The article you’re reading reveals how silence can communicate purpose more effectively than spoken or written words and how it changed a hardened-hearted and reluctant man into a soft and willing person. May you be inspired as you read.
Once upon a time, a member of a particular church, who had been attending church services regularly, stopped showing up for worship. Some weeks later, the Pastor decided to pay a visit. On getting to his house, he found the man alone in his home, sitting in front of a burning fire. Following his Pastor’s arrival, he greeted him and escorted him to an inviting chair near the fireplace. He sat opposite his Pastor and waited for him to finish what he had to say and go.
However, to his surprise, the Pastor came into the house and sat but said nothing to him. Instead, in a peaceful calm, he pondered the dance of flames around the blazing logs in the fireplace.
After a few minutes, the Pastor approached the fireplace with the fire tongs and carefully picked up a brilliantly glowing ember, placing it to one side of the hearth by himself. His next move was to sit back in his chair, still completely silent. The host observed all of this in peaceful contemplation, wondering what his Pastor’s aim could be.
As the lone ember’s flame flickered and faded, there was a brief flash of light before the ember’s flame was extinguished permanently. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to become cold and lifeless.
When the Pastor looked at his watch and realized it was time to return home, he slowly rose to his feet, picked up the cold, dead ember, and carefully placed it back in the centre of the fireplace. It immediately began to shine again, this time with the light and warmth emanating from the blazing embers around it.
As the Pastor approached the exit door, his host remarked with a tear streaming down his cheek, “thank you so much for coming, and especially for the quiet but rousing sermon you delivered. I’ll be back in church the following Sunday.”
Indeed, a counselor or preacher can communicate his intention through various means, but word of mouth is the most popular. However, as a counselor and preacher, I realized that sometimes the best approach to transmit our message to the people is through silence, particularly when dealing with a delicate issue.
For example, when the Scribes and the Pharisees asked Jesus Christ about His opinion on the woman caught in the act of adultery, He wouldn’t respond to them immediately. Instead, he kept quiet for a few minutes and then answered them that whoever is sinless among them should cast the first stone (John 8:3–9). It was amazing that the woman’s accusers left one after the other. Thus, silence or brief words might communicate intention more effectively far better than many words in some sensitive situations. Also, our actions as leaders touch people’s life far more than what we say.
The usual saying that action speaks louder than voice is ever true. Sometimes loving and quiet gestures can change people faster than a volume of spoken or written words. For example, a depressed, discouraged, or angry man has no time to listen to what you have to say because he can read your mind and guess your preaching and what your intentions are. In that circumstance, the wise thing to do is to ponder deeply and ask the Holy Spirit to show you a simple thing you can do to distract his attention like the Pastor above.
The story applies to everyone, but it is more relevant to individuals in charge of service to the people, either in a religious setting or secular. Written or spoken sermons are good, but they are useless when misapplied. Therefore, we should all learn to know when to talk and when to keep quiet because, in some situations, silence is more effective in communicating our aim than words of mouth.
Thanks for reading, God bless you.
Felix Adeoye.
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