Your mother-in-law still remembers what you said in 2019. Your teenager replays your words before bed. Your spouse flinches when you use that tone because she knows what’s coming.
Gunpowder words (sarcasm, “you always” or “you never,” character attacks, belittling, comparisons) seem to work in the moment. The reality … they detonate after being spoken. They seem to help us “win.” But underground, every harsh word makes others less likely to be vulnerable with us or trust us. Every cutting comment teaches them that honesty is NOT safe.
We are not winning arguments. We are losing relationships with gunpowder words!
Proverbs 15:1 NIV A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs is clear. It is basic cause and effect. Harshness produces harshness. Gentleness defuses it. So why do we keep using gunpowder words? Because we’re hurt. Scared. Unheard. Not understood. Because we think if we can just say the right (wrong) thing, we can make them feel what we feel.
Prayer: God, I have used words as weapons. Show me every landmine I have buried in my relationships. When anger rises and I want to make others hurt, STOP me. I want to win hearts back. Amen.
