Blog About No Blog, Part 1

I usually try to submit a meditation by means of this blog on a weekly basis. But there are those weeks when I do not have anything that I particularly want to write about. As I have thought about those times when I have nothing I want to say, I have thought that quite often saying nothing is appropriate. In other words, sometimes no blog is the order of the day. I have none other than the wisdom of Solomon, the wisest man, to support this thought. Solomon wrote:

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
7 …a time to keep silence, and a time to speak….

There is a season when the appropriate thing to do is to keep silence, to say nothing.

One of the most profound events in the life of our Lord was that time when on trial for His very life, in the face of many accusations, He said nothing.

Mark 14:60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing.

Matthew 27:13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

Luke 23:8 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.
9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

Our Lord knew that the Jews had already decided His guilt and that they were determined to have Him crucified. He knew that Pontius Pilate would cave into the pressure that the Jews placed upon him. Jesus knew that nothing He would say would avail anything to the contrary. Therefore, He kept silence and committed the matter to His Father God. As I have often said, “You cannot prove innocence to someone determined to believe guilt.” Sometimes, a gush of words in a frantic effort to prove innocence only raises doubts. As Shakespeare said: “Methinks he protests too much.”

When Job’s three friends came to comfort him, the greatest comfort they gave was in the beginning when they just sat with him, wept, and said nothing. Here is the account:

Job 2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

It was when Job’s friends opened their mouths in an attempt to make sense of his plight that they only added more grief to his misery. Job even called them “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2). Sometimes the best way to comfort grieving souls is to just be there, sit by them, and say nothing. In such times, our silent presence is often enough. We all too often want to talk them out of their grief. But in so doing we only make it worse. Job had this tidbit of advice for his friends that we would all do well to consider:

Job 13:5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.

Solomon came along later and echoed the same advice.

Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

You see, sometimes the wisest thing to do is to say nothing at all. We would have all spared others and ourselves a lot of misery if we had just kept our mouths shut.

I have more to say about saying nothing. But for now, I will say no more lest I weary you with saying too much.