A Soft Answer

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

Words have a powerful effect.  Every day we encounter situations, which will go better or worse depending upon what we say.  There are times then no matter how wisely we frame our responses, we are dealing with fools and they will take the best answer and twist it into a weapon.  Having said that, it behooves us to be as wise as possible in our response to anyone.  The best person for us to imitate is Christ.  We can see how Christ responded when He encountered situations which were potentially flammable.  If He had answered with harsh words, it would only have stirred up their anger.  By answering them with a soft answer, He demonstrated wisdom, and true leadership.  His leadership was something from which His disciples could learn.  It also served to highlight the arrogant, grandstanding hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees who hated Him regardless of how good and wise He was.  For the most part, when dealing with reasonable people, we are wise to employ the counsel of the writer of Proverbs.  Christ rarely employed words which would stir up anger.  We are wise to learn from and imitate His example.  He has never steered us wrong.  He will not begin today.  ‘A soft answer turns away wrath….’

Our Good and Wise God,
we rejoice that You have set Christ before us,
as the great pattern of our own behavior.
We praise You that as You look to Him,
we may learn ourselves what to say and how to do.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning