Silence

Sometimes, silence is the best answer.

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. Proverbs 26:4   

A secular and Biblical proverbs speak the same thing in principle. These days I have been experiencing the power and wisdom of silence. In many cases, silence is the best answer.

A certain unknown person has been trying to contact me over WhatsApp. His texts were abusive to the faith I hold dearly, my Christian faith. He wanted me to put up a verbal fight with him over who is the true God, Jesus Christ, or his mysterious host of deities. I know the answer for sure with experiential proof. But the way he wanted to put a fight or debate over God did not sound good to me. Initially, I read some of his abusive text messages. And once I asked him to identify himself, at least his name, he replied to me with a sarcastic text, "I am a son of God." Then I replied back, "Blessed are you if that was true." After that, I realized there was no need to even read his messages anymore. Though he kept messaging me which I did not read it, and he also knew that I did not read it. Then he tried different phone numbers to text be abusive messages concerning my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I knew the content as I could read the first line even without actually opening the message.it is foolish to reply to fools. So the best way to reply to him is not to reply to him at all, not even bother to read his message. Silence is the best answer for such. 

Another sister who has been an acquaintance of me and my family for a good number of years began speaking negative things about the faith I hold dearly in my Christian life and church life. Some messages sent to her, she would twist it and throw back a question instead. The message meant to supply life, she turned it to be a sarcastic question.  And everything she had to say about the saints or the church life is all negative, though she herself is a professed Christian. I had done my best to visit and shepherd her family regularly in the past. But now I realized that her heart is not right and she has been veiled with so many religious concepts and teachings from her background. Perhaps, I failed in my shepherding to this sister and her family as I could not deliver them from the bondage of religion and usher her to the enjoyment of Christ and the church. I acknowledged it before God and man as my own failure. And I look to the Lord for more grace so that I can be a proper shepherd to so many cases like this. But for now, I felt I should be silent. Give them time for them to reckon who they actually are. So I decided to be silent even when she text me a good number of messages. Silence is my best answer for now. Until the Lord gave me a clear leading to continue shepherding the family again. Until then, silence.

The same goes for five other contacts. I truly have the heart and burden to shepherd them, but since they showed signs of disinterest, I cannot force myself into their lives. I simply pray for them and be silent for the time being in contacting them. Only God knows when I should resume contacting them again. But as for now, silence.

I believe, when the Lord deems best, I will break my silence and continue to take care of all these cases. But for now, silence is the best answer.