Have you heard the phrase “adding fuel to the fire”? When people disagree, conversations can degenerate quickly. I saw this repeatedly firsthand with my prisonmates through the years. One careless voice inflection or one wrong word, and a discussion turns into an argument, or an argument into a fight.


Proverbs teaches us principles for walking in the light in a world darkened by sin. The wise man will use a soft answer to turn away wrath while the fool will use harsh words and stir up strife. James tells us that “the tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire…” (3:6). I think about how my tongue and my word choices set the whole course of my life on fire, even to the point
of imprisonment.


It’s not always just what we say, but also how we say it that leads to problems. Our soft answers will lessen conflict and turn away anger. Don’t “add fuel to the fire”; let the fire of Christ’s love fuel your heart for Him.