A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Proverbs 15:1).

I can't stand it when people get snippy with me.  Even if a person is providing me with factual information -- where I'm supposed to get in line, how to observe a place's policy on the usage of mobile telephones, when to stop or go in my car -- I become extremely frustrated when the information is delivered in a snooty, snippy, irritating, angry, harsh way.  I don't care if it's waitresses, airline employees, librarians, strangers on the street, next-door neighbors, or even members of my own family!  There's just something about harsh words and tones that really gets under my skin.  In those moments when I'm being snipped at, I want someone (and I'm more than willing to volunteer myself for the role, if need be!) to teach the snippers a thing or two about harsh words and gentle words.  I want them to be confronted with the wisdom of Proverbs 15:1 because -- by golly! -- these are things that any decent human being should learn!

But you know what I actually tend to do when people get snippy with me?  I snip right back at them.

Instead of responding to harshness in gentle, respectful, reasonable ways -- I often escalate the situation by lashing back at the people who have offended me.  And in so doing, I stir up more anger, to the extent where tiny points of protocol become grounds for deep-seeded resentment, burning glares of hatred, and mumbled curses of vengeance.  Instead of diffusing a situation, I exacerbate it.  And instead of anyone being taught anything about human decency and the basic differences between harsh words and gentle words, every person present (myself included) only becomes more angry... and more afflicted by the absurdity of it all.

As I stop and consider the implications of Proverbs 15:1, I realize that I will never succeed in "teaching the snippers a thing or two about harsh words and gentle words" until I can teach myself and bring my own attitude and aural impulses under control.  I need to view the snips as opportunities to practice my own gentle words and then see what comes after that.