SPEAK RIGHT, LIVE RIGHT.
Hello!!!
Nice to have you here again! Visiting for the first time? You’re highly welcome! For old-timers and new-timers, thank you for stopping by! Today’s post is a bit long. Sorry, I just had to write it this way. But you know how it is now, you read, learn(this is important) and drop your comments after. Thank you!
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It was a Saturday morning- the last Saturday of the month. And as we usually did on a day as this, we had to clean the whole house thoroughly. Mother gave each of the seven children in the house particular places in the house to clean/clear. To me, she assigned the kitchen area. Since the kitchen was the easiest part to clean, she left me alone. It was going well until my eyes went towards the top of the cupboard and I decided to climb an ”apoti” to bring down the sets of glass wares that were on it. To my non-Yoruba readers, an “apoti” is a small sort of chair,more like a stool.
I was feeling good with myself (like a good girl). I got hold of the set of glass wares- about 24 plates. And as I tried balancing myself on the apoti to get down, I lost my balance and all the plates came crashing down on the tiled floor! I stood still on the apoti looking at the broken pieces of glass wares that had gone round the kitchen now, too shocked to move. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they weren’t my mother’s most precious glass wares which she had been given on her wedding day, twenty-seven years before.
Just as I expected, Mother came running all the way to the kitchen.
“YEEEE! MO DARAN OOOO! O ti fo gbogbo awo mi tan ooo! (she has broken all my glass wares ooo!)”, she shouted as she ran into the kitchen, with my six other siblings following her. When she got in, she paused and looked at all her precious plates now in pieces.
To my utmost surprise, instead of giving me the beating of my life, she began to cry.
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Words are almost the most important things that pertain to life. In fact, there’s no life without words. We communicate through words. God speaks to us through His Word. Everything has to do with words. Cassandra Clare definitely wasn’t wrong when she said, “We live and breathe words.” It is no surprise, therefore, that the words we speak(and of course, hear) play a very important role in making or marring us. Whenever we are in the position to talk to others, we have the opportunity to tell them good(positive) words or bad(negative) words. The words you speak to others would go a long way in their lives and possibly in your own life too.
Your words really matter. Your words would represent you anywhere. They would stand for or against you in your absence. You see, where you legs cannot reach, your words could get there. The smallest words could destroy the greatest relationships. You probably knew that before but didn’t think it was important.
It’s easier to say bad things when you’re angry, and that’s why when you feel you really should ‘blast’ someone with words, you should calm down, that may be the right time to keep your mouth shut. At times(many times actually), you might need to keep quiet. Wisdom is knowing the right thing to say and when to say it in the right way. God didn’t give us brains for nothing. Before you say something, it wouldn’t be wrong for you to ask yourself, “I hope I wouldn’t be driving a penknife into this person’s heart by saying this?”. Bad words always want to force themselves out of your mouth.
Saying words might not have to be through your mouth alone. It could be through other means such as texts and yes, even social networks. Someone said something on twitter and it hurt me(Cool story, bah?). Funny enough, we weren’t even following each other. So, watch the words you say everywhere!
You almost can tell the kind of person a person is through the words they speak. Words are a reflection of who you are. Wondering why people don’t get along with you well, or why you don’t get along with people well? Maybe you should check the words that are coming from you. Nobody wants to be around people who break hearts with their words.
A nice sincere word is not to hard to say. Making someone smile is not so hard. Complementing people is not a sin(if you’re being honest). Even correcting people would be a lot better if you don’t use terrible words. It wouldn’t remove anything from you to think well before speaking, rather it could remove a lot from you if you don’t do that. It is less expensive to say the right words in a non-offensive way.
Great people live according to positive things(which include positive words). Remember, words are like glass wares. The best way to keep them is to handle them in the most careful way. Once broken, they can’t be put together again. Don’t end up saying words that you’d after wish you never said. Speak right, Live right.
“Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity”– Proverbs 21:23(NIV)
“You can change your world by changing your words. Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue”– Joel Osteen
“When you have spoken the word, it reigns over you. When it is unspoken, you reign over it.”– Arabian Proverb
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P.S: The story you read before the write-up itself was made up.
Thank you very much for reading even up to this point! I hope you gained something! Now, don’t leave without dropping your comments. Corrections, contributions and contradictions are always appreciated! Please share with others too. You could also follow this blog so you could get the posts direct to your mailbox when published! Bless!