Proverbs 15 : 7 Do I winnow my words?

I know you may have looked at the title and said "Huh? What is she talking about?"  I'll try to explain.

Pro 15:7  The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.

At first glance, this verse seems to kinda go against one that we studied recently . . . In verse 33 of chapter 14, we read: Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.

You might recall that we talked about how the foolish person will go to great lengths, do everything in his or her power to find ways to bring the conversation around to what they want to talk about, or boast about. We discussed that the wise person will many times hold their knowledge "close to the vest," or at least not be over-eager to display what they know.  Well, this verse seems to be telling us to disperse or share our knowledge --- Hey, Solomon, what gives?

One of the synonyms that I found when I clicked on "disperse" was to "winnow." That brings to mind the tossing of the harvested grain into the air in ancient times --- the chaff, or useless portion, would be carried away on the wind, while the useful portion of the grain would fall to the ground to be gathered up and used. Perhaps what Solomon is telling us, is that we need to be guided by humility and prudence, and share our knowledge in a reasonable and measured manner.  To be certain when we share, that it is the useful grain, not the chaff --- something that will bless, and will edify or comfort the hearer.


It made me think about whether or not I "winnow" my words . . . am I careful to choose the grain? Or am I distributing chaff a great deal of the time?


Lord, please keep your arm around my shoulders, and your hand over my mouth.  :)