“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1
I so wanted to give a particular individual a harsh word the other day. I was certain the “company” or “person” was trying to scam me. But I wasn’t going to fall for it. I was ready with plenty of harsh words.
Let me explain. It all started with a letter I received, which had my name but came to my mom’s address. This was my first reason for suspicion. The letter claimed that on August 22, last month, I had a toll violation. I drove on the Dulles Greenway Tollway without paying the toll. Umm…I’m pretty sure I’ve never been to Virginia or that part of the country. Second reason for suspicion. They also had the old license plate for the car. We had to put on a new license plate in July. So, the plate number listed wasn’t even on my car on August 22nd. Three strikes…You’re out…this is a scam.
I was ready to just throw the letter in the trash and ignore it. However, I showed it to Nancy just for the fun of it. She looked at it, read it, and then said, “This looks pretty legit.” My reply was, “Of course it does. Scammers are getting really good. They want it to look legit.” Nancy gave the letter back to me but had that look in her eye that said, “You might want to dig into this deeper.”
I checked with the Better Business Bureau. The company was listed but not accredited. There were complaints listed but all had been resolved. The customer service number on the BBB listing matched what was in the letter. So, I decided I would call but I was ready for them. I had all my arguments and proof that this was a scam laid out in my head.
I called the number. I actually got a person right away. No recorded message or push this or dial that. I calmly and politely said who I was and told the individual why I was calling. Very pleasantly he said, “I can help you with that.” Then he politely asked what the issue was. I told him about the letter I received. He asked for the license plate that was listed in the letter. I gave it to him and before I could unload my “proof” of why this was a scam, he said, “I think I see the problem here.” He said their camera scanner had misread the license plate. It was actually a West Virginia license plate (same number as the old plate on my vehicle), but the scanner misread the state.
Without my saying anything else, the customer service gentleman apologized for the mistake, totally admitting it was their error and he would correct it. And he did…immediately. In our ending conversation I admitted that I hoped to visit his area of the country sometime, to which he replied that I absolutely needed to, especially when the colors are changing.
As I hung up the phone, I thought to myself, “Well, that went way better than I thought it would.” And then this passage from the Bible came to mind. A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1. It struck me that this passage was just lived out. I was ready with lots of harsh words. However, the soft, personable, and even respectful answers I received turned away wrath….my wrath.
As we all go through our day, may we remember this proverb. When we find ourselves in stressful and tense situations, may we remember that a soft answer can often turn away wrath, or hostility. But a harsh word is likely to bring exactly what we don’t want, an angry response. I’m going to strive to remember this experience when I sense angry words filling my mind. A soft answer turns away wrath…. Good words from God’s word!!
Pastor Keith