Daily Devotional

-June 3, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Our Words Have An Effect On Others-

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

(Proverbs 15:1).

The words we use and the tone we speak them in, have a powerful influence on others. Words are much like the internet, they can be used for great good or great evil, depending how one uses it. Words are also like fire; the same fire that keeps one warm and cooks a meal, can also destroy a home or take your life.

Solomon, the wisest man ever, shows the contrast between soft words and harsh words. The former diffuse a difficult, heated situation, while the latter only intensifies it, making a bad situation much worse. In the analogy of a fire, water puts it out, gasoline causes it to explode.

Solomon writes, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” Keeping our cool, speaking quietly, and choosing positive and encouraging words, keeps conversations and relationships under control. If someone uses nasty words to us, we must not respond in kind, but rather respond with kindness and love. When we do, the other person is put to shame, and often apologizes at the time or shortly thereafter.

The voice of calm and reason will prevail over the voice of anger and meanness. The believer in Christ must choose kind words and speak them kindly. Proverbs 15:23 says, “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!”

Harsh words only stir up more anger and make things worse. The NBA playoffs are going on right now. We have all seen what happens when two players start saying bad things to each other, it can lead to technical fouls, fights, ejections, and fines. If one player keeps his cool and walks away, things will deescalate pretty quickly. Usually the veteran players, knowing the situation, take this approach.

Proverbs 14:29 says, “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.” It reminds me of the story of the two rams. Each one wanted to pass the narrow mountain trail but only one could do so. They could battle out but one or both of them would surely fall off the cliff. They were at an impasse. Suddenly, one of the rams laid down his body over the trail and let the other walk across his body safely, then he walked by unimpeded. This is the attitude we need in situations where each person thinks he is right. To duck under and agree to disagree is the best approach we can take.

May the Lord help us to stay calm, and speak soft words. We must remember what we say is important, but how we say it is often even more important. You wouldn’t wrap your baby in burlap but in cotton, so too, we shouldn’t wrap our words in harshness and anger.

Have a blessed day considering our words and tone so that we can be a blessing. Winning a argument may lead to losing a friend. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean