Whenever I get an email or someone says something to me I feel a need to respond. A thoughtful response is sometimes the right thing to do and sometimes it is not. Silence is a Response.

Silence can be a good thing or bad thing. The Christian Church silence to Hitler’s war gave them creditability. A few did break the silence and suffered for it.

When someone insults or demeanizes you it is best often to take it in silence. A response, or even worse a reaction, often gives the insult more creditability. In this case silence speaks louder than words.

I have praised silence but often violated it. Asking myself why, I found myself thinking how difficult it is to keep silence in a noisy world. When someone offends you with words it seems normal to defend oneself in words. But silence is more natural and effective, although it does hurt.

When I was a young sale person going from business to business with my product in a town in Wisconsin I was greeted by one business owner with screams of anger and much profanity. I just stood there in silence as he went on and on. Finally he caught himself, noticed other customers were watching him and felt embarrassed for his treatment of me which I met with silence. Eventually we talked and he ended up purchasing my product.

When we are praying at Marquette University for peace and to stop military training on campus, people walked by giving us insults or sometimes the finger. I was tempted to speak up and sometimes did. But I feel I am more effective in that situation when I am silent and continue to pray.

People are quick to respond to your response but give them a dose of silence and they are lost. Silence is a Response.

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