesh mentioned by the apostle Paul).
The Apostle Paul also cautions us toward "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15), which, again taken in context, comes from understanding the teachings of scripture and not being taken in by every wind of doctrinal division that blows our way. I do not mean to say that understanding of Biblical doctrine is useless, not by any means; on the contrary: the understanding of Biblical doctrine is of utmost necessity. It is the application and dissemination of extra-biblical discussion and thinking that leads us down the dangerous path toward division.
So, getting back to the original text, truth is a wonderful thing, and the pursuit of the knowledge of truth is excellent and admirable. When we seek out truth and speak it in love, we pursue the epitome of the use of knowledge. Knowledge without understanding is useless, so it is good to study the scripture, and even look at the writings of others to help us understand better what the scriptures tell us. So it's really an endless cycle of study, but if we do not apply ourselves to the study of the Bible, we will have no foundation and no anchor to hold on to when we are confronted with ideas that may fall outside the teachings of the scripture.
While Jesus was on trial, Pilate asked Him; "What is truth?" The irony of that is, he was looking the Truth in the eye. In many ways we do much the same. We search so heavily for truth, poring over scripture and commentaries and the thoughts of men on what the scriptures really mean, we lose track of the very truth staring us right in the face.
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