Proverbs 15:1 ESV
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Have you ever had anyone get mad at you and say angry things to you? If so, how do you handle it? If you handle it by verbally punching back, all that you’ve done is exacerbate the problem and the broken place from which their anger originated. It might make you feel better in the moment, but that is just your flesh wanting to be comforted through vengeance. In Proverbs 15:1, the Hebrew word translated “harsh” would be more literally translated “painful.” When someone says something ugly to us out of anger, the law of sin in us stirs us up to hurt them back verbally. As Christians, never forget who you are. You are in Christ, and therefore everything you do, you do from Christ, not just for Christ. You are his body, and therefore the vehicle through which he lives his life on this earth, and Jesus has come to heal through us, not strike back. It takes two to argue, and the whole point of arguing is to win. Jesus longs to love and to heal, and to him, that is winning. The next time someone in anger says something ugly to you, remember who you are, and from the inside out in union with Christ, give a soft or tender answer, and you will find that meekness turns away wrath. Remember, by his stripes people are healed. People who exhibit anger towards (stripe us) they are displaying a place of brokenness in them, and our hearts should be tender towards their brokenness instead of giving in to our own fallen defensiveness. The word holy literally means “different, set apart, uncommon.” Proverbs 15:1 is a beautiful description of a life of holiness in response to someone’s anger. Live from Christ! It is the greatest adventure of all. There’s nothing common about it.