January 13, 2019
Conflict. Can’t say I like it. But King Solomon said: “A soft, gentle, and thoughtful answer turns away wrath, but harsh, painful, and careless words stir up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1 AMP)
We live in a culture where venting and “telling people off” is portrayed in the media as funny and/or our right. Sitcoms glorify sarcasm, indeed make a lot of money with it!
I once read a comment from a counselor who said that much of his practice had to do with helping people who had been wounded by the words of others.
When I was a child, it was popular to say: “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Nonsense. Broken bones will mend, but broken hearts from harsh words take much longer to heal. And sometime they don’t.
While conflict resolution is a complex topic, a good starting point is soft, gentle, thoughtful words. From a grace-filled heart.