"A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit." (Proverbs 15:4 ESV) After posting the other day in my newsletter, Afterwords ( "Words fruitful or fatal" ), I was asked by a reader, "Then, is there no room to speak up for truth? Are you saying that we shouldn’t express our thoughts? It seems we would be committing a sin of omission if we don’t speak clearly against evil." Indeed, we are to speak truthfully about good and evil! The problem is, according to the Bible, many of us don't know how to do that in a godly way, at the right time, and without pride or self-righteousness or vindictiveness. It's difficult to speak truth in a way (and time) that invites repentance and healing. For example, we go amiss... ...when we are uninformed, or misinformed, or make a hasty accusation: "The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools." (Proverbs 15:7) ...when we are too selective in the truth we sha...