BYM ONLINE DESK Blessing e magazine May 2019 | Page 6

Page 6
May 2019 | www.bymonline.org
W-A-T-C-H
John Thomas, Vizianagram, AP
In our chat after marriage, my wife once told me one of
the important lessons her father taught his children. It
was the acronym for the word WATCH.
W - Watch your WORDS
A - Watch your ACTIONS
T Watch your THOUGHTS
C Watch your CHARACTER
H Watch your HEART
When BYM declared this year 2019 as the Year
of Watchfulness, I remembered this acronym. There
are plenty of lessons in the Bible touching the above
five aspects of life. Let me put a few of them down
from my little knowledge of the Scripture and from my
humble experience.
Watch your Words
As we speak to God and man, we are expected to
be careful with our words. We reap the consequences
as per our watchfulness.
Our words with God
Jesus said, “When you pray, do not use vain
repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they
will be heard for their many words.” Heathen do not
have a God, Omniscient, but we have. Therefore let our
words be few. Sometimes we try to explain in prayer as
though it is difficult for God to understand us. Or at
times we try to give God suggestions. In case if you
stand before an earthly king, would you do that? Never.
Even Solomon the king, with all his divine wisdom
dared not do that. His advice holds good for us even
today. “Walk prudently when you go to the house of
God; and draw near to hear than to give the sacrifice of
fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be
rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter
anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven and
you on earth; therefore let your words be few”(Eccl
5:2). Though we are children of our heavenly Father,
we should not take advantage and talk to God
carelessly. Oh, if we only realize our ignorance against
God's wisdom that is past finding! Hannah prayed
weeping, but spoke in her heart; lips moved; voice was
not heard, but she was heard (1Sam 1:10, 13, 27).
This does not mean that we send an SMS prayer
and sit back. We are commanded to persevere in prayer
(Lk18:1); to pray without ceasing (1Thes 5:17); pray
without fainting (Ps 84:2); and to be watchful in prayer
against temptation (Matt 26:41); and be watchful in
prayer for the Second Coming of Christ (Lk 21:36).
Waiting on God helps us more to hear from God than to
speak to Him.
Our words with Men
King David prays, “Set a guard, O Lord, over
my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not
incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked
works with men who work iniquity” (Ps141:3, 4).
That is to keep a watch over
his words so that he may not utter unwholesome words
to (or rebuke) people who are against him. Great! He
did not want to spill out words impatiently, and then
bite his tongue. James says, tongue, a little member of
our body, but is untamable, poisonous, hypocritical
and so on. He allots a full chapter on the power of
tongue connecting wisdom at the end.
On the other hand numerous are the
commendations for the tongue used in the right sense.
Plenty do we find in the book of Proverbs.
Eg. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in
settings of silver” -25:11.
“The mouth of the righteous is a well spring of