Silence is [not] Golden

So here’s the deal: I am a talker. Born and bred to ramble on for longer than most people can keep up with. Losing interest already? Well  – it’s ‘cause I’m a babbler! Right, so now that you know that, you might understand why my last entry was a billion words long (all of which were necessary, of course) and you can probably guess that I’ve been told – more than once – to keep quiet by most people who get an over-dose of my melodic voice. Of course, family and friends do grow tired of those two words and over time have become more creative and rather than just telling me to “ssshhh”, they’ve shut me down with age-old sayings:

“Children are to be seen and not heard.” (Great, I’ll pass that on to the children)

“The emptiest vessel makes the loudest noise.” (I’m not empty, dearest.)

“Silence is golden.” (Well, ladies and gentlemen... Noise – on the other hand – is platinum.)

 OK no, you can’t turn around and actually say that (it really doesn’t go down well and it’s quite disrespectful), but you can apply it to your spiritual life:

“Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! Sing about the glory of His name! Tell the world how glorious He is.” – Psalm 66:1-2; NLT

For those of you who don’t know, platinum is quite valuable – it surpasses gold in value and has many different uses! It’s durable and pretty and it’s never out of fashion. But it’s also unnoticeable: if you ask me, I’ve never really been able to tell the difference between silver and platinum, which really makes spending a lot of money on platinum seem really silly when the same thing (I’m really referring to jewellery here) could have cost a quarter of the price if it was silver. But that doesn’t change the fact that its value is still higher. So why is it that, like a piece of really valuable platinum, we choose blend into the background. We have so many uses; so much value and potential; yet we just take the camouflage route! I’ll say it again: Noise is platinum. Therefore, Noise is valuable. Noise has many uses. Noise is not always bad! We should be shouting for joy! Not because we feel obliged to do so, but rather because we are compelled! As though we can’t contain ourselves! I mean really, we’re loved – unconditionally – by Someone so powerful, Someone who doesn’t even need us and yet, we’re quiet about it, as though it’s no big deal!

I’m sure some of you have been in love? You’ve just wanted to climb a mountain and let the whole world know?! Shouldn’t it be like that with God? Shouldn’t we be so in love, so sold-out and so head-over that we can’t contain it?!I say: Yes. Of course it should be like that! And it should undoubtedly be done with joy!

“My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you – I, whom you have redeemed.” Psalm 71:23

“Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice O earth; burst into song, O mountains!” – Isaiah 49:13

Shouting can be worth so much more than a whisper! Yes, it’s a big challenge... I’ll second that a hundred times! But I’m encouraging you to Take Courage and give a shout out to the One who deserves it! Sure – I’ve got to take my own advice too, but that shouldn’t stop you. Let’s shout for joy! We’ve been saved; we’re loved unconditionally!  

Shout it out!