Job 32:7-10; 19-20 (ESV)

I said, ‘Let days speak,

and many years teach wisdom.’

But it is the spirit in man,

the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.

It is not the old who are wise,

nor the aged who understand what is right.

Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;

let me also declare my opinion.’

Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent;

like new wineskins ready to burst.

I must speak, that I may find relief;

I must open my lips and answer.

This is an excellent example of the arrogance of youth. There is a pretense of respect for the aged, even a genuine desire to learn from them, yet there is a compelling need to speak. There is a belief in Elihu that somehow, even in his youth, he has discovered great truth that Job’s friends failed to find or express. I know this arrogance because I see it and have experienced it from young men who have a bit of training, and are convinced that they know what few who went before them understand. They feel they are bursting with wisdom and cannot hold back any longer. They feel they must speak or they will burst. That is the wisdom of youth. I know this arrogance because it was me 40 years ago.

To be fair, I have talked with a great many wise young people. They are humbly learning. They are reasoning, thinking, and wrestling with truth. They recognize that for all they have learned, there is much they do not know. They recognize their own fallibility, and their need to grow. They are doing incredible ministry, and carry a wealth of wisdom already, largely because they are not impressed with themselves.

Solomon said, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom” (Prov 11:2). “By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom” (Prov 13:10). James challenged believers to be, “quick to hear, slow to speak” (Jas 1:19). He went on to write, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue…this person’s religion is worthless” (Jas 1:26). I have observed that youth often feel compelled to speak. Like Elihu in Job 32, they are “bursting” with wisdom that must be expressed. When wisdom and age combine they usually result in a reluctance to speak. There is a slowness and a deliberation to their speech. There is a realization that not everyone wants to hear their wisdom, and that most of their wisdom is probably not as wise as they once thought. There is a realization that they still have much to learn. There is a humility that comes with wisdom combined with age.

My advice to youth? Hold your tongue and listen well. Job was speaking a depth of experience and wisdom that Elihu only thought he understood. Be “quick to hear (and) slow to speak” (Jas 1:19). My advice to the aged? Hold your tongue and listen well. Job’s friends were so locked into their perspective of life that they had forgotten that they still had much to learn. Be “quick to hear (and) slow to speak” (Jas 1:19). These days, when I am bursting with wisdom that I feel compelled to spill all over everyone, I try to remind myself to listen a little longer. I still have much to learn, and much that I do not understand. True wisdom “is patient and kind; (it) does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). True wisdom acts a lot like love.