A Few Minutes with God: A Devotional on Proverbs 15:1-2 Words Have Power

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness" Proverbs 15:1-2"

I'm always amazed at the truth in this statement. There was a time when I would fire back without thought to how my words would sting; sadly, it was my intent.  After a time of God working in my heart, I tired of acting a fool.

Not too long ago, I was having a conversation that became quite heated -even to the point that I raised my voice, which caused the other party to raise their's. As if God smacked me in the forehead, I stopped and took a deep breath. I changed my tone, and gave up my "right to be right."  Almost instantly, the conversation ended with the other party ill-prepared for me to back down. After a moment of silence, we continued on and all ended well and each of us walked away content and the matter resolved.

It would seem that if we made it a point to stay calm, and not feel the need to be "right" or to be heard, we would be the wiser.  Especially if we would take the time to consider the other person's point of view.  The biggest arguments tend to revolve around Politics, Religion,and Sports.  We all have our opinions and what we believe to be the truth; there is nothing wrong with this, and I believe we should have healthy discussions and or debates as it can lead to understanding, and sometimes a change of heart.

We could be quite productive and aiding others in why we believe the way we do if we put these wise words into practice.  Let each of us strive to be the wise one; backing down does not imply we are compromising our position, but rather we are putting peace and respect before ourselves.  This is God's will for all mankind. It may be that there will be another opportunity to pick up the conversation, but if we repay harshness for harshness, then we will surely lose.

Today I will be conscious of:

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for such great words of wisdom. May we who claim to know you live and love as Jesus lived. Help us to recognize that Jesus neither compromised or argued. He simply shared the truth and let others decide.  Let us go back to basics Lord, and not be clouded by mere knowledge that only puffs up. As Paul reminded us, we are living epistles - help us to act like it. In the name of Jesus, Amen.