Positive Graffiti
Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 42-44; 1 John 1
The soothing tongue is a tree of life. Proverbs 15:4
Today's Scripture: Proverbs 15:1-4, 23-28
Insight
Proverbs 15 emphasizes that the tension that occurs between people often isn’t due to truly irreconcilable differences. Instead, while conflict is an inevitable dynamic in human relationships, it can become harmful when people are careless with their words—failing to let them be guided by a gentle spirit and a desire for the other person’s good. Verses 1 and 18 both set up this contrast between an approach that makes a problem worse and an approach that brings healing. In verse 1, we’re told that “a gentle answer turns away wrath,” while “a harsh word stirs up anger.” The word translated “gentle” suggests an approach that’s tender and aimed at bringing comfort. Verse 18 similarly contrasts two kinds of people: someone “hot-tempered” who “stirs up conflict” with someone “patient” who “calms a quarrel.” Our words can be used for good when we ask God to help us carefully weigh them before we speak.
As a young man, journalist Sebastian Junger traveled the United States and wrote about it. One day in the 1980s, he entered a restroom in the Florida Keys and found hateful graffiti scrawled on the walls. Most of it targeted Cuban immigrants. But one message, apparently from a Cuban, stood out. It read, “Thank God the rest of the people in this country are warm and caring and welcomed me in ’62.” Junger observed, “The very worst things about America were on that men’s-room wall, and the very best.”
How are we to respond to the poisonous messages we so often encounter? The book of Proverbs offers sound counsel. Solomon, who compiled most of the book, brackets chapter 15 with similar imagery: “the mouth of the fool gushes folly” (v. 2), and “the mouth of the wicked gushes evil” (v. 28). The chapter begins, however, with the antidote to such venom: “A gentle answer turns away wrath” (v. 1). Solomon also noted, “The soothing tongue is a tree of life” (v. 4). Always, a patient response is key: “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers” (v. 28).
How might God use our words when we ask Him to help us weigh them before our mouths, our pens, or our keyboards spew venom and vitriol at our fellow humans? As the proverb says, “How good is a timely word!” (v. 23).
Reflect & Pray
What’s your reaction when you see or hear hateful speech? How might you respond differently the next time you encounter hate?
Dear Father, how prone I am to answer quickly and in anger. Please guide me by Your Spirit and help me weigh my responses wisely.