Friday, January 22, 2010

One Question Friday










Every Friday I’m going to ask a question. The questions I choose might be ambiguous on purpose. The goal is to have you answer the question according to your beliefs, where you’re at in life or a circumstance that might have recently impacted you. The only thing I ask is that you provide an explanation for why you answered the way you did.












It is my hope to understand you better through this and also to gain a greater understanding of humanity and how people make decisions.













The Question:

Silence is Golden or Say What You Need to Say

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26 comments:

  1. Anyone who know's me could answer this for me. Silence is Golden. The world would be a better place, and a much quieter one, if so many people didn't feel like they had to get something off their chest.

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  2. I'm feeling like such a "middle-of-the-road"er, but for me, it depends on the situation. I think silence is golden and it's good to know when to hold your tongue, and yet it's good to know when to stand up for something too. I haven't mastered it yet... There are times I do nothing when I shouldn't and times when I speak and then regret it. Someday, I'll master this!

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  3. Silence is golden. It's rare people regret not saying something. It's often people say something they regret. (Not to say I don't support people standing up for what they believe, because I absolutely do.)

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  4. For me, silence is golden, because I tend to say what I need to say often enough (maybe too much?).

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  5. Silence is golden -- the economy of speech prevents unnecessary words being aired without thought. That's what I like about the written word: there is time for thought and discernment. Also, if I am silent it allows me to listen and the more I listen, the more I learn.
    Lee
    http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/

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  6. Wendy, I know you hate it when I answer these, because I never give a straightforward answer. And I'm not going to today either!

    I think that it depends on the situation. If you are going to say something just to "be right" then silence is golden. But if you are going to say something to offer support, encouragement, or advice OUT OF LOVE, then I say "say it."

    And there you go. My non-answer, yet again. :)

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  7. Silence is Golden, because I've made more trouble for myself than I care to admit by Saying What I (think) I Need to Say. Ouch!

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  8. I've always had this stray rebellious thought, which is, burn the effigy of silence. Silly? I'm not sure why it roams in my mind. I do know I think a lot needs to be said. Of course this is a reference to my writing. I'm pretty quiet in real life. ;)

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  9. Generally speaking, Silence is Golden, but there are moments when I should have said what I needed to say.

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  10. Silence is Golden:
    As I have matured in my faith I have learned that I might not know all that is going on in a person's life. Why should I feel I know more about the issues facing my friends than the Almighty.
    I don't know everything. I might learn something when I practice using my ears (two of them) in direct proportion to the mouth God gave me, (one)
    Practicing this has allowed me to grow in the Lord and to make and keep friends along the way.

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  11. Recently I have been learning to be more on the side of "Silence is Golden." I've been studying the Book of Job this week, and in it Job tells his "friends" that the ones who are wise are the ones who chose not to speak. I forget the exact verse, but I'm thinking about memorizing it b/c it made me laugh.

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  12. Since I'm in a whole lot of silence right now, I'm going with "Say what you need to say." I need some noise right about now.

    Have a great weekend, Wendy!!!

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  13. As my friends and I used to say, "Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver."

    Say what needs to be said, but there's no need to go on and on and on and on. And if you try to belabor your point until Kingdom come, someone ought to pull out a roll of duct tape and stop you.

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  14. Silence is golden. Sigh. I wish there weren't so many scriptures to back it up!!!!

    Wendy, you've created the warmest blog where people share tips, offer wisdom, and have fun.
    Love the comment by Dominique!!!
    Patti
    www.pattilacy.com/blog

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  15. This is the first question I've had to sit the fence on, Wendy, because I feel both are true for me. I believe in meekness and humility, that those virtues follow silence. But I also believe that there are times when standing up for ourselves (and beliefs) or someone else is necessary. Tricky.

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  16. I wish I could say that I was the "Silence is golden" type. Those are the type of people I admire. But my mouth has a hard time acquiescing to my desires. It's the most impulsive part of my body. As hard as I try to button my lips, the words boil until they eventually pop right out.

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  17. Silence is golden. Mostly. But sometimes saying what you need to say is timely, important, and Spirit led.

    Happy weekend! :)

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  18. Silence is Golden! I wish I would just hold my tongue sometimes. I hate regret!

    -Alisa Hope
    First Friday Fiction

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  19. Say what you need to say. Why? Because I'm a verbal processor and because for many years I kept things bottled up, which led to health issues and frayed relationships. Keeping the lines of communication open in a loving manner seems to work much better for me these days.

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  20. Oh, circumstances.... I do learn alot more when I listen, though.

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  21. I think this one has to be very dependent on circumstance. You shouldn't be obnoxious and go off at the mouth about everything, but you don't want to be run over and taken advantage of, either. This one's really more of a judgment call.

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  22. I'd say usually silence is golden. I've made the mistake of saying too much SO MANY TIMES and it almost always gets me into trouble. Sometimes though, I just can't resist, and sometimes it's warrented.

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  23. Right now, with a screaming baby in the room, silence is golden sounds pretty darn good.

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  24. A frequent prayer of mine is, "Lord, please let me say no more and no less than will edify others and exalt You."

    And sometimes more is heard in fewer words.

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  25. If something needs to be said, I'll say it. But (apart from my writing) I usually prefer silence. I hate conflict and confrontations so I'm more likely to say nothing than jump into a conversation that is on the verge of becoming an argument.

    Carol

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  26. My answer at http://awell-wateredgarden.blogspot.com

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