Today's Bible Reading PROVERBS 14:1-16:33
Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up strife.
Words have power. They can help or they can hurt. They can bring us down or build us up. Whether written or spoken, words are a mighty tool to create or constrain chaos. With words you have the power to transform a turbulent situation.
Solomon gives some sound advice for an ignited encounter. He says that our response to aggression can direct the outcome of the event. We have the power through our words to determine where the dialogue is directed. Our words can either settle things down or stir things up. We can, by what we say, either put fuel on the fire or douse the flame. What we decide sets the course of the conversation. So, it might be wise to hear and heed Solomon’s counsel.
The first response would be to deescalate the drama. We can calm the chaotic situation. When wrathful remarks are directed toward us or to others, they can stimulate a wrong response. They can anger us to the point that we react with a hateful and hurtful response. We can lash out or we can let it go. We can counter with crude and callous comments or we can communicate with “a soft answer”. A gentle and sensitive response could disarm and defuse the situation. A kind remark will most often lead to a kind and gracious response. Let your talk turn away wrath.
On the other hand, when rage is met with “a harsh word” the conflict will escalate. You will find yourself in a verbal boxing match void of referees with no hope of an equitable end. The verbal tit for tat will continue without a suitable solution. It only “stirs up strife”. When the discords are sown and the situation only brings more enraged. When scornful and sneering remarks dominate the dialogue, the aggression is amplified. Don't let what you say stir up strife.
So in every conversation we can chose its course. In every heated discussion we can decide where it heads. Solomon suggests a “soft answer” as the solution. Jesus was careful and cautious when in the midst of tumultuous encounters. He knew how to calm the conversation. Rather then stir up strife over cultural concerns He clearly and calmly redirected the discussion to scripture. (Luke 6:3). In doing this the argument against him was dismissed. His soft answer shutdown their strife. It would be wise to follow his example.
Today consider what you say. Perhaps pausing to consider what and how you communicate is your best course. Ask the Lord to help you give “soft answers” rather than “harsh words” when you are verbally assaulted.
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