Proverbs 15:1
As we studied yesterday, the way in which we deal with people displays the true character of our heart and how we align ourselves with the will of God… Paul reminded us yesterday that we are to be “…kindly affectionate” to one another… Today we are told that “A soft answer turneth away wrath…” The source of anger which builds up in a person usually derives from how they are spoken to regarding a situation or action… I can recall growing up and even in my adulthood about how I have always been told that it isn’t want you say but how you say it and this principle is what we are focusing on in today’s devotional… The most powerful tool that you have been given to utilize in the body of Christ is your tongue; sadly, this can also be a deadly tool when the enemy has his way with you… As a child of God, you are called to bear witness, to reach others with his word and speak the name of Jesus Christ throughout the world… This is accomplished through the tongue and can only be achieved when we learn to defuse situations instead of igniting them… As I just stated, you can stir up anger with you words or you can speak in love to your fellowman and allow a situation that could’ve spiraled out of control to be used to encourage and uplift a wayward soul… You are called to give the right answer; however the way you give it will either lead someone to Christ or drive them away as the Proverb tells us that A soft answer turneth away wrath…
There are so many things that we all endure in this life which put us or keep us on edge; some of us are walking around like a ticking time bomb ready to go off on someone if given the opportunity… I don’t know what has transpired in your life today since you have awaken this morning, I don’t know what bad news you may have heard or received; however, in Christ I know that when the beacon light of the savior lives in my I have the ability to dismiss your frustrations by speaking a loving and affectionate word which will not only help with you interaction with may, but may even set the course for your day when you encounter others… The domino affect theory applies to us, we can start the chain of speaking love and let it trickle down the line so that the one who needs a loving word today will receive it… You have the ability in you, use your tongue to bring praise and honor to our Lord… Your tongue is powerful and it’s about time you channel that power to a strong purpose of healing and restoration… James devotes almost the whole 3rd of his book to the power of the tongue; it is this chapter that we find these words, “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. No matter what someone says about you or how they try to attack you, if you go before them with a soft answer and don’t’ give in to the temptation of firing back with harmful words you not only can defuse a situation, but you also can open the door to building a friendship with the one who was speaking negatively against you… The desire of the enemy is to get you off track, to change your focus and one of the easiest ways to do that is to have someone attack your character or gossip about you… I know that when someone speaks harmful words about me I naturally want to say something back or even confront them; however, we must learn the measure of Christ and how to handle these situations…
Solomon reminds us that even the most tempting times; we can avoid stirring up anger and still present Christ in every situation… I’m pretty sure that we have all been told at some point of have heard the saying that, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it…” The difference between a (n) argument and a conversation is the tone of the voices that are present… We are reminded today that as a child of God we are called to turn away wrath; no matter how upset you get or how frustrated you feel, you must be able to maintain a positive attitude toward your situation so that the devil does not win… The book of James tells us that the tongue is the most powerful member of our body; it can speak kind words or spew venom… Today, we see that anger can be subdued and altercations can be minimized if we learn to control our speech… Again, this Proverb says “A soft answer turneth away wrath…” Think about this powerful statement for a second, the writer isn’t saying that we are to be weak as we tend to equate weakness with being soft, but that we must know how to speak to each other in kindness and still make our stance known… We can turn away any wrath (anger, rage or fury) that the enemy presents before us… I firmly believe that as a child of God we are tested daily in our lives not only to learn but also to measure our growth in our Spiritual walk… One of the biggest measuring sticks we have is how we talk to each other… The more that you are able to speak kindness and not slander or gossip against your neighbor shows how much you have grown in your walk… God has called us to calm a situation not spread the noise. We need to understand that, look at how many times Jesus was confronted by situations, and how did he respond (with peace and love) we need to learn to do the same…
ALL FOR HIS GLORY!
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