Please explain the proverb: “The wise accumulate knowledge, but the mouth of fools is near destruction” (Proverbs 10:14).

“If you have too many questions, you may not have friends,” says 6-year-old Myles.

Yes, sometimes it is better not to know than to ask the wrong question. My friend Donna remembers the time she asked a classmate from college, “Are you pregnant?” The pause after her classmate said “No” she was actually pregnant.

“If someone is talking while you are talking, you should tell them to shut up,” says 6-year-old Jonas.

If you are a judge with a mallet in hand, this might be appropriate. But it is doubtful that King Solomon had this in mind when he wrote the proverb.

“When someone knows something, if he is wise, he does not chatter about it,” says 6-year-old Conor. “A fool talks about everything and everyone will know it like the hidden key to a house.”

To pass on secrets, you can buy TV time or tell a fool about it. Just because you know something doesn’t mean you have to tell anyone who wants to hear it.

“This means that a wise man acts wisely and maintains his wisdom until the right time,” says Tommy, whose age is unknown.

Another proverb says, “A word well spoken is like apples of gold set with silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

I once stayed with some friends at their Mississippi mansion, which reminded me of the prewar houses seen in Gone with the Wind. Every room was perfect.

This is the sense that a well-spoken word is like apples of gold set in silver. Our words must be appropriate and beautifully coordinated for the occasion.

“A foolish person can ruin something by counting all the private things, but a wise person would keep all the private things to himself,” says 7-year-old Houston.

Try asking yourself the following question when the topic of conversation is directed to someone who is not present: Would you say the same if the absent person were present? This question would radically alter many conversations.

“Wise people think before they speak and reckless people speak without thinking,” says 8-year-old Karmen.

The Book of James has often been considered New Testament Proverbs. It also contains many wise sayings about tongue control, such as: “Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19).

Applying this wisdom could transform our personal relationships and even world affairs. Increasing our enthusiasm to listen is the first step in lengthening the wick of our anger. The mouth is not running when the ears are hooked.

“A foolish person shouldn’t tell someone all the secrets someone told him,” says Abby, 6. “A wise person keeps secrets and does the good things that God asks him to do.”

Change that to “any secret” instead of not telling all the secrets, and you have a winner, Abby. One of America’s most famous defense attorneys is President Herbert J. Miller, Jr., Richard Nixon, and the Senator. Edward Kennedy are among his former clients. I once asked Miller, “What is the most important advice you give a client when you hire him?”

“Keep your mouth shut,” he said.

In addition to this succinct advice, Miller could have added Proverbs 6: 2: “You are trapped by the words of your mouth; you are trapped by the words of your mouth.”

Think about this: sometimes silence is really golden. Other times, the appropriate words are golden like golden apples in a silver setting. If we had to choose our words as carefully as we coordinate the furniture in our homes, our interior environment would be transformed.

Memorize this truth: “The wise gather knowledge, but the mouth of fools is near destruction” (Proverbs 10:14).

Ask this question: Is your ear faster than your tongue?