| |
Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
|
| |
encouragement in things that matter |
|
| |
A Gentle Answer
|
|
| |
The Biblical collection of proverbs is a short library of good principles to live by. They give insight and wisdom for sound practical living and healthy relationships. They also promote personal godliness. Sometimes we approach these proverbs as promises that with practice or dependence, they assure a specified outcome. Proverbs 15:1 tells us, "A gentle answer turns away wrath." We would like to claim this as a promise that guarantees the absence of strife or tension if I would just learn how to respond in a loving way. Besides the fact that God never intended Proverbs 15:1 to be a promise, let’s examine the reality that this proverb addresses. First of all, love isn’t always understood. Sometimes in the face of another’s wrath, our words are confrontive, and need to be, or they draw appropriate personal boundaries. Sometimes our words that attempt to explain our feelings or situation are simply misunderstood. Any one of these possibilities can cloud the love that should motivate our responses, and even if the words are spoken with gentleness, they still may not be well received. Second, even if I answer with the utmost of patience, kindness, and respect, the one who hears my words may still react negatively with bitterness or harshness. That’s reality, because nothing I do or say can control the behavior of another person. I can do what is right because God asks me to and I want to do what’s right, and the situation can still "blow up in my face." So, why bother? It is a good principle to live by. I am certainly not going to rebuild a relationship, soften misunderstanding, or ease tension by losing my temper, or by being spiteful, arrogant, or intimidating. If bridges of understanding or restoration are to be built, those bridges must be built with gentle words. Remember too that a gentle answer promotes godliness. If I choose gentle words first and foremost because of my love for God and a desire and willingness to live in obedience to both His commands and principles, then the fruit of that choice becomes the growth of God-like attitudes within me. I become more and more of the woman God wants me to be, whether or not my gentle answer turns away wrath. |
|
| |
|
— Bev |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
