Speak Gently And Softly

Speak Gently And Softly

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1

Having been in Hospital Administration for over 45 years, I have seen the consequences of what harsh words can do. There have been countless times that I have witnessed professional people, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators and board members lose their composure and resort to saying things that have created severe problems between parties that were almost insurmountable to overcome. The words in this Proverb are so true, that harsh words do stir up anger, and can have extreme consequences. Throughout the Bible we see scriptures that tell us to control our tongues, as the words we speak often come from our hearts and reflect our true feelings. We need to control what we say and how we say it, as our words can hurt, provoke and cause anger in others. We need to think before we speak, and then speak gently and softly. We can defend our position on any subject by staying calm, cool and collected and speaking in a gentle voice. In fact, by staying calm and arguing our case gently, we most likely will keep the other person from becoming defensive, agitated and saying things they may not mean. However, if we begin to speak harshly, we most likely will stir up anger in others, and that is where real conflict begins. So many arguments in families begin with harsh words being spoken by either the husband or wife, and results in anger that many times can destroy the marriage. This is why the Bible teaches us that if we can control our tongue, we can control many aspects of our life. “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:4)