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.