A Gentle Word

• How do you respond to someone who speaks harshly to you?

• Do you know anyone who speaks gently?

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

In this proverb, Solomon teaches us that God wants us to speak to people gently, using gentle words. Harsh words stir up anger, even when that’s not our intention.

Think about how you feel when someone speaks harshly to you. You probably get angry and defensive. But if that same person spoke to you with gentle words, you probably wouldn’t get angry.

We need to think before we speak. Sometimes we need to pray before we speak and ask God to give us the right words to say. This becomes especially difficult when someone is speaking harsh words to us. How does God want us to respond? He doesn’t want us fighting fire with fire. He wants us to answer with gentle words, which will put out the fire.

Words have tremendous power, but we don’t have to let them get us into trouble. We can use them to honor God.

PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for trusting us with the power of words. Please help us to speak gently, using gentle words. Please help us to respond to people the way you want us to. Amen.