The last time a person insulted you, what did you do? Did you let them have a piece of your mind or were you an example of grace?
If you struggle to hold your tongue and your temper when someone is being less than kind, first lady Serita Jakes has some advice for you: try a “soft answer” instead.
“I found that in silence and in quietness, I found confidence, and God rewarded me for it,” said the leading lady of The Potter’s House of Dallas where her husband, Bishop T.D. Jakes is pastor.
She continued, “A soft answer turns away wrath”—a truth lifted directly from scripture. Proverbs 15:1 NIV reads, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Serita dropped this tidbit during a sit-down chat with her daughter, Sarah Jakes-Roberts’ during Sarah’s Woman Evolve conference in Denver, Colorado last month.
Sarah, the first lady of Potter’s House at One LA, admitted to previously struggling to hold her tongue, but said God has since “delivered me.”
According to Serita, “You can always out-class a person, but you can never out-trash a person. You can always just go soar above it.”
If you have issues taming your tongue, keep in mind Colossians 4:6 ESV, which says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
In the New Testament times, salt was often used to preserve meat and keep it from spoiling. In the same way, season your words with salt, keeping them wholesome and pure, free from anything rotten or corrupting.
Whether you are setting someone straight or explaining your point of view, do it in a way that doesn’t contradict your claim to Christianity. You can be firm and classy when getting your point across, without being borderline rude or using language that would earn you a mouthful of soap.
The light of Christ should shine through everything you do (Matthew 5:16), even your speech.
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