My Grandpa Vardaman must have been an amazing man. He passed away when I was small, so I don't remember much about this tall, hard-working man, but I have heard stories. Evidently, Grandpa had "a way" with people, animals, and yes, even insects. As a matter of fact, he kept many beehives at his home, and gathered honey from them on a continuous basis. It is said that my Grandpa could rob a hive of honey bees without any protective gear at all, and NEVER be stung.
Just from that tid-bit of information, I gather that Grandpa must have been, at least in some ways, a gentle man. Otherwise, he would have never been able to steal honey from his hives without being the victum of a few bee stings. If he was hasty or impatient with his little winged-workers, I'm sure they would have let him know of their unhappiness with his harsh behavior. It probably took a few tries before he mastered the process, but evidently, he found that gentleness, instead of harshness, pays huge dividends in honey - and in life, too!
Unlike Grandpa though, I'm afraid sometimes, we're not such quick studies when it comes to learning lessons. I know I'm not. I usually end up learning them the hard way. And learning to be gentle with my tongue, is no exception.
Proverbs 15:1 says "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." This Truth has been played out in life more times that you and I can count, and probably more times in our own lives more than we can count. But which part of the verse exemplifies you? Are you the one who always speaks with gentleness, or are your words characteristic of the latter part of this verse? I find that more times that not, that sharp tongue of mine seems to rise to the occasion, and incite wrath when it could have otherwise been avoided.
How crazy would it have been for my Grandpa to rush up to the beehive, jerk the lid off, and start treating the bees with anything other than gentleness. He'd come away from that experience sore, poisoned, and rather guarded from any future contact with the hive. He'd also come away empty-handed.
Sounds a little crazy doesn't it?
And yet, we do that kind of thing all the time, and that result becomes my reality. Lack of sleep and stress get to our weary bodies, and rather than being gentle with those around us and showing them the respect they deserve, we run "ramshod" over their feelings. Those we love walk away emotionally sore, poisoned, and guarded from any future contact with us. And as for us, well, we come away emotionally empty-handed.
But what about when we are the offended ones? Does this Truth still ring true? Of course, it does. For instance, if someone chooses to "bite" at me, and I fight my instantaneous reaction to fight back, wrath can be avoided. The gentleness in my words and actions can diffuse not just my anger, but that of the other person, and it will keep the situation from escalating further.
Can I just ask, how much better would our lives and our relationships be if we put this simple little verse into practice? There's no reason not to, so, let's do it. Let's remember to act in gentleness, when we feel like being harsh. Let's remember to check our retaliations at the door when we feel unjustly accused. Let's choose to be gentle and respect the other individual as precious in the sight of God...our King.
Dearest God, I need help with this today. Help me give the gentle answer...to be the one who diffuses an intense situation...to be Christ-like when I don't feel very Christ-like. Thank You that You will do this for me. Thank You that Your Word is so true and that You are wisdom for me. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You.
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