Photo by Maria Krisanova on Unsplash
When do you think the following was written?
Teachers speak to students for six, twelve, eighteen, and sometimes twenty-four years. But the students often emerge from the experience with the feeling, “They were just words.” Preachers preach their sermons week after week and year after year. But their parishioners remain the same and often think, “They are just words.” Politicians, businessmen, ayatollahs, and popes give speeches and make statements ‘in season and out of season,’ but those who listen say, “They are just words… just another distraction.”
The result is that the main function of the word, which is communication, is no longer released. The word no longer communicates, no longer fosters communion, no longer creates community, and therefore no longer gives life. The word no longer offers trustworthy ground on which people can meet each other and build society.
This isn’t an excerpt from a recently published Amazon best seller. Theologian Henri Nouwen wrote this 40 years ago in his book, The Way of the Heart. It’s incredible that it applies today more than ever.
We live in a society that’s over saturated with words. Wherever we go, words surround us. We are inundated by email, the internet, radio, news outlets, YouTube, Netflix, billboards, and notifications on our smart devices. They say, “Read me, listen to me, buy me, touch me, use me, drink me, consume me. On and on words attempt to direct every aspect of our beings. Even the marketing industry has realized it's harder and harder to get and keep people's attention.
I have a popular Farsi Christian TV show that has been broadcast into Iran for the last four years. Every once in a while, each show might have received a few comments or “Likes.” But, a few days ago, for the first time, one of my video posts on Instagram received 1,000 “Likes.” Do you know why? Because we only used a 30-second excerpt of a 30-minute show. My viewers want less words. Yet, this has created a dilemma.
Many people, especially young people who were born into this word-saturated world, have no problem spewing out their own words. But expect less words from others.
As followers of Jesus, how do you deal with a society that doesn’t want to hear your words, but still wants you to hear theirs? A society that says, “More words for me to throw at others, but less words from you to listen to.”
The answer is silence.
After all, if the Jesus follower believes it is the Holy Spirit that brings one to repentance/ changing of ways, then he/she should not feel obligated to respond to every word with more words. So, instead, let us be silent and listen.
Have you noticed how your thoughts wander as someone is talking to you? You often think about what you’re going to say next, which prevents you from giving the person your full attention. However, when you show people your thoughtfulness in silence, you gain their respect.
Silence is a sign of respect because you’re letting the speaker know that what he/she is saying is worth listening to. Once you gain respect, people will be more willing to listen to you. Silence is a sign of intelligence because, “He who restrains his words has knowledge…” (Prov. 17:27). It's also a sign of power because by being silent you’re allowing the all-powerful Creator to control the situation.
But for most of us, silence is a discipline we need to learn. It's something we can only master through daily practice. How do you think you can practice silence more?
Stay tuned. I have more to say about silence.
