“A gentle
answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.”
Proverbs 15:1
Proverbs 15:1
Oh, the calming effect of a gentle answer. Have you ever seen a situation where someone is clearly upset by another person’s actions? They may even be red in the face and up in their face while they're screaming at them. The other person then calmly turns to them and with a very soft voice says “Clearly, there’s been a misunderstanding. Please accept my apologies.” You can almost hear the air rushing out of the room as the entire situation is defused. This is an excellent example of wisdom at work.
What would've happened if the individual returned fire with heated words of their own? You can see this conflict escalating out of control very quickly. Instead, cooler minds prevailed and the wiser person chose to defuse the situation by using a gentle answer. The person realized there was no reason to escalate the situation further. Some people are easily agitated, whether it's because of their personality or current stress levels within their daily life but it seems as though there is much more anger or rage around these days and it doesn't take much to bring that rage to the surface.
I believe this is because we, as a society, have moved through the tipping point where there are more generations of people that have been raised without ANY reference to the Bible. My great grandparents were Bible readers and were very blessed. They made many long distance voyages in the 1800's and settled in a community in 1823. In the 1800's, the Bible was read by most people. God's vision was sought by many people and the importance of reading the Bible was understood and embraced. My grandparents were raised to be Bible readers as were most people in the late 1800's but the number was dwindling from the previous generation. They taught their children to have respect and awe for the Lord but again the numbers were still going down. Likewise my parents raised me to be a Bible reader, well actually they introduced me to the Bible, but they were not Bible readers as much as our ancestors were. I believe this to be a common path for many family heritages.
Over time, we as a society, have now raised several generations without any idea of the contents of the Bible, which means we don't have God's word with us as we make our way through life's drama. When difficulties arise, and they always come at the worst possible time, people don't have the solid rock of the Lord's word to guide them through. They feel alone, stressed and that's when the rage comes flaring up. Being grounded in the word, helps you deal with the stress and allows the rage to be vented through different ways. Just knowing that God has placed you in this situation for a reason gives a great deal of comfort. Now I just need to know what I'm supposed to learn. Instead of asking "Why me, Lord?" we should be asking "What am I to learn here, Lord?"
Maybe, I'm supposed to learn to be more patient or maybe I'm to learn that I should put the needs of others ahead of my needs. Maybe I'm to learn these things while not getting upset. It's different for each person in the situation. Maybe the gentle word is meant to be an encouraging word to build up another person rather than tearing them down. I can tell you this, though. The one thing we have complete control over is how we respond in a tough situation. Make sure that you're using words of encouragement and a gentle voice.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
What would've happened if the individual returned fire with heated words of their own? You can see this conflict escalating out of control very quickly. Instead, cooler minds prevailed and the wiser person chose to defuse the situation by using a gentle answer. The person realized there was no reason to escalate the situation further. Some people are easily agitated, whether it's because of their personality or current stress levels within their daily life but it seems as though there is much more anger or rage around these days and it doesn't take much to bring that rage to the surface.
I believe this is because we, as a society, have moved through the tipping point where there are more generations of people that have been raised without ANY reference to the Bible. My great grandparents were Bible readers and were very blessed. They made many long distance voyages in the 1800's and settled in a community in 1823. In the 1800's, the Bible was read by most people. God's vision was sought by many people and the importance of reading the Bible was understood and embraced. My grandparents were raised to be Bible readers as were most people in the late 1800's but the number was dwindling from the previous generation. They taught their children to have respect and awe for the Lord but again the numbers were still going down. Likewise my parents raised me to be a Bible reader, well actually they introduced me to the Bible, but they were not Bible readers as much as our ancestors were. I believe this to be a common path for many family heritages.
Over time, we as a society, have now raised several generations without any idea of the contents of the Bible, which means we don't have God's word with us as we make our way through life's drama. When difficulties arise, and they always come at the worst possible time, people don't have the solid rock of the Lord's word to guide them through. They feel alone, stressed and that's when the rage comes flaring up. Being grounded in the word, helps you deal with the stress and allows the rage to be vented through different ways. Just knowing that God has placed you in this situation for a reason gives a great deal of comfort. Now I just need to know what I'm supposed to learn. Instead of asking "Why me, Lord?" we should be asking "What am I to learn here, Lord?"
Maybe, I'm supposed to learn to be more patient or maybe I'm to learn that I should put the needs of others ahead of my needs. Maybe I'm to learn these things while not getting upset. It's different for each person in the situation. Maybe the gentle word is meant to be an encouraging word to build up another person rather than tearing them down. I can tell you this, though. The one thing we have complete control over is how we respond in a tough situation. Make sure that you're using words of encouragement and a gentle voice.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
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