Silence Thunders

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A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. 
Prov. 25:11 NKJV

As a golden apple in a small necklace of sardius stone, thus it is to speak a wise word. 
Prov. 25:13 SAAS (LXX)

I have made a lifelong observational study on what it is to say the right thing at the right time, in the right way.  "A word fitly spoken" has been something of a snipe hunt.  How this became such a quest seems largely the result of contradictions.  From the womb I received, on the one hand, a sensitive nature with which, involuntarily, I readily notice when a self-possessed wise man (or woman) moves through life as though untouched, dispensing golden apples of peace, or of timely goading, or of a blessed aloofness that admonishes without a word.  And on the other hand, I was cursed (also from the womb) with an inability to bring to mind appropriate words in the moment of need.  For it seems that the time required for me to observe and understand a situation exceeds the window of opportunity when the winning word should be dropped.  Moreover, the added time required for me to select vocabulary, syntax and emotional framing, extends me further past the opportune time.

My quest, therefore, was born out of frustration.  See the beauty of timely words!  See the clumsiness of my own!  I wonder, is this similar to a music lover who has no natural (and no developed) ability to sing on pitch?  What must it be like to hear a sublime melody, and then to hear the horrible mismatch of one’s own voice, despite efforts to adjust?!

So, what have I learned?  That, above all, silence matters.

The wrong way, of course, had been my earliest default, speaking unfit words in a fit.  Hearing crooked words (hurtful, false, accusing, incendiary words) caused indignation, giving way to spewing and flailing, in short disqualifying myself from relevance.  To be silent avoids that mistake.  But in the face of ugly words, doesn’t it also risk allowing them to bloom into actual hurt, injustice in fact?  How then can one be silent?  Who will come to the defense if not I? Thus reason fear and uncertainty.  Nevertheless, silence is often the effective response.  It must be backed by substance, and it must be understood that he who has responded in silence is known for an economy of words.

Economy of words.  What on earth is that?  How can one describe it?  It can only be observed, as far as I know.  Suffice it to say, words in the heat of a moment are not timely; well placed words in the aftermath, or comments dropped as that moment yet warms up, these are timely.  And in remaining silent between those words, one's silence must be active, honest, meek, and above all at rest in the bigger story.

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. Prov. 21:1 NKJV

As a flow of water, so is the heart of the king in the hand of God; wherever He wills to incline it, there he turns it. Prov. 21:1 SAAS (LXX)

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