A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. –Proverbs 15:1, 2
Several years ago I was out driving one afternoon and with a full schedule that day I was a little distracted. While driving down a busy street I made a common, but dangerous driving mistake; I took my eyes off the road for a moment. When I looked up the traffic in front of me had stopped suddenly. I had to just about stand on my brake pedal and I came screeching to a stop with mere inches to spare from the bumper of the car in front of me. It was close, but as my father is fond of saying, “No contact.” Had I delayed a fraction of a second longer I would have surely crashed.
The traffic moved on, I prayed a prayer of thanks to God that I stopped in time, and proceeded on my way. However, the incident wasn’t over. At the next red light the car I had come within a breath of smashing into pulled alongside me. A woman in the passenger seat then proceeded to berate me for nearly causing a catastrophe and for almost giving her a heart attack. She then informed me in no uncertain terms that my poor driving skills left a lot to be desired. The man in the driver’s seat, perhaps her husband, was gripping the steering wheel furiously, scowling at me, and nodding in agreement with her assessment of my dismal driving abilities.
At that moment my blood pressure began to rise and I considered informing these folks that while I did nearly hit them I did, in fact, stop in time. However, I recalled the words of Scripture: A gentle answer turns away wrath. I replied by gently telling the woman that I was honestly sorry for giving them such a fright. Truly I was in the wrong, I told them. It was a silly lapse in concentration, and I did indeed need to work harder at being more careful while driving lest I make the same mistake again.
Both people in the car looked at me as if I was speaking Swahili. This was not the answer they were expecting at all. I can’t help but think that they were all geared up for a fight. When they saw that I wasn’t going to give them one, the wind seemed to go right out of their sails – so to speak. The woman then shrugged her shoulders and said,
“Well, okay; thanks, I guess. And be careful.”
“Yes, and you too,” I said, “And God bless you.”
The woman then sort of half smiled, waved, and we drove off. And that was the end of it. Or was it? I cannot help but think that an impression was made; the love of Jesus Christ shined through. A gentle answer turned away wrath, just as God promises in His Word.
Let the light of the Lord Jesus shine in your life today. Speak with love, grace, humility, and compassion. A lost world needs to see that light in action.
