Day: July 15, 2026

Proverbs 15:1

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Someone raises their voice, and something in you wants to be just as loud. One old sage expressed this tendency with the phrase, “I don’t get angry. I get even!  

That’s the moment this verse talks about. Their anger may not be yours to own, but your response is. 

Give a soft answer! A gentle answer isn’t a surrender or a lie. It’s a choice. A choice made on purpose that speaks  without adding fuel. The tone of your answer carries weight long after words fade. You can say something true and still say it in a way that wounds. Scripture doesn’t ask you to avoid the hard conversation. It tells you to answer with a different attitude. 

Be kind instead of sharp. Be calm instead of fired up. That kind of gentleness takes more strength than the shout ever will.

I’m Lonnie Davis and these are words worth thinking.

Prayer: Lord, give me a gentle tongue in hard moments. Let my words calm.

Romans 12:16

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.”

Paul doesn’t ask us to hope for harmony, he commands it. And the biggest threat to that harmony is pride, the “I’m above that person kind of pride.” We should not have a pull to climb toward people who can raise our status.

Paul flips that instinct. Instead of reaching for the important, he tells us to welcome those the world considers unimportant.

He doesn’t say “tolerate them.” He says enjoy their company. Listen to that again, “Enjoy their company.” That doesn’t mean to look for a polite way to get away from them, but enjoy them.

This is exactly how Jesus lived. He sat at tables with people the world had written off, and he actually enjoyed being there.

If we want real harmony, it starts here. Not admiring the overlooked from far away, but pulling up a chair and staying a while.

I’m Lonnie Davis and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Prayer: Lord, break my pride. Teach me to enjoy the people the world overlooks.