Proverbs 1:18 “A hot-tempered man (woman) stirs up strife, but the slow to anger pacifies contention.” 

My thought: a baby uses a pacifier to keep calm. Maybe I should picture a pacifier in my mouth when I begin to get angry. A baby can’t talk back or yell with a pacifier in its mouth, and I can’t talk back or say something I’ll regret or have to apologize for! Just a thought, but I might have to carry that picture in my mind once in a while. 

There are so many verses in Proverbs 15 that are about the tongue, but I never noticed them until I came upon that word “pacifies” and started pondering it. 

Verse 1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger,” verse 4,” A soothing tongue is a tree of life,” verse 7, “The lips of the wise spread knowledge,” and verse 26, “But pleasant words are pure.” The more you look, the more there are verses throughout the Bible that pertain to what we say and do. 

There will always be opportunities in our life to get angry at someone: it’s our response that is important to God. We need to stay calm and think before we respond, and that’s the hard part for us. 

Verse 28, “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.” I’ve always loved the word “ponder,” it means weighing a matter so that nothing escapes your attention, and you understand what is happening. 

Sometimes a person lashes out at us because they are unhappy and going through struggles and are taking it out on us. Other times there may be some truth coming out that we need to work on in our own life. Whatever it is, we are to be thoughtful before we respond in anger.

Another reason to ponder our response is that words can be used to both hurt and to heal. When we hurt another person, we are required to go to that person and apologize and to ask their forgiveness. We need to restore the relationship with the person and not let it hinder our future together. Being angry also hurts our relationship with God and that is most important of all. 

Well, that’s all for now, I’ve got to go write out that verse and stick it on my mirror with a little drawing of a pacifier to help me to remember it! Maybe also put it on a notecard and set it by my kitchen sink, I’ll see it often there, too.