Taming the Tongue ~ Day 6

Day 6 of taming ur tongue -

 

The Argumentative Tongue

 

"Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; Only fools insist on quarreling" Proverbs 20:3.  Argumentative people enjoy  directly resisting anyone whose viewpoint is different from theirs. In fact, they will get someone else on the defensive never without fodder for a verbal fight. They can always depend upon anyone. Discussion of religion or politics to produce unending quarrels, being argumentative is a futile use of the tongue and centainly not the way to win friends or influence people. It was legendary American -Cowboy -turned-entertainer Will Rogers who cautioned, "people's minds are changed through observation and not through argument." In other words, contentiousness negates ones ability to bring about change. See, argumentative people will try to draw people into discussion that often result in an argument when they run out of points to put forth or have no logical response to their opponents rebuttals. They resort to personal attacks on their character and name calling. They bolster in their own self worth. They can only feel good about themselves by attacking the validity of other people's opinions, philosophies or beliefs and then maneuvering them into defending their position. The quarrelers goal is not to add value to someone's life by showing him the error of his way, in fact, Mrs. Quarreler would be greatly disappointed if her target reponded, "Oh thank you for shedding light on this matter. I will change my thinking immediately". Why, such a concession would end the argument. (Matthew 5:25) It takes two to tangle.  JESUS cautioned us to agree with your adversary quickly. We should remain loving even when we disagree with the views and values of others without being mean spirited (Proverb17:14). Begining a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out! When an argument starts, we should respond quickly and just say, "that's your opinion", and if u do have a tendency to be contentious or argumentative, remember that it costs u absolutely nothing to repect someone's opinion, especially on matters that have no eternal consequence.

 

(Today's Affirmation):

I will resist becoming contentious by respecting everyone's right to have his own values and views.

 

Be blessed and walk in truth and love!