The wisest person who ever lived said on numerous occasions, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!”  Who was this brilliant sage?  My mom!  Yours probably said the same as well.

This sagacious statement serves as a segue into this week’s “Steps on ‘Toning Down the Rhetoric.’”  There are three more steps for us to consider.

One – Think before you speak.  In Proverbs 15, we read: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (v. 1); “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit” (v. 4); and “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!” (v. 23).

Simply put: think before you speak.  As mentioned two weeks ago, words are powerful.  Therefore, we need to consider our words and tone carefully.  We need to give prior thought to the outcome of our words – the impact they will have upon the intended recipient – and choose our words accordingly.  Giving thought to what we want to say and the manner in which we ought to say it will serve us well in lowering the temperature of a potentially heated exchange.

Two – Seek to edify.  Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.”  Toning down the rhetoric calls for words and tone that build others up instead of tearing them down.  Love seeks to impart grace.  Colossians 4:6 adds, “Let your speech always be gracious.”  When we seek to edify, the temperature goes way down on rhetoric’s thermostat.

Lastly – Set an example.  1 Timothy 4:12 exhorts, “set . . .an example in speech.”  The “golden rule” (Matthew 7:12) is applicable here.  If I want others to tone down the rhetoric, let it begin with me.  Toning down the rhetoric requires each and every one of us to set an example for others to emulate.

Toning down the rhetoric: Think before you speak; Seek to edify; and Set an example.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24)