To stand mute when an answer is demanded is not wise; but to respond in kind to a rude or angry word is like adding fire to fire. One evil multiplied by two adds up to poor arithmetic.
A soft answer is like water to fire. It helps to put out the flame. It takes no courgage to vent anger with loud, rude and obstrusive language, but the bravest of men have mastered the discipline of self-control and learned the importance of a patient response.
The effectiveness of a soft answer is increased because it is more often accompanied by forethought, as opposed to spontaneous fits of anger.
Grievous words stir up anger, but a soft answer turneth away wrath.
Written by Roy Falls
(From personal collection of Weekly Column Of One Hundred Words. Theologically based concepts...derived from a lifetime of experience and study)
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