This woman, his wife of fifteen years, in doing her wifely duty of serving her husband dinner had served the food; and he sat at table, his face though was long-looking and morose. She too sat at the table doing her share of the eating. Everything had been well until she noticed that his drinking glass was almost empty. However, in the course of filling it she sloshed some water on the part of the table beside his plate, and some spilled on him. Sshh, can you hear the rumble? That was when the dam broke!
He jumped up from his seat. "Why can't you do just do something right? Idiot!" Even though she was saying she was sorry, so the barrage of insults continued till he said "ashawo". You think this is unbelievable, right? Did he just called her a harlot? His wife, a harlot? Well i do not intend to busy myself with why he shouldn't have said this or that. Or why he shouldn't have gone so far down that he totally slipped off reason.
I believe it will be much more purposeful unto us if we consider how the wife responded after such a vile statement. Here we have a tense situation. The air has suddenly become negatitvely electrified. Everything is set to blow off. Well, you may say, "shouldn't it?" But this woman, God bless her soul, calmly turned to her husband who was already leaving the dinning room, and said, "But you are my only customer. And you do not even pay for it. You have always gotten it free of charge, my lord."
Then this man with his mouth agape, looked at his wife for almost thirty seconds before he burst out laughing. Speaking as if in a whisper he repeated to himself the phrases: "...am the only customer, ...i don't pay, ...free of charge." He walked up to his wife, stood her up and capped his apologies with an embrace. Then he sat down to continue eating but intermitently, he would shake his head and laugh out loud and yet repeat to himself, "free of charge... free of charge." He could not just help it.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness." Prov.15:1-2
You see, the wise woman of a wife difused the situation just with the right statement. She could have blown her top. She could have chosen to say hurtful things back, call him names also, just spite him back. And i bet you, the situation would have gotten out of hand. But she chose to take out the spark from that combination of circumstances and replaced it with a smile.
She chose! She chose to use the grace supplied her by God. She chose!! She chose to reply with a soft answer. She chose!!! She chose to say the right thing at the right time.
Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. Col.4:6
Salt as used here implies wisdom in speech. Even of Jesus, the physician-disciple wrote in Lk.4:22, "And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." In the words of Matthew Henry:
"Let all discourse be discreet and seasonable, as becomes Christians. Though it be not always of grace, it must always be with grace. Though our discourse be of that which is common, yet it must be in a Christian manner. Grace is the salt which seasons our discourse, and keeps it from corrupting. It is not enough to answer what is asked, unless we answer aright also."
It is not enough to ask for grace but to as well, use the grace given. It takes a decision to make this commitment. I wish you would desire always to supply a soft answer. I wish you would ask for grace for such wisdom. I wish you would CHOOSE to use the grace supplied. All we have to do is ask of the Father. If He giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; what response do you think He would give His own sons? Ask today! Choose today! Decide today! It shall be a WISE commitment.
Shalom !!!
