The Wisdom of Silence by Chris White

I got off my plane at the Medford Airport.  I was thoroughly energized by the last six weeks having spent them at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, but it was good to be back home with the family.  It was also good to be away from the sweltering humidity of a Mid-western summer; something that must be experienced to fully understand the graciousness of our local climate.  But what surprised me the most when I got back home was the quiet.  I had grown so accustomed to the 24/7 background hum of Chicago that I no longer heard it anymore.  By comparison, the Rogue Valley was silent and that silence made everything I heard more brilliant by comparison.

The Greeks had a god of silence named Harpocrates.  They "borrowed" him from Egypt after Alexander the Great conquered them.  Harpocrates is the child Horus (an Egyptian god) who has a finger to his lips.   In Egyptian art fingers to the lips symbolize a child, but the Greeks did not understand this and took the gesture to mean "shhhh" or to be silent and thus Harpocrates began his new reign over quietude.  Harpocrates has been well-known since late antiquity and was frequently employed in art as a symbol of the ideals of quiet contemplation and silent prayer.  I recently visited a renaissance era Benedictine monastery and there in the library was a large painting of Harpocrates with his finger to his lips and a Latin phrase that said something to the effect that "wisdom is found in great silence."  It might have actually said "no talking or gum chewing in the library" as I am a bit of a novice in translating Latin to English.  Regardless, there is a wisdom to having zones of silence in this world as the continual babbling and small talk of people rarely puts us in a position to receive that wisdom of God that can only be found by listening.

Hugh Feiss O.S.B. in his book Essential Monastic Wisdom speaks of the Benedictine value of silence.  It is not silence for its own sake, but a purposeful discipline of the mind and tongue that is geared at helping a man or woman grow to be an attentive listener to God, his superiors, and fellow man.  In becoming more apt to listen, there follows other good fruits such as speaking truthfully to one's neighbor and being cautious and more measured as to give no occasion for offense or even gossip and false witness.  When words are fewer, they have greater value.  When someone speaks, they are taken seriously.  I have a valued colleague whom I regularly consult for his insights into business and personnel matters.  When he doesn't weigh in on something I'm talking about, I take that very seriously and will often say to him that his "silence is really quite deafening!"  His words always have value because they are not used commonly or carelessly.

The Bible speaks much about listening and cautiously measuring the use of our words.  One of my favorite verses says "When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent (Prov. 10:19)."  Elsewhere we read "Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding (Prov. 17:27)."  The Godward reason we should measure our words is the Lord says we will have to give an accounting before him for the careless words we have uttered (a sobering reality for a person like me).  Towards our fellow man we need to discipline our words because there is no such thing as unsaying something.  Courtroom lawyers know this quite well and will go ahead and say things and object to things all the while knowing that a judge can tell a jury to disregard something, but the fact remains the thought has already set sail in everyone's mind.  I know from experience and the sacred confessions of people under my spiritual care, that some of the deepest wounds of the soul come from words spoken carelessly and heartlessly by parents and peers.  Even if those words have been apologized for profusely, they still  have a way of registering permanently.  If we take this to heart and think before we speak we might find many things best left unsaid.

Mother Teresa, a person I have come to profoundly respect, said “In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.”   The biggest part of really finding the Lord's presence is humility and one of its greatest demonstrations is realizing what we have to say isn't anywhere near as important as what He has to say.  Do we really think God doesn't know our needs, fears, frustrations and longings?  Faith tells us to pray (which is ostensibly talking to God) but faith also tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord.  Surely the wisdom of silence gives place for both.

Andrew Murray, Oswald Chambers, and the Authors Behind Their Writings by Chris White

Andrew Murray

Although it’s been 78 years since its initial release, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers remains in the top-ten bestseller list of Christian devotional books.  Add this to the legion of fans who follow the dedicated Facebook page, You Tube features and other social media that are all based on this book, and you get a small picture of the total impact of this book on the spiritual lives of millions.  What is surprising to most people is that while Oswald Chambers is certainly the mind behind the book (if we don’t account for the Holy Spirit’s influence), he never wrote a page of it.  Oswald was a gifted preacher and teacher and known for his great spiritual insights from the Bible.  During World War I he sensed the call of the Holy Spirit and the call of duty to become a YMCA chaplain to his fellow British soldiers stationed in Cairo Egypt.  Although his efforts were scoffed at by the military establishment when he started, his ministry gained a lot of traction with the soldiers and eventually the respect of the local command.  Unfortunately, Oswald Chambers died suddenly at age 43 while in Cairo because of complications related to an emergency appendectomy.  During his lifetime he did have a few books in print but Utmost was published by his wife 18 years after his death.  In God’s providence,    What is really remarkable was that Biddy was so fast she could record nearly 250 words per minute which is 100 more than most people can speak in that space of time.  Chamber’s wife was able to record for posterity most of her husband’s sermons which in turn was the wealth of material she was able to mine to produce this beloved devotional.  Biddy lived until 1966 when their only daughter Kathleen took over Oswald Chambers publishing until her death in 1997.  Both women blessed the body of Christ throughout the world with their labor of love.  Utmost for His Highest is available in print and electronic versions in 39 languages today.

Oswald Chambers

Oswald Chambers married Gertrude “Biddy” Hobbs who just happened to be a shorthand stenographer.

Another author we might never have known today except for the efforts of his wife was Andrew Murray.  Murray has 240 published works most of which are still in print today.  Probably the most beloved of his works are Abide in Christ, Absolute Surrender, and Humility all of which have become devotional classics.  Like Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray was known as a great preacher and teacher and although he lived and ministered in South Africa during the 19^th century (which was hardly the center of human civilization at the time), he was in demand as a platform speaker in Britain and America as well.  His huge parish and daunting responsibilities conspired to keep him exhausted and often feeling underprepared to preach which he did often several times a day.  Unlike Oswald Chambers, Murray did live a long life (86 years) and did actually write some of his material, but it was at the insistence of his cultured and highly literate bride Emma that Andrew Murray began his writing career.  What’s more, you might say it was a little sibling rivalry that got this dimension of ministry started.  Andrew had an older brother John who was also a preacher and teacher (he and Andrew went to seminary together).  John had written several books and they were becoming quite popular and selling well.  When Emma saw this, she insisted her husband write for she considered him to be far more insightful (if not intelligent) than his older brother.  Andrew had been weakened from nervous exhaustion in the early years of his ministry and found it difficult to write (all books were in long-hand at the time) and so his wife Emma would help him with the writing and served as an editor and literary consultant of sorts.  Without the help and encouragement of his wife, most of us today would probably have never heard of Andrew Murray much less have been enriched by his devotional books.  Through the efforts of Biddy Chambers and Emma Murray, if I might paraphrase Hebrews 11:4, “though dead, by faith their husbands still speak today” and do so with great spiritual clarity.