WHAT DOES BIBLE SAY ABOUT’TACTFUL REPLIES’?

                                               As a part of strategy to handle inter-personal issues , people are advised by the Management Experts to handle the matter “tactfully”. This means instead of giving a straight answer to the issue raised, people  are advised to give ' tactful' replies so that the matter does not precipitate into a problem. In other words, instead of a straight “Yes” or “No”, people are encouraged to give replies which are vague and not straight.  For example I receive a call from one of my friends at an odd time and so I don’t want to attend the same. I ask my wife to pick up the call and tell my friend that I am not in the house.  Here, my response through my wife  is tactful , to avoid problems from my friend’s side! But in fact this is a “lie” which is made to appear as a truth to my friend!

Similarly, we also tend to use acceptable words for unacceptable practices. For  example, often           ' bribe' is called a gift. By using the word gift, the bribe becomes acceptable!

                                Now what does the Bible say about such tactful dealings? In Matthew 5:37,Jesus Christ says “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one”. Initially practising this straight replies might cause problems in and around us. But in course of time, people dealing with you will start appreciating you for your honest reply. I was a Senior Officer handling a host of Employee and Customer related issues in a large office. When the Lord convicted me in this matter, I started giving straight and honest replies to the issues placed before me. True, lot of problems cropped up between me and others in the beginning. But in due course, people started admiring me for my honest response. Today,  some of you  might be in the same position,  giving tactful replies as I used to. You cannot change your past but definitely you can make a difference in your future. If you want to change, just repent from deep within your heart and meditate on the verse mentioned above. God will  give you the grace to tell a straight “Yes” or “No”! God bless you !