Proverbs are wise sayings passed down in various cultures of the world. There are old Chinese proverbs, American proverbs, etc.; and then there are biblical proverbs, most notably the proverbs of Solomon.

Some examples of American proverbs are: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes one healthy, wealthy and wise.” “You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.” “You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.”

Proverbs that describe general basic rules of conduct are also known as maxims. The “early to bed, early to rise...” proverb is an example of a maxim. The nature of such proverbs is that they are intended to express a general rather than necessarily an absolute truth. The conduct of the proverb/maxim when applied tends to produce the stated results, it not a principle so fixed that there are no exceptions. Like the maxim just noticed, good sleep, rest, and industrious habits generally tends toward health, prosperity and wisdom - but it is known that some midnight oil burners and late risers have turned out healthy, wealthy and wise. And some early to bed and early to rise people did not do so well.

These words might suggest that we would be in utter silence when we talk about nothing. We could be conveying the thought of silence existing with the refraining of talking. On the other hand, we could be addressing our thoughts to talking about the word “nothing” as it might affect our lives and play an integral part in our soul’s salvation. Actually, that is what we have in mind when we suggest that we talk about nothing! Whether we realize it or not, nothing can really mean something that is quite important, and that is what we need to appreciate from our study of the scriptures.