In Proverbs 15:23 it says “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!“
It is the common experience of mankind to have conficts with others at some point in our lives. It is amazing to me how often the things that give me the most turmoil is when I say something unkind or unbefitting of who I am. When I am wrong. I like the way the New King James Verson says this verse because often it is the things we say in response that give us greater peace and joy in those situations. People can say hurtful things, and that is unpleasant, but if we can walk away from that situation not regretting anything we said, but having the peace that we were kind, loving and pure in all our responses, has great power to bring us joy. It is much easier for God to defend us when we keep our side of the street clean. The problem comes when we allow ourselves to be overcome with evil. In other words, we allow someone being nasty to us to trigger a nasty reaction back to them. It is much more difficult for God to judge in our favor if we acted wrongly in the situation as well. It really doesn’t matter who did what first. Remember, that by the answer of our mouths, we can increase the level of our joy, and please God as well.