The diplomacy of the White House in the days of Theodore Roosevelt was “Talk softly but carry a big stick.” In life there are times when it is necessary to carry a big stick—but there are also times when it is good to talk softly.
The Bible says, “A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous [harsh] words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). All of us need to give attention to our speech, for much evil can be done by harsh words.
We need to speak softly to our marriage partner. John Bunyan tells us of Talkative: “He was a saint abroad and a devil at home.” Many a man speaks with perfect courtesy to strangers and yet snaps with ungracious and impatient anger and irritability at his own family at home.
We need to speak softly at work. It is not unknown for a man or woman to speak with piety on Sunday and to curse their employees on Monday. It is not unknown for a man or woman to speak with sweet graciousness at a religious meeting, and then go outside and murder someone with harsh words.
We need to speak softly to our children. Many times parents are too harsh in their speaking to children. We provoke them to anger by being too harsh in our speech. The natural inclination of any of us is to bark back at those who bark at us. Let everyone guard his tongue carefully against harsh talk. The tongue is in a wet place and may slip easily.