A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. – Proverbs 15:1 (NIV)
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. – Proverbs 15:1(KJV)
52 Proverbs in 52 Weeks – Week 27
This week’s theme: God’s Life Hacks, simple Biblical truths to increase the fruitfulness and happiness of our lives.
God’s Life Hack: A gentle answer turns away wrath.
As we’ve said in previous posts, harsh words have become an epidemic in our society. When someone says or does something we don’t like or don’t agree with, it’s become all to common to think “nobody says that to me” and lash out in return. Just a quick glance at almost any social media platform puts that behavior (sadly) on display. People argue, call each other names, and say the most crude things over just about anything: politics, different beliefs, sports teams, how people dress, who’s music is the best…even the weather. It’s truly an epidemic of people being unkind to one another, and each harsh word generates more harsh words in return.
But God tells us our society has it exactly backwards. Proverbs 15:1 offers wisdom on how we should speak with one another: harsh words simply make a situation worse, while kind words turn away anger. That may not be the popular way to respond in today’s culture, but that’s God’s way.
Our words matter…let’s make sure they reflect the love and kindness of our God.
Here’s the link to other verse posts on this theme: God’s Life Hacks.
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