Silence is the hallmark of a wise leader – Dag Heward-Mills

The founder and Presiding Bishop of the Lighthouse Chapel International, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills has urged leaders to be silent when issues arise as that is the hallmark of a wise leader.

According to him, he who 'refrains his lips' is wise which makes silence a master key and a powerful weapon that allows one to truly hide, flourish and prosper.

The Bishop likened the lives of leaders to snakes saying if they want to survive in this world, then they must learn from snakes as they are masters in hiding.

“A striped snake, for example, may look quite noticeable on the pavement but almost disappear when placed on the forest floor where it lives. These masters of hiding blend with their environment until you do not notice them anymore. These characteristics give snakes the ability to hide and flourish. They prosper mainly because they are hidden from the view of others. While snakes are hiding, they are flourishing, prospering and multiplying".

"A huge viper was recently discovered on one of our building sites. When I saw pictures of this viper, I had goose bumps all over me. It was so large and so frightening and I knew that this snake should be nowhere else but in a zoo".

"Where are dangerous animals kept? They are either out in the wild or confined to a zoo. But this dangerous viper had been living near human beings and flourishing. It had probably gotten married and had several children over the years. How was it able to hide and flourish? Through the master key of silence! Silence is a powerful weapon that allows you to truly hide, flourish and prosper. … he that refraineth his lips is wise”, he quoted.

His comments follow Dr. Mensa Otabil’s Sunday sermon when he reacted to public criticisms following the collapse of Capital Bank.

Dr. Otabil while delivering a sermon over the weekend took on some individuals he said had taken advantage of his misfortune to hurl insults at him due to central bank’s recent takeover of Capital Bank of which ICGC owns 3% interest.

According to him, people who look like 'insult'are now insulting him. “Oh yes, I’ve had some reality this week. You know when people who have no right to insult you, insult you; that is reality. You look at the person insulting you and the person, sometimes, himself looks like an insult. But out of the abundance of his insult, he is insulting you, so that is reality. Reality is when it is hitting, when all kinds of stuff is hitting, I don’t want to go too much into that …” he said.



Bishop Dag Heward-Mills in his statement also indicated that snakes are wise and prosper more than any other wild animal because they choose to hide.

He cited an example of a lion which makes people aware of its existence in an area because of the noise it makes but hardly does anyone hear the noise of a snake because it chooses to live in silence, rarely disturbing anyone.

He, therefore, advised leaders to let their words be few by not talking much and responding to everything. He asserted that a leader’s quietness and silence will cause him to command the respect of outsiders which will make him be valued.

Furthermore, Dag Heward-Mills stated that hiding and flourishing will protect leaders from premature exposure in the ministry.

He said he is aware some pastors love to advertise and show their faces to the world which is good but a certain level of exposure is not necessary all the time because it endangers their life and ministry when they come out loud instead of being silent.

He, therefore, urged all leaders especially pastors to remember that snakes are masters at hiding and in hiding, they flourish so they must be like a snake.