It is rare that I published two blog posts on the same day, but after I just now published a blog post titled, “The Power of a Quiet Spirit,” on my second blog, “Reflections,” I realized I’m not quite done with the topic of silence.
In the past I have published blog posts on the topic of silence starting back on November 5, 2012, with a post titled, “When Silence in Golden,” and following up on June 29, 2013, with a post titled, “When Silence is Not Golden.” Later, I published a post on August 2, 2019, titled, “The Sound of Silence,” followed by a post published on April 3, 2020, titled, “The Power of Silence.” And I published a post on February 23, 2018, titled, “Is God Ever Silent?” All of these posts are on my main blog.
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph on the post I just published on my second blog, I saw a commercial on TV the other day advertising a new Kia, and at the end of the commercial were these three words–“Silence is Powerful.” As I was thinking about this phrase, I realized that–like anything else–silence can be used for good and for evil. For example, nonverbal communication is done silently, and it can convey a positive message or a negative message or even an indifferent message, and it comprises up to 93% of all communication. (A brief discussion on the topic of nonverbal communication continues on that blog post.)
Most social media, text messaging, emails, memes, icons, gifs, etc., even AI are all means of non-sound communication (as in being essentially read and silent unless voice or music or other sounds are added to them) and they are part of nonverbal communication. So one can easily see how nonverbal communication makes up almost 93% of all communication.
As I was putting together that earlier blog post today, I came across an article published on April 1, 2016, titled, “Knowing When to Speak and When to Be Silent,” by Meredith Hodge, freelance writer and editor. She opens her article with the following statement:
Welcome to the new millennium, when we are provided constant opportunities online to voice our opinions and slay any opposition. But what happens when our beliefs and opinions are challenged? We prepare for defense, we prepare for verbal retaliation. And when we do this, we ultimately disregard Christ’s commandment to love one another.
As believers, we are put in a position to influence those around us. The power of our words can be used to build up or tear down. Ecclesiastes 3:7 tells us that there is a time to keep silent and a time to speak. But when? How?
To discern the difference between knowing when to speak or be silent, we need to humbly seek the Lord through prayer, immerse ourselves in Scripture, and ask for his wisdom and discernment. (Quote source here.)
Her article addresses the “when” and “how” to keep silent or to speak. Below are some of the suggestions from her article:
Silence is best in moments of anger. When we are angry, there’s a high likelihood that our words will not be produced by the Holy Spirit. James 1:19 instructs us: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Similarly, “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit” (1 Peter 3:10).
Scripture tells us that silence can help us avoid sinning (Proverbs 10:19), gain respect (Proverbs 11:12), and is deemed wise and intelligent (Proverbs 17:28). In other words, you may be blessed by holding your tongue….
Fear, lack of self-confidence, and anxiety can tempt us to keep our mouths shut when we need to boldly speak truth in love. But walking with the Lord means we must give justice to the weak and fatherless (Psalm 82:3), correct oppression, utter wisdom (Psalm 37:30), and plead the widow’s cause (Isaiah 1:17). When we take a cowardly, quiet backseat to injustice, we are doing more harm than good in our silence….
…1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to “give an answer to those who ask,” to do it with gentleness and respect, and to keep a clear conscience. Colossians 4:6 instructs us: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Our goal is “to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:2).
And what do we speak of? We are to speak truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and put away falsehood (Ephesians 4:25). We are to speak the truth in Christ and not lie (Romans 9:1). And when we speak in godly clarity and truth, we are teaching and admonishing one another with wisdom (Colossians 3:16)….
James 4:11 tells us: “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. The one who speaks against a brother or a sister or judges his them, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.”
Keeping from slander, gossip, deceit, evil, perversity, quarreling, and lying sounds like a long list of obvious commands. But we must know that our words can feel like sword thrusts (Proverbs 12:18), sharp razors (Psalm 52:2), and fire (James 3:5). They can break a person’s spirit (Proverbs 15:4) and destroy our neighbor (Proverbs 11:9) – so if our intention is not to build one another up and give grace to those who are listening (Ephesians 4:29), we should control our tongues…. (Quote source and her entire article are available at this link.)
That’s a lot to remember, but it makes it a bit easier to remember if we do not say or do anything to anyone that we would not want to be said or done back to us. That is a good place to start when tempers flare up, and especially now since another presidential election campaign is underway through to Election Day in November 2024, and after, too.
In answer to the question, “What does it mean that there is a time to be silent and a time to speak (Eccl. 3:7)?” GotQuestions.org provides the following answer:
In Ecclesiastes 3:1–8, King Solomon affirms that God is sovereignly in control and at work in our individual lives. God has a time and a purpose for everything that happens (Romans 8:28). With “a time to be silent and a time to speak,” Solomon focuses our attention on human speech.
A theme often dealt with in Scripture is the idea of life having appropriate times to be silent and times to speak. In wisdom literature, the fool is portrayed as one who talks too much and always at the wrong time, but the wise person knows when to be silent and when to speak: “The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating. The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives” (Proverbs 18:6–7).
Proverbs 10:19 warns, “When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is prudent” (CSB, see also Psalm 39:1). In severe adversity and evil, “the prudent keep quiet in such times” (Amos 5:13; see also 2 Kings 2:3, 5). “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity,” advises Solomon in Proverbs 21:23. “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues” (Proverbs 17:28).
Jesus exemplified the wisdom of silence when He stood before Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:11–14). To His followers, Jesus said, “You must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you” (Matthew 12:36–37, NLT). For this reason, James taught those who genuinely want to be godly examples in the church to learn to control their tongues (James 3:1–12).
The apostle Paul stressed the importance of letting our “conversation be gracious and attractive so” we might “have the right response for everyone” (Colossians 4:6). The proper word spoken at the right time, “how good it is!” says Proverbs 15:23. Our words contain “the power of life and death,” states Proverbs 18:21. What we say can either save lives or destroy them (Proverbs 12:6).
A time to be silent is sometimes associated with grief and mourning. Often the best comfort to offer a person suffering through a tremendous loss is to sit with him or her in silence. When Job’s three friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they came and sat with him for a week in silence. They recognized that Job’s anguish was too overwhelming for words (Job 2:11–13).
Silence is golden, says the proverbial expression, but there are times when God’s people must speak. The Bible commands us to speak out against injustice (Isaiah 1:17; 10:1–3). Believers are not to keep silent about their faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:17–20; 2 Corinthians 5:18–20; 1 Peter 3:15).
When the Jews faced national annihilation, the brave Queen Esther recognized her God-appointed purpose and time to speak. Her cousin Mordecai urged, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:12–14). Esther obeyed, risking her life to save her people. She knew it was “a time to speak,” and she received God’s abundant blessing.
Solomon’s emphasis on “a time to be silent and a time to speak” ought to remind us that it’s generally wise to keep our mouths shut, let our words be few, and learn to control our tongues (Ecclesiastes 5:2). Still, we must discern when it’s time to speak out on the Lord’s behalf (Isaiah 58:1) for the glory of God (Joshua 6:16; Psalm 34:1; Luke 19:37–40) and the building up of His church (Ephesians 4:29; 5:17–21). (Quote source here.)
I’ll end this post with the words from the Serenity Prayer (the long version) by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971): God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; taking this world as it is and not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and…
Supremely happy with You . . .
Forever in the next.
Amen.
YouTube Video: “Speak Life” by TobyMac:
Sara's Musings 
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