Don Whitney, author of several NavPress books, is the John H. Powell Endowed Chair of Pastoral Ministry at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Here are several short, practical posts from his always-timely book, Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed. In these selected excerpts, Whitney will help us consider ways to simplify our journaling, our prayer, our Christian life in general, our priorities, and our time in Scripture. In this post on priorities, Whitney shows us a simple way to recover from life spiritually and physically.
When my mother’s parents married on March 29, 1919, they moved into a small house near a community outside Tupelo, Mississippi. Their home had no electricity, telephone, or radio. It was quiet.
After my grandfather went to the fields in the morning, the only sounds he heard all day were those of God’s creation or the ones he himself made—the crunch of the plow in the ground, his cries of “Gee” or “Haw” to the mules, and his singing. Back in the farmhouse, the only sounds my grandmother heard were the ones she made while working around the house, or the sounds of God’s creation—the birds, the wind—that came through the open windows. They were alone with their thoughts and their God all day long.
If my grandparents wanted information, conversation, or music, they had to make a special effort, hitching up the team and taking a long ride in an open, bumpy wagon. The majority of the music they heard was in church.
Our experience is just the opposite. Portable electronics allow us to perpetually surround ourselves with sound. Whereas my grandparents had to make an effort to break the silence and hear news or music, we have to make an effort to avoid it. And sometimes we need to—for the health of our souls.
So turn off the radio in the car for a day or two. Sit outside after dinner and talk or read. Spend an evening by the fire without the television. Recover the physically and spiritually recreative power of silence.
Don Whitney
Don Whitney holds the John H. Powell Endowed Chair of Pastoral Ministry at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is professor of biblical spirituality and the director of the Center for Biblical Spirituality. He is the author of several books.