Silence=Golden?

You know that old phrase "Silence is Golden"? Well I think that it should be changed to "Silence CAN BE Golden". There are times when silence is not good, not golden. In fact there are times when silence can be down right wrong and hurtful. One of the times when silence is not a good thing is when there is someone who needs our help, or if someone is hurting us we need to speak up. When I was younger there was a time when I should have spoken up about something and I didn't for fear of the repercussions that it would have on my family. It wouldn't have gotten me in trouble but it would or could have done some serious damage to my family. So I kept silent. So silent that even I forgot (repressed) what had happened to me until I was in Jr. High. I've still kept my silence about that incident some because I feel that it's in the past but still there is a fear of what will happen if I ever break that quiet. I've been able to move forward with my life and forgive what happened. I've been blessed that way. That's not to say that I haven't had my struggles, because I have. but I've been blessed to be able to work through things with the help of a wonderful husband. He was the first person I talked to about it. I've told a few other people but not many.

Another time where we need to speak up is when we see someone that needs help. Yesterday I had an incident where I was talking with someone about someone else who is struggling with a drug dependency problem. As we were wrapping up the conversation I was asked "Not to say anything". I stopped the person who I was speaking with and asked "What good is that going to do?" "How is keeping quite going to help this situation?" The person I was talking with was afraid of embarrassing this person with the drug problem. So I asked "Would you rather there be embarrassment or would you rather see them die?" What good does it do to hold your tongue in this case? I can understand if I were to call someone up and say "Hey, you'll never guess what I just heard!! So and so is totally wacked out on drugs today! Can you BELIEVE it?" That's gossip and I don't do that. But if I were to call others who know and love this person and let them know about the situation I could ask them for advice, for comfort. Maybe someone else might have insights that I don't have. Maybe they have the answer and maybe not but they can still pray for this person. They can be aware of what is going on and give this person a call or a note or visit with a hug. In the vacuum of silence none of that can happen.

All my life I've been taught that we don't talk about things. Anything. It's so incredibly frustrating. And I think it does far more damage than it does good. If you can talk about problems in a manner that is respectful and helpful then how does that hurt? How does that knowledge hurt anything? Maybe people can not only help but they can learn. We can learn and grow together if we let ourselves, if we can open up and talk instead of shutting down. Yes that openness can hurt sometimes but who knows what good might come of it? No one will ever know unless that silence is broken.