THINK BEFORE YOU TALK.

TEXT: PROVERBS 15: 28

“The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.”

The scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever we do, we should do it to the glory of God- that includes the way we talk or respond to conversations with people.

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:6).

As believers, we should be careful how we talk either during formal or informal (joke/gist) time. Some get carried away during informal conversation; they let down their guard and talk recklessly throwing caution into the air that people will be wondering if they are genuinely saved!

Professing Jesus as your lord and saviour has given you some unpaid “watchdogs.” Their Eagle eyes watches every step you take without you knowing. They listen to verbal and non- verbal expression you make, they want to scrutinise you to find errors to accuse you with.

The devil is an accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). Therefore, do not give him a foothold in your life.

Speak gracefully; let people see God in your conversation. Worldly slangs are not for genuine believers (that is conformity to the world).

Before you speak or utter a word, think “will this utterance glorify God?”

Some people are saints until there is a reason for them to be angry.

When anger takes over, you will marvel at their utterances- Let not your righteousness be evident around the church vicinity alone, show your righteousness EVERYWHERE and at all times (either at formal or non-formal setting).

If you are in the midst of unbelievers and they cannot see your light or righteousness in your conversation, if you flow easily with their “norms” then, there is a problem with your salvation.

Do not question the existence of God in your life with your utterances- think before you talk, make sure your conversation will bring glory to the name of God whenever you open your mouth to talk.

Be very careful to choose your word, be disciplined with word- do not talk carelessly thinking that “they will understand that I was joking or they will understand that I was being provoked to say what I did not mean.”

“How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life.” (James 3: 5-6).

In the same vein, do not let God down with your utterances when you are angry- lean to control your emotion. The scripture says in Philippians 1:27 that “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” In your anger do not sin, talk less when you are angry so that you will not utter what you will regret later.

I will leave you with this verse of the Bible “Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city.” (Proverbs 16:32).

Image: Google image.

DON’T FAKE IT!

TEXT: PROVERBS 12:9

“Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.”

The world is particular about image, pretence, materialism, outward appearance and unreal personality, over uniqueness, reality, noble character and genuineness. People live fake lives so that they can be accepted and be relevant in the society- since what the society celebrates is images, materialism, pretence,  and so on at the expense of good moral value, intelligence, noble character and godly living.

Only a few percentage of the population care about godly living and honourable character- gone are those days when people give respect and honour to people of noble and excellent character.

These days, the world gives more attention and recognition to people of no “tangible substance” aside of their fake outward glory. The society gives more accolades to vessels that are empty- no content inside them, no substantial achievement accredited to their names.

However, because of the fake life that they are living, the society doffs their hats for them.

When you see some people from a distance- looking at them in their pride and disguised living, you would think they have something to offer their world. On getting close to them you will discover that the image they portray is mot who they are- they are just hiding under the mask of who they are not (That is what the society turned them to).

Our text compared two personalities; the first one is the one that acts like a nobody yet he has a servant. The second personality is the one that pretends to be somebody and does not have food.

I will like to relate these two personalities to our present world. There are some people that are blessed both materially (wealth) and morally (noble character). Yet they are very down to earth, you will not see them making noise around, they will not oppress others with their money- they keep low profile life without intimidating or showing off their worth to people around them- They are best referred to as “humility personified.” These category of people definitely live in the love and fear of God.

The second personality are those that are nothing both morally and materially, but because of the pressure of getting accepted in the society, they would go to any length to live up to the eyes of the society.

They would borrow money; some may even steal to live the flamboyant and extravagant life that is beyond them.

They have lost their morals, self -control and their conscience has bid them farewell! Therefore, they can go to any length to gain prominence and to maintain their fake living.

The outcome of living a fake life could be disastrous. It could lead to different forms of problems ranging from- High blood pressure, stress, and sleeplessness, getting into unclean and shady deals or business. In the quest to meet up to the standard of the society- to maintain the status quo, they may miss eternity. This is the greatest calamity that would befall them.

Do not live for public image, don’t live above your means- do not go bankrupt or go into depression or into debt just to impress the world- the pretence of image, portraying what you are not pays not.

Learn from Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man ended in hell while Lazarus made heaven- the moral is, money or material possession is not a guarantee for making heaven.

Material things can only elevate you in the sight of people but not in God’s sight!

Faking good life would cause you to taking loans that you may not be able to pay. It could cause you to sell your soul to the devil and engage in ritual killing or becoming a member of some demonic and occultic group. Wait for the blessing of God- don’t live a deceitful life, be genuine to yourself and live within your limit.

I read an online newspaper some years back; a teenage boy went and sold one of his kidneys so that he could buy an IPad. What a mistake! This is an example of living beyond one’s limit.

Some will engage in different shifts at work to be able to buy designer brands for an outing- whoever sees them would believe all is well with them; meanwhile, they don’t have provision for the next day! These set of people makes the loudest noise bragging up and down.

As children of God, we shouldn’t conform with this way of life- wait for God’s blessing, and when God blesses you, emulate the first personality in our text “Pretend to be a NOBODY (This means you should live in humility). God bless you.

Image: Google