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How Do I Deal With Angry People?Awake!—2001 | November 22
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“He was raging mad. I guess because he saw that I was little, he wanted to beat me up. As I was backing away, I said: ‘Hold on for a second! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Why do you want to beat me up? I haven’t done anything to you. I don’t even know what you are mad about. Can we talk about it?’”—16-year-old David.
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How Do I Deal With Angry People?Awake!—2001 | November 22
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The Bible gives this wise advice: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up.” (Proverbs 15:1) Yes, responding to anger with “a word causing pain” only aggravates the situation. However, a mild reply can often calm things down and defuse a tense situation.
Recall David, mentioned at the outset. He was able to talk the bully into explaining why he was angry. It turned out that someone had stolen the bully’s lunch, and he was simply taking out his frustration on the first person who came his way. “Beating me up is not going to replace your lunch,” David reasoned. He then suggested that they both go over to the cafeteria. “Since I knew the clerk there,” recalls David, “I was able to replace his lunch. He shook my hand, and he was friendly to me after that.” Do you see how powerful mild words can be? As a proverb puts it, “a mild tongue itself can break a bone.”—Proverbs 25:15.
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