Wisdom for the Day: Proverbs 15:1

Prov. 15

1    A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Put another way; Respond gently when you are confronted and you’ll defuse the rage of another. Responding with sharp, cutting words will only make it worse. Don’t you know that being angry can ruin the testimony of even the wisest of men? I’m sure we’ve been on both ends of this one.

Remember a time when you were confronted by anger and you responded gently to it. What happened, did it make matters worse or better?

Remember a time when you were confronted by anger and you responded with anger; fighting fire with fire. Did it make matters worse or better?

Bite your tongue is a well known idiom meaning; To stop yourself from saying something that might be offensive or hurtful, even though you would really like to say it. If you actually bite your tongue, it is extremely difficult to speak. Therefore, biting your tongue would definitely stop you from saying something that you might regret!

We don’t like anger especially when it is directed at us, thankfully it doesn’t happen too often and we see people being courteous to each other in most of their interactions but there is always mr or mrs angry head who comes along once in a while who need special treatment. No matter how well you treat others, no matter how well you live your life there will always be the situation that flares up and needs to be handled correctly. So the next time you are confronted by it ask God for the grace to respond with a gentle word. It really is a healing balm.

When we are responding to an injustice done to us, the gentle approach will always win the day. A gentle word is far more effective. Its not rocket science, life experience tells us that. Remember the beatitude from last weeks sermon, The Meek will inherit the earth. The desired heart attitude is gentleness, power under control. You can stand firm in a gentle way. No need to be a doormat but equaly, no need to be inflammatory.

So the word for the day is be nice!