Do people put up their defenses around you? Perhaps it’s because you speak offensively around them. Maybe you like to “speak your mind,” make fun of friends, or you’re easily agitated. If so, you may prepare people’s faces for battle rather than friendship. Proverbs 12:18 says that our “rash words are like sword thrusts.” Rash words are thoughtless critiques, passive-aggressive responses, and sarcastic remarks. A pattern of sarcastic speech doesn’t feel like sword thrusts to people, but more like incessant paper cuts. In some friendship groups, it functions as an expected form of friendly
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