A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. Proverbs 12:19

In our self-obsessed society, we are told that we must always defend ourselves or be thought weak. Here in the Bible, it says something totally different. What if we say nothing about an insult or a hurtful remark? Will it truly eat away at us? I think there are times when to say nothing at all is the best course, and certainly if we MUST say something, we should think about our words instead of immediatley answering the remark. Most of us do not possess awesome comebacks. In fact, our comeback may set us up again for another insult which will lead to an ugly situation. Does saying nothing at all mean that you accept, like a doormat the ugly comment someone has made to you? If you think about it, saying nothing at all leaves the speaker holding the ball, and looking like a fool as you turn to leave. Not saying anything also gives you time to think and perhaps speak to this person maturely at another time.
I am not saying these type of situations are easy; I still remember with a tinge of hurt, a comment a girl made to me in junior high school. Mind you, this was about 28 years ago. I had made friends with a couple of girls who hung out with a larger group in the library. We were having a nice time until the "leader" of the group came in, looked at me and said, "You need to leave because frankly, I don't like you". This was a girl I did not really know or hang around with. There was really no reason for her to say this except that I was one of the "unpopular" girls at school. I just remember the silence as I left, my face hot with embarrassment. I also know that the other girls knew I had never done anything against her. It was just a mean remark. I did not have the emotional tools, as a 13-year-old to know what to say back, so I said nothing. Perhaps that was the best thing I could have done. I had no idea that I was in my last months as an "unpopular" student. By the next year, my freshman year in high school, I had plenty of friends, and a large group to hang out with. Things change.
Not all conversations are going to have the blunt, cruel intentions that they do in Junior High School, but words will sometimes hurt. Will you know the difference between the times you should say something, and the times you should be silent? Let the Spirit lead you.