Proverbs 15:1-2
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.”
I have shared with you some of my experiences as a police officer while I was attending college. In one of our FBI training classes, the agent mentioned that one of the best ways to apprehend a drunk and disorderly offender was to use a soft and gentle voice.
I filed it away in the back of my mind and thought little more about it. A few months later I developed a severe case of laryngitis and virtually had no voice. I received a call from our police dispatcher to go to a local tavern and arrest a man who was drunk and belligerent.
When I walked into the tavern, the owner pointed out the man who was causing all of the trouble. I walked up to the man and whispered for him to come with me. To my utter shock he whispered back, “Okay,” and like a little child, followed me out to the patrol car. When I returned to the tavern to gather information for my report, the manager could not believe my skill. I told him it was not skill but just a bad throat!
Sometimes we have the mistaken idea that if we raise our voice we will achieve a greater response. It usually has the opposite effect and escalates the problem rather than resolving it. I can recall meeting with a family a few days before officiating at the funeral for their mother.
Her two sons recalled how angry she would become if they used profanity. She would swear at them to stop swearing. She would yell: “You blankety-blank kids quit your swearing.” They saw what she failed to see—that she was teaching by example and her words to stop swearing were negated by swearing herself. Should they stop? Of course! It was just that she was showing something other than what she was saying.
There are many times when we feel inclined to decapitate the head of the person who has just spoken. Believe me, it is not the best solution! Today’s Scripture has a wealth of wisdom for those of us who have ears to hear and receive it. It has to do with; “A gentle answer” as opposed to: “a harsh word.”
Think about times in your life when you spoke a harsh word. I think that you will recall that when we use harsh words a battle royal is on. Time after time, when this occurs, the participants get so caught up in the argument that later on they can not remember what the original disagreement was about.
The Word of God always gives us the answers for the way we should live our life. We see it in the life of Jesus, and written in so many places. Other than the times He was rebuking those religious hypocrites of His day, He spoke with gentle words. By the way, do not use the rebukes of Jesus as an excuse for you to use harsh words. His anger does not justify our anger. He was the Son of God and as such, He could read human hearts as well as human actions. Can you?
I challenge each of us to commit ourselves to speak “GENTLE WORDS.” When we do it will go a long way toward creating a whole new life in our family, where we work, in our church, and everywhere we go.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil