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The Bible praises the virtue of silence. Proverbs tell us that “where words are many transgression is not lacking, but the one who restrains his lips is prudent” (Proverbs 10:19. And “even a fool, if he keeps silent, is considered wise” (Proverbs 17:28). In the New Testament, James goes as far as to say “if anyone does not fall short in speech, that person is a perfect individual” (James 3:2).

Jesus also gave a strong warning about our speech. He declared that “on the Day of Judgment people will have to give an account for every idle word they have spoken. For by your words you will be saved, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36).

C.S. Lewis in the Screwtape Letters puts words in the mouth of the Devil to show that noise is the friend of the Devil. He states: “Music and silence-how I detest them both! How thankful we should be that ever since our father (that is Lucifer) entered hell, no square inch of infernal space and no amount of infernal time has been surrendered to either of those abominable forces, but has been occupied by, Noise-Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exalted, ruthless and virile – Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end. We have already made great strides in this direction as regards the earth. The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shut down in the end”. (2)

The practice of silence does not mean that we have to be constantly quiet and never say anything. At times silence is destructive and painful, for example when we give someone ‘the silent treatment’. To practice the discipline of silence, we must know when to speak, to whom to speak, and the right way to speak

The apostle Paul stated we must speak only about “whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is gracious, and anything worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). The Psalmist states: “whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies” (Psalm 34:12-13).

Since the primary purpose of silence is to help us grow in the love and knowledge of Christ, we must be selective in our conversations and sometimes sacrifice our desire to speak especially if our words are hurtful or destructive.

It is also important to practice silence when we are speaking to others. We do this when we listen to someone. James writes “Let everyone be quick to hear and slow to speak” (James 1:19).