“Saying nothing sometimes says the most….”
(Emily Dickinson)
“Silence is the True friend that never betrays….”
(Confucius)
“Better to keep Your mouth shut and appear stupid
than to open it and remove all doubt....”
than to open it and remove all doubt....”
(Mark Twain)
Well over a decade ago, i was asked to apply for a church’s worship leader position. i didn’t get the job, and i’m pretty sure i know why…
To start, my friends (and enemies – but, in general, just anyone who knows me fairly well) have always described me as “very intense.” So, i tend to wear on people really quickly. People either tend to get annoyed by me or addicted to me in fast order. Also, that intensity tends to scare people, because they aren’t used to Living (as we discussed earlier this week), they are simply used to existing. To eat something rich bothers them, and to embrace Life and Live it with all the zest and gusto and passion they can must is just beyond their comfort zone. Hence, they “stall out” and coast through most of it. i don’t want that to be said of me…
So, back to the church position…
This church was a somewhat progressive church (or at least they fancied themselves that way), but they wanted a worship leader who could really push the envelope (thus, my name was given to them and they asked me to apply). One of the questions on the questionnaire was, “What are some elements of postmodern, contemporary worship that You think are not embraced in churches, and how could they be used?”
After i quit laughing, i formulated my response. It included about 7 to 10 different things, as i recall, and one of them was “Silence.” i wrote about how churches are afraid of silence – completely and utterly scared to death. Silence makes church leaders turn into little girls screaming as they run away from the monsters in their closet….
Needless to say, i didn’t get the job. While it may not have been completely about that one response, that was certainly a huge factor. i can just imagine the responses of the readers on the search committee saying to themselves and then to each other, “my god, why would anyone want to be quiet – especially in church?”
Well, and therein lies the problem, huh? Our inability to be quiet is killing us. From congresspeople shouting “You lie!” in a State of the Union speech to college kids rambling endlessly on a 20 page term paper and saying nothing to the incessant droning of a nagging spouse (of either sex – Yes, guys, we do it, too) to the belligerent ravings of extremists to the bullshitting of any reality TV show or the local guy at the bar, we can’t tolerate silence. We have no capacity for it anymore, and – worse – we have no thirst for it….
But silence is golden as they say. To be quiet is often to be still, and still is good. Quiet & still is how successful hunters stalk prey. Still is where You know that He is God. Quiet & still is when babies sleep. Quiet & still is when You can hear all the things masked by noise and movement and friction and collision.
One of my favorite all-time songs is Learn To Be Still by The Eagles. Here are the absolutely masterful lyrics:
It's just another day in paradise as You stumble to Your bed
You'd give anything to silence those voices ringing in Your head
You thought You could find happiness just over that green hill
You thought You would be satisfied, but You never will learn to be still
You'd give anything to silence those voices ringing in Your head
You thought You could find happiness just over that green hill
You thought You would be satisfied, but You never will learn to be still
We are like sheep without a shepherd – We don't know how to be alone
So we wander 'round this desert, and wind up following the wrong gods home
But the flock cries out for another, and they keep answering that bell
And one more starry-eyed messiah meets a violent farewell – Learn to be still
So we wander 'round this desert, and wind up following the wrong gods home
But the flock cries out for another, and they keep answering that bell
And one more starry-eyed messiah meets a violent farewell – Learn to be still
Now the flowers in Your garden – They don't smell so sweet
Maybe You've forgotten the heaven lying at Your feet
Maybe You've forgotten the heaven lying at Your feet
There are so many contradictions in all these messages we send
i keep asking, “How do i get out of here? Where do i fit in?”
Though the world is torn & shaken – Even if Your heart is breakin'
It's waiting for You to awaken, and someday You will learn to be still
i keep asking, “How do i get out of here? Where do i fit in?”
Though the world is torn & shaken – Even if Your heart is breakin'
It's waiting for You to awaken, and someday You will learn to be still
You just keep on runnin'...Keep on runnin'
Today, maybe try to reduce the noise pollution in Your Life a bit and instead embrace the quiet. Try a little silence at breakfast punctuated with short “Thank You, God”s or a quiet lunch attenuated by reflections of good times – maybe even noisy times – with friends in college or let a quiet hush settle on You in the easy chair tonight as You contemplate how bright the future is if the people who Love You can somehow be assuaged from cheap turnings and just continue to make Your Life way more than You deserve it to be….
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