Daily text, Monday, May 1 2017

[Queen Esther]

They...  [were] amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth.—Luke 4:22.

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2017/5/1

We can imitate Jesus’ gracious speech by being kind, courteous, and considerate of others’ feelings. Seeing the effort a crowd made to hear him speak, Jesus was moved with pity and “started to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34) Even when he was being insulted, Jesus did not resort to harsh speech. (1 Pet. 2:23) Speaking with mildness and tact can be a challenge when our listener is someone whom we know very well. We might feel at liberty to be very frank. That can be true whether we speak with a family member or a close friend in the congregation. Did Jesus feel that his close relationship with his disciples granted him liberty to speak harshly to them? Not at all! When his closest followers continued to argue over who was greater, Jesus corrected them with kind words and an illustration of a young child. (Mark 9:33-37) Elders can imitate Jesus’ example by giving counsel “in a spirit of mildness.”—Gal. 6:1. w15 12/15 3:15, 16