One of my favorite passages is Proverbs 15:1. It says “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”.

Everywhere we turn these days it seems harsh words rule the day, and many people are just angry. Triggered by the news or social media, I’ve witnessed both written and verbal exchanges that were just painful to watch. It seems like it’s just easier to be angry for many instead of looking for the good in any given situation. So we use harsh words knowing it will upset someone, and when they do get angry we feel justified.

What if we just spoke softly and swallowed every harsh word that came into our mouth? What if we just spoke life over people instead of death?

Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”.

I’m a firm believer that what we give out, we receive back. It may not happen immediately, but in time I do believe it will come. So maybe we can learn to speak softly so we can have soft words coming back to us.

Part of being the best you that you can be is learning how to speak to others with the same kindness and respect you expect to be spoken to you. It’s hard sometimes; I won’t even pretend it’s not. It’s hard to hear harsh words or to be yelled at, but sometimes our response can change the atmosphere. You never know, it may even change someone’s life. And even when our kindness is not reciprocated we still have to try. I know it may not be as simple as I’m trying to portray it, but we’ve gotta start somewhere.

Remember to be the best you that you can be and I’ll be there best me that I can be and we’ll change the world together. 🙂

Published by Jeff

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