The proverbial saying, “Silence is golden,” has been around for centuries, and remains popular to this day. Well, what does it mean?
It is often used in circumstances where it is thought that saying nothing is preferable to speaking. Then what is the origin of this so widely used proverb? There are reports of versions of it dating back to Ancient Egypt. The first example of it in English is from the poet Thomas Carlyle, who translated the phrase from German in Sartor Resartus, 1831, in which a character expounds at length on the virtues of silence” (phrases.org.uk). According to Dictionary.com, the meaning of it is keeping one’s mouth shut is a great virtue.
The bottom line to this message is that listening can sometimes turn out to be much better than speaking. When we open our mouths, we should “have it all together” so that we will not do damage to someone else’s reputation. Let’s remember to put our minds in action before we loosely engage our lips.
The Word tells us a lot about silence. Let’s take a look at a few of these verses of Scripture from the English Standard Version (ESV):
“It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:26)
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10)
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” (Psalm 62:5)
“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141:3)
“But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)
“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” (Proverbs 29:11)
“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Exodus 14:14)
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…” (James 1:19)
“Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.” (Amos 5:13)
Yes, “Silence is golden.” Anything that is golden is of great value and virtue. All of us have
to know when it is better to speak, but best to be quiet. Every word does not require a response. Here are some things that can take place when we remain silent:
• We will carry our burdens to the Lord instead of man.
• We can hear God speaking to us.
• All of our thoughts are not meant to be told; therefore, we can differentiate between what needs to be said, and what we need to keep to ourselves.
• We avoid hurting others’ feelings.
• We can escape the “rumor mill!”
• We can focus more on that which is positive rather than the negative.
• Our decisions will be wiser.
• Our relationship with Christ will grow.
Just in case you did not know, the proverbial “Silence is golden,” has a longer version of it. “Speech is silver; silence is golden.” However, what we hear more often is the shorter version. Both versions are powerful and speak to our obedience in listening versus speaking.
I leave you this week with an awesome story, “The Power of Silence.” Although the story is secular, it carries a meaning to long be remembered about the virtue of silence.
“Once, a farmer lost his precious watch while working in his barn. It may have appeared as an ordinary watch to others, but he held a deep sentimental value for it. After searching high and low among the hay for a long time, the old farmer got exhausted. The tired farmer did not want to give up the search for his watch and requested a group of children playing outside the barn help. He promised an attractive reward for the person who could find his beloved watch.
“After hearing about the reward, the children hurried inside the barn and went through and around the entire stack of hay to find the watch. After a long time looking for a watch in the hay, some of the children got tired and gave up. The number of children looking for the watch slowly decreased, and only a few tired children were left. The farmer gave up all his hope to find the watch and called off the search.
“Just when the farmer was closing the door, a little boy came up to him and requested the farmer to give him another chance. The farmer did not want to miss any chance of finding the watch, so he let the little boy in the barn.
“After a little while, the boy came out with the watch in his hand. The farmer was happily surprised and asked how the boy succeeded to get the watch while everyone, including him, had failed.
“The boy replied, ‘I just sat there and tried listening to the ticking of the watch. In silence, it was much easier to listen to it and direct the search in the direction of the sound.’ The farmer was delighted to get the watch and rewarded the little boy as promised.
“A peaceful mind can think better than a worked-up mind. Once in a while, allow a few minutes of silence to your mind. Sometimes all you need to do is relax and listen.”
Have a wonderfully blessed week, and never leave home without Him!
(Anna Bright is a minister and educator in Walterboro. She can be reached at abrightcolumn@lowcountry.com)
