A
gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh
word stirs up anger.
word stirs up anger.
Proverbs
15:1
Thoughts~
I was having a very good day when out of the blue the
woman in front of me sideswiped the checker at the grocery store with her
reckless mouth. It’s truly like being run over by a freight train when someone
lets loose all of their thoughts and they don’t put a filter on their words.
Having no care for others people’s feelings, the customer in front of me really
let the checker have it with both barrels. I was first shocked and then went straight
to angry and then to prayer. Asking God how I could help the poor underpaid
checker, who does not make the rules, I wanted to offer her gentleness.
When it was my turn, I smiled at the teary eyed checker
and gave her a sympathetic look and then told her how well she handled the mean
spirited woman. I knew it was God using me and I watched her begin to smile and
then we both began laughing over the silliness of the previous customer.
Laughter is the best medicine sometimes!
Because we all have the power over our words, the Bible
talks about how we use them hundreds of times throughout both Old and New Testaments.
And God encourages us through the writers to use them wisely, with gentleness
and kindness.
I used to have a relationship with a woman who seemed
to delight in putting me down, showing me my shortcomings. We all know people like that. They have a low
self esteem so tear others down in order to build themselves up. I ended the
relationship, but before I did, I wore a rubber band as a bracelet when I was with
her. When her words became unkind, I
snapped the band to remind myself to not respond so I could avoid an angry
argument. I got tired of the sting and realized that she needed a victim to
beat up and it wasn’t going to be me. Walking away is like a gentle answer
sometimes.
Action~
How can we practice gentle answers and speech? One way
it to purposely set out to do it.
*Take a walk through any grocery store and
look for lonely people. As you walk by, smile
and say hello. People don’t do that much anymore.
*When you hear a checker being mistreated by
a grouchy customer, make sure your words to him or her are kind ones.
*When someone attacks you, snap that rubber
band and find the kindest response that you can honestly give.
*Ignore the argumentative and negative
people that pop into your life. Many of them love to argue. When you walk away
from such conversations, there is no one left for them to argue with.
*The same goes for people with critical
spirits. Walk away from having words that will just bring more harm than help.
*Regularly practice using kind words such as
thank you, you did great, I admire you, I like being around you, I understand, and
how can I help you?
It’s not that God won’t use us in the lives of people
with problematic attitudes: He will and often does. However, some people seem
to thrive on harsh and harmful words and they can’t get very far with you when
you aren’t there to listen. You can diffuse their talking time bomb of a mouth
by your absence.
Pray~
Lord, help me to be the kind of friend that builds people
up. May I keep a gentle answer on my tongue rather than a harsh one. May I
treat everyone the way I want to be treated.
Trusting in Him,
Becky
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