Prov. 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
This is a very simple saying but one which we hardly ever embrace as people.
We have all kinds of answers to people’s questions but how many of them are inspired by the Holy Spirit?
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Jesus was a man full of answers and wisdom, and yet, over and over He chose to say, He only spoke the things He heard the Father saying!
We often give ourselves free reign to speak whatever comes to mind, or to repeat words that someone else has said without even really knowing the truth, if it can even be known.
Jesus only asked questions that would save people from themselves. An example was when the Pharisees asked Him under whose authority He did the things He did. Jesus came right back with a question about John’s baptism. It was a simple quid-pro-quo situation, but because they had evil intent and were not seeking the true and living God, they could not answer for fear of being exposed.
We need to know our own motives for answering, or asking questions. God doesn’t need us to grill people on His behalf—simply ask the questions He wants asked.
But, can we do that? Are we humble enough to let God have the glory and get great benefit from our obedience? Or, do we also turn away and have to say we don’t know if God said that or not.
Pastor Brent