DIVISION IN THE BODY-FRIENDS: Turn Off the Flow

The Theme for this week’s devotionals is “Division in the Body in Home, Marriages, and Friends” a topic for which Pastor Wayne Cockrell has consistently asked the body of Christ to be in prayer. Be encouraged by today’s devotional and please continue to pray with us.

Several years ago I remember observing my father-in-law sitting in a room in the midst of three or four women, one of whom was my dear mom-in-law. My mother was also present. I, too, being in their company, noticed my father-in-law maintaining his usual quietude, but listening to every word, his calm countenance betraying nothing of his innermost thoughts about the conversation. My mother weeks later observed, ‘That Mr. Diggs is one wise customer; he sat there that entire time in the company of those women and uttered barely two sentences; that’s a smart man.’ (Talk about a scriptural illustration!)

Inasmuch as we were all born in sin and “shaped in iniquity,” we need all the advice and counsel that we can get in walking circumspectly in this world--filled with, in the words of one renowned
preacher—“all kinds of people.” Alas, Jesus, God the Son, came not to deliver His followers from every possible speck of trouble, but to be WITH us IN trouble. How much more diminished said trouble would be, however, if we were considerably less garrulous than we oft-times are! One broadly applicable way to do this, beloved, is to abide by the wise counsel of the title verse.

Think briefly of the countless situations in your life wherein a decisive quietness would have led you and me to circumvent trouble--whether it came in the form of our being misunderstood, misinterpreted, or perhaps in some cases deliberately misquoted. If we had remained thoughtfully mute, unnecessary  trouble could have been avoided. Not every situation or comment made by another deserves or warrants our commentary. ‘Nuff said??’

PRAYER: Precious LORD, thank You for being so very loving, gracious, and comprehensive with the content of Your Holy Word. Help us to be more discerning about when to speak and when to remain silent. AMEN!
By Sis. Denise Diggs