Donald Trump And Diplomacy

My youngest brother and I were talking this morning about the fact that President Trump is upsetting a lot of folks by the vitriolic words coming out of his mouth (see here and here).

My advice to President Trump, would be to understand the old adage that "cooler heads prevail" ..... and that he should learn to deal with conflicts and differences of opinion through the use of diplomacy, rather than any threats or abusive language that might issue forth from his mouth. Problem solving is enhanced by an even-tempered approach (Proverbs 17:27; cf. James 1:19).

My recommendation would be for the President to read Dale Carnegie's good book here, and then perhaps take a Dale Carnegie course, noting three success skills that he obviously needs to acquire — listening, communication, and people skills.

Note how the apostle Paul used diplomacy in teaching the Athenian philosophers of his day in Acts 17:15-31. He didn't condemn any of them to hell (that's God's prerogative), but related to them the fact that he was very religious just like they were. In other words, he established common ground with them, in order to more effectively speak to them about "the unknown God."

If his speech had not been diplomatic in nature, there might have been an uprising, rather than a more calm and positive outcome (note Acts 17:32-34).

Beloved, our job is not to win at any and all costs, but to create in people a thirst for the gospel, then allow God to "give the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:7).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets