Proverbs 15:1

A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

Even though we possess the message of truth, we may sometimes forget that the way we deliver the message is just as important as the message itself. We are certainly seeing an extreme moral decline in our nation and we, as Christians, are called to stand for the Lord rather than compromising. We have a message of hope, but if we deliver it in anger or rudely or in hate, then the recipient is not going to be inclined to receive it.

If anger arises in us, we must exercise restraint and grant love and respect to others.  Wrath had arisen within Job’s young friend Elihu, but he waited until Job and his other three friends had finished their lengthy speeches before he took his turn speaking, because he paid them the honor due for their age (Job 32:4). He then delivered a respectful, reasoned, impassioned, although not entirely accurate speech since he was not aware of what transpired in chapters one and two, but his anger did not get the best of him.

Remember we are God’s ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). We live for a God whose ways are at odds with the world and there is going to be friction, because people by nature are in rebellion with God. We have the message of life so let us conduct ourselves with the responsibility, countenance, and conduct of the office of an ambassador and speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Pastor Jeff Mericle