A Soft Answer

A Soft Answer

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Harsh words. We hear a lot of them these days. There are a lot of people shouting at each other. In an attempt to take a stand on some issue or point of view people often resort to harsh words. But a wise person won’t do that. The wise will give a
soft answer.

Now note that God’s word doesn’t say, “…don’t answer.” It says give a, “…soft answer.” Look, there are times when we need to keep our mouth shut and be quiet. Some fights just aren’t worth fighting. But there are times when we must speak up and give an answer. It takes a lot of wisdom to know when to answer, and it takes even more wisdom to know how to answer.

When words start flying in the midst of conflict do we scream and shout, using “harsh words,” or do we offer a firm, confident, soft answer. To answer softly isn’t to cower or back down. To answer softly is to present a controlled, reasoned argument for your position without raising your voice or personally offending the person you disagree with.

We’ve lost the art of honest debate in this generation. People no longer know how to state their opinion without being insulting, derogatory, and inflammatory. The result of these harsh words is a sharp line of division. Harsh words result in anger—wrath. When harsh words make people angry that only leads to greater division. But when we answer softly the anger resides. Then people will listen to each other and the walls of division start to come down. So when you find yourself in a disagreement with someone remember what scripture says, answer softly and you’ll turn away wrath.

Have a God Filled Week,
Brother Donnie