Is all abuse really that serious?

Proverbs 15:4Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 16:18-19Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.

Proverbs 19:19Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty. If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again.

Proverbs 29:22An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.

Abuse is always dangerous, whether it leaves physical marks or not—and no kind of abuse is insignificant. It’s not likely the abuse will “go away” either. Abuse tends to happen in cycles. Tension builds into an instance of abuse, causing emotional and/or physical harm to the victim. Then the victim and the abuser reconcile, and there is a period of calm until the tension builds again. Patterns of anger and sin can and will repeat themselves, and their effects build up over time.