four words that change things…

don’t hang around angry people. some of you might be thinking, “what if the angry person is somebody in my family? how do i handle this?

that’s an honest question. what if it’s my husband/wife, how do i deal with that? the bible has an answer for this, too. it tells what to do in our closest relationships to make sure that anger doesn’t continually happen in those relationships. this is a great verse for you to memorize. proverbs 15.1 (msg), a gentle response diffuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles the fire. this is a verse that you want to use toward yourself – internally.

in the midst of an argument, you want to use it for yourself, not like on someone else. you don’t look at someone else and say, a gentle response diffuses anger.

gentle does not mean be quiet. you can be quietly sarcastic or harsh and cause just as much anger. in your relationship, let’s say you are the quieter one when you argue. but you can be just as harsh. there’s a word that i can use – a single word – that can push my wife, margaret’s buttons. it is when i say “dear!” there’s nothing at all gentle about that as quietly as i might say it. gentle does not mean quiet. it means humble. it means i’m thinking about the other person in this moment. it means i’m taking just enough of a step back and thinking what might they need.

that means that in dealing with anger there is a loving phrase that we need to learn to say – “i could be wrong.” try that just once this week and see what happens. see how it changes things.

just a thought from the front porch…