A
gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but
the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
Proverbs
15:1-2
There is nothing like a wrong
reply to cause an argument over something that is insignificant. When someone says something to us that we
think is a little mean our first instinct is to say something equally mean
rather than to ask, “What do you mean by that?”
We may find that nothing personal
was meant by the statement or that the person intended to tease us or, given
the time it takes for an answer to be heard, that we cool off enough to realize
it is not worth the trouble to answer and leave no snappy comeback to comeback
and haunt us.
What is not said can be as
important as what is said.
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