Baptist City Blog

The Volume of Silence

Jeremiah 51:59

"The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince."

Years ago I was preaching for a man who had a very quiet personality. He is the type of person who you have to be the one who carries the conversation or else it will be a very quiet time together. He and I were outside talking about something and he needed someone's attention. This person stood about a hundred feet away from us. This preacher called for that person, and the person did not respond because they did not hear him. He called a couple more times with no response. Finally, he raised his voice to the point that when he called for that person it almost sounded as if he yelled out that person's name. He wasn't upset at all, he just understood that they didn't hear him. However, because he raised the volume of his voice to where everyone could hear, it got deathly silent because everyone knew that this preacher rarely raised his voice. His quiet presence was a demanding presence to those who worked for him.

God makes a strange statement about a prince in the verse above when He says, "...And this Seraiah was a quiet prince." It is interesting that God pointed out that this man was a quiet person. When you read the whole chapter, you see that the God pronounced judgment against Babylon. So, to deliver this message to the king, God chose this quiet prince. Why? Because God knew that if this person rarely spoke, that the king would definitely get the message. God did not want the king to have an excuse as to why he wouldn't change. So, God chose a quiet person to deliver the message so that the message would come through with volume.

You must learn that being loud will sometimes bring you to the point where nobody listens to you. Silence speaks volumes. In a world where we see people who are boisterous and loud, it would be good for God's people to learn to carry a silent presence in some areas so that when they speak the volume of them speaking will grab the attention of everyone.

Be quiet concerning your change of associations. There are some who think they need to be the policeman of every Baptist pastor. I have learned that if you don't criticize preachers, that when you make a move many will pay very close attention.

Furthermore, be quiet concerning correction. Be careful about being a parent who is always yelling at your children. These types of parents rarely grab the attention of their children. If you will learn not to constantly yell corrections, when you do correct it will be heard.

Moreover, be quiet concerning your opinion. There are some who think they need to give their opinion about everything. When a person is like this, they are rarely heeded. It is the person who rarely gives their opinion who is listened to when their opinion is given.

Finally, if you will learn to be quiet with a good attitude, you will learn that your silence will speak volumes. Don't be a loud person, instead use your words wisely and sparingly so that when you do speak others will pay attention.