LORD, HELP ME TO CONTROL WHAT I  SAY

"A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell" James 3:4-6 (Message)

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and  the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. Words can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

There is a Yoruba proverb that says - "Eyin lohun, toba ti jabo kose ko mo" meaning "words are like eggs, once it falls you can't pick it up again". As it is impossible to put together a broken egg so it is to recall a bad or unkind word spoken in anger. King David's sound  understanding of the effect of unkind words made him cry to God for help as follows:- "Lord, help me control what I say. Don’t let me say anything bad. Take away any desire to do evil. Keep me from joining the wicked in doing wrong. Help me stay away from their feasts"- Psalms 141:3-4  (Easy to Read Version)

Beloved, can you imagine the numbers of people that are living with scars/deep holes/wounds in their hearts today as a result of those wicked nails of unkind words that you hammered into the fence of their life.? How many verbal wounds have you inflicted on your children, spouse, neighbours, siblings, friends, colleagues, parents, In-Laws, church members? I urge you to please ask for their forgiveness today. Like king David, please pray that from today God will to set a guide on your mouth and forcefully take away the desire to do evil or say unkind/bad words to everyone around you in Jesus name.

Reverend Andrew Pratt's hymn below on the subject speaks volume. The hymn ends with a prayer point that I love. The prayer is "God give us grace to speak with care". May I urge you to please make this prayer your heart's  cry to God this week.

REIGN IN YOUR TONGUE
Reign in your tongue, have self control,
Then think of all you do or say,
We need to answer ill with Love,
To find that there's another way

Things that we say, or think, or do,
Can change  the way that we behave,
Can alter how we treat our friends,
As little ripples forms a wave,

God give us grace to speak with care,
To cherish truth, give others worth,
To build each other up in love,
By speaking good throughout this earth.

This week, for everyone who have been careless with the nails and hammers in their tongues, I pray that God will give them the grace to speak with care henceforth. For those who were victims of those deadly nails and wicked hammers; people who are living with deep verbal wounds in their heart, as the Lord God of Heaven lives, before the sun set today, God will heal those deep wounds and give you grace to forgive everyone responsible for the scars in Jesus name. Amen

Good morning and do have a week full of pleasant surprises in Jesus name. Amen

Maranatha!

Bro Okanlawon Taiwo

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