A Gentle Answer

Recently someone accused me of doing something I had not done. No matter how I defended myself, my words had no effect. He disregarded my position and said things that hurt my feelings. I remember my face growing hot and wanting to lash out at him with angry words. Then I realised that acknowledging my feelings and defending myself may have been fine, but reacting solely out of anger could harm him as much as his words had harmed me.

So instead of lashing out, I decided to spend time with God in quiet prayer and reflection. Talking over my hurt and anger with God helped to calm me down. I found that I needed to rely on God’s power to give me strength to respond in loving ways. I remembered the verse quoted above, ‘A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.’

When our feelings have been hurt, we may want to speak back in anger. Instead, God encourages us to break the bitter cycle of anger with a gentle response.

Prayer: Dear God, help us consider our words before we speak them, so that what comes out of our mouths will help, not hurt. Amen