Inspirational Journal : : Be Still And Know

Be Still And Know

This is the fifth in my series of chapter reviews on Richard Foster’s “Celebration Of Discipline“, this being chapter 7, entitled “Solitude”.

In last week’s review, I mentioned how the chapter on Simplicity reminded me how the opinions of others should not be a major factor in my life. I shouldn’t feel the need to correct someone’s opinions, just because mine differ, nor to justify myself, should someone misinterpret my actions.

In “Solitude”, Foster points out the relationship of solitude to silence:

One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel so helpless. We are so accustomed to relying on words to manage and control others. If we are silent, who will take control? God will take control, but we will never let him take control until we trust him. Silence is intimately related to trust.

Wow. This speaks to me. I’m very good, in fact, at controlling people with words.. It’s a skill that I developed selling software on weekends while in school, it’s a skill I honed for 6 years in a large corporation, playing political, heirarchical wargames, and it’s a skill I rely on at the moment, running a consulting business.

And it’s easy to get carried away

The tongue is our most powerful weapon of manipulation. A frantic stream of words flows from us because we are in a constant process of adjusting our public image. We fear so deeply what we think other people see in us that we talk in order to straighten out their understanding. ..

Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the stopper on all self-justification.

This is something I’ve been learning lately. There are many times, in discussions, disagreements and quiet intimate moments, when silence is far more powerful than speech.