There Is A Time To Be Silent

How much of your life are you spending on people who have zero intention of actually listening to you? How do you feel when others poke fun of what you believe or disagree with you?

Some feel they need to debate every detail when they disagree. So today, that’s who I’m talking to.

King Solomon once said: “If you correct someone who makes fun of wisdom, you will be insulted. If you correct an evil person, you will get hurt” (Proverbs 9:7, NCV).

Solomon isn’t just giving advice about avoiding conflict. He’s identifying a specific kind of person: the mocker.

Not someone asking hard questions. Not someone genuinely seeking truth. The mocker has already decided wisdom is outdated, truth is negotiable, and your faith is foolish.

Solomon says don’t waste your breath. You’ll only get hurt.

Not everyone deserves access to your wisdom, your time, or your correction.

That’s profound when you think about it. We live in a culture screaming that we must defend truth to everyone, correct every critic, argue with every fool online. But the wisest man who ever lived says there’s actually a category of people you should just walk away from.

Jesus understood this too. “Don’t give holy things to dogs, and don’t throw your pearls before pigs. Pigs will only trample on them, and dogs will turn to attack you” (Matthew 7:6, NCV).

Sounds harsh, doesn’t it?

But Jesus is being honest about human nature. Some people don’t want truth. They want to destroy it. They don’t want wisdom. They want to mock it. And if you keep trying to hand them pearls, they’ll stomp on them and then turn on you.

Your pearls are too valuable to throw before swine. Wow, I know that sounds harsh.

Think about it like this. You’re a doctor. Someone walks in with a broken arm. But instead of letting you set the bone, they argue about whether bones even exist. They mock the X-ray. They insult your training. They accuse you of conspiracy. Eventually, you’d have to say, “I can’t help you. Not because I don’t want to, but because you won’t let me.”

The mocker doesn’t want healing. He wants an audience for his rebellion and disagreement.

Here’s where the gospel connects to all this. Jesus stood before Pilate, who asked Him, “What is truth?” But Pilate wasn’t really asking. He was performing. So Jesus stayed silent. “He had no more to say” (Mark 15:5, NCV).

The Son of God Himself understood that some moments require silence, not explanation.

Jesus also told His disciples, “If people in a certain place refuse to welcome you or listen to you, leave that place. Shake its dust off your feet as a warning to them” (Mark 6:11, NCV).

Even in spreading the gospel, Jesus gave permission to walk away from those who won’t receive it. You’re not called to convince every critic.

“A person who does not have the Spirit does not accept the truths that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish and cannot understand them, because they can only be judged to be true by the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NCV).

Spiritual truth requires spiritual discernment. No amount of logic or evidence will penetrate a heart the Holy Spirit hasn’t softened. Your job isn’t conviction. That’s the Spirit’s job. Your job is obedience. Speak when He leads. Walk away when He says that’s enough.

So what does this look like practically?

First, discern who you’re talking to. Is this person genuinely seeking, or performing for an audience? Are they asking honest questions, or mocking wisdom itself?

“Don’t answer fools when they speak foolishly, or you will be like them” (Proverbs 26:4, NCV). Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is stay silent.

Second, protect your peace. You’re not responsible for every argument. Jesus didn’t defend Himself to Herod. He didn’t explain Himself to Pilate when it was clear they weren’t listening. There’s a time to speak and a time to shake the dust off your feet.

Third, invest your wisdom where it will bear fruit. “Give instruction to the wise, and they will become even wiser. Teach good people, and they will learn even more” (Proverbs 9:9, NCV).

Pour your energy into people hungry for truth. Mentor someone seeking GOD. Encourage someone still fighting. Stop giving your best to people who despise it.

Sometimes we’re so desperate to win the argument that we forget we’re fighting for someone’s soul. But you cannot argue someone into the Kingdom of GOD.

The enemy would love nothing more than getting you spinning your wheels, defending truth to people who’ve already rejected it.

Your time, your wisdom, your energy, your peace are gifts from GOD. The mocker will answer to GOD for his rebellion. But you’ll answer for how you stewarded what He gave you.

Stop giving the fool a veto over your peace. Stop letting mockers rent space in your head. Stop rehearsing arguments with people who will never listen. Stop scrolling comment sections looking for a fight.

Ask the Holy Spirit today: “Who do You want me to invest in? Who’s genuinely seeking? Who’s ready to receive wisdom?” Then give your best to them.

Don’t waste it on people who despise it.

GOD, give me wisdom to know when to speak and when to stay silent. Help me recognize mockers and protect the pearls You’ve given me. Lead me to people hungry for truth, ready to receive what You want to teach them. Forgive me for wasting energy on arguments You never asked me to have. Give me Your peace and Your discernment. IJNIP amen ♥️