The Power of Gentleness

Proverbs 15:1

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

When I first moved to the mountains, I learned that managing the movement of water on a slope is nearly impossible. It seems to be the most powerful force on earth. When it trickles, it slowly carries off your topsoil. When springs come up out of the ground in random mountain places that cannot be plugged, it finds a way down hill and cuts deep gullies under the road and asphalt collapses.

During a storm surge, the huge volume of rain runs where it will, turning into little rivers that destroy everything in their path, and the slopes direct the runoff in random ways that can erode the foundation of a home, no matter how firmly built. A lot of time and money is spent either trying to channel the water or clean up the damage after it has flooded your basement.

As much as water on a slope is dangerous, my anger is even worse. It can bubble up out of nowhere, triggered by an incident that would seem unconnected to my raging tongue. The Bible says my speech can spew fire that will destroy and certainly is at the root of almost all severed relationships.

Do you realize that?

Anger destroys relationships.

And so, when I am in a contentious exchange with someone, be it a close member of my family or a stranger on the street, my anger that can lash out and do damage…but I have the power to stop it and make a difference.

This verse instructs me that if I control my anger, and speak to the other person with a gentle answer, it can make a difference in both of us and turn away the destructive consequences.

In a Sunday school lesson for kids, to teach this verse, we held up a bath towel and let it drape down from our fingers while challenging our students to throw a raw egg at it hoping to make the egg splatter. It never happened.

Over and over a young kid would lean back and throw that egg at the dangling cloth banner and the unbroken orb would fall harmless down into the pocket below. The towel absorbed the speed of the egg as it flew into the cloth and dissipated the energy so that the shell never cracked.

One promise of being under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is that you will be able to bring your explosive passions under control. If you set your heart and mind on surrendering to Him He will help you turn away your anger and that of another person by offering a gentle answer…like the power of the loosely draped towel has to slow down the speed of the flying egg.

As a committed follower who wants the Lord Jesus to control your life, are you willing to surrender your anger to Him and His control?

Look at your anger as a dangerous fire that you can extinguish by confessing it to the Lord and turning over your fears and frustrations to Him. Listen as His Spirit reminds you of this verse when you feel frustrations and your temper starts to rise.

Breathe deeply and ask Him to give you His control.