Kedi Haralu
Words are powerful and the tongue is a weapon to either bring peace or war, life or death, happiness or unhappiness, bliss or blues. Solomon’s wisdom is beyond my comprehension but as I ponder on the words he has written, it is something which is so easy yet so difficult to comprehend and fathom. Then there is King David and of course Jesus Christ, his disciples and the apostles. E.g. taking the “radar of a ship,” as tool for explaining about the tongue. Even an illiterate can understand, but how come others didn’t think of it? The tongue, as from a doctors point of view, gives a human the taste bud, plus to differentiate between spicy or blend food, yet, the tongue cannot control a persons mind or thought, for it is what comes out from the mouth that moulds a person character, whether it be violent or peaceful. The book of proverbs, as written by Solomon himself talks about the tongue being used to determine a situation, either to add to the anger, carnage and chaos, or to bring peace, solidarity and harmony. This, as the Bible says, is why we need to control our tongue, no matter how short tempered or impatient a person may be, for it is from the mouth that brings blessings or curse. This is the power of words.
I once heard a teaching on the power of words, which made me understand what words can do to a person’s character right from childhood to adulthood. If you always tell a child that he is useless, eventually, he becomes useless. If you continue shouting and cussing at your sibling, the child will always grow up angry with the world and everyone around him. I used to wonder why my friends and colleague never shouted or yelled at their children. I just took it for granted that white people were too soft on their children, but when I look back, I now understand what they understood much before me. This is why it is so important to go to a Church which gives solid, healthy teaching and not to a church that just cries and yells and act all holy-holy plus added with self righteousness and pride. Most people reading this will vibe with me, for Nagas have for too long been self righteous and usually holier than thou. Every thing in Nagaland sells if it has some religious connotations to it. Factions talk about being under the banner of Christ but yet continue to kill and hate, businessmen talk about how much he gives to the Church, but is dishonest with “his scales,” Taxi owners say they belong to this church or that church and some even holding responsible posts such as Church Elders or Deacons, hence they love to write “hallelujah” or “Praise the Lord” on the front of their windshield, but when we talk about tithing and giving, they tend to act dumb and innocent – and I think I have wandered way off my original topic, which is one of my unconscious habits whether I am speaking or writing.
I still remember when I was at Melbourne, OZ, when for atleast a week they sky was dark, the atmosphere was smoky and leaving your clothes to dry out on the lawn was not possible due to the pollution on the air. The reason was, some campers at Queensland had left a small fire burning during the dry season. When I say dry, it means literally dry, with no moisture on the air, thus making the dried eucalyptus trees and leaves a readymade scenario for disaster. The tiny fire which the campers (probably Urban holiday green horns) had left, not bothering to check whether the fire was completely doused or not had left their camp, since their camping permits had expired. A few burning embers, with the assistance of the wind had started the fire and if you have seen how fast eucalyptus plants and trees catches fire due to its oil content, you can understand the speed in which the fire spread. Thousands of hectares were lighted up and regardless of how efficient and technologically advanced the fire department was, the fire could not be contained. It was only after another huge fire which was deliberately lit by fire experts countered the spread of the fire with an opposite draft which the second fire created. But it still took a week to control the fire, which by now had affected the atmosphere right down to the Tasman. Why I give this example is because I want the readers to comprehend the power of the tongue. The Bible rightly says that the tongue is like a small tiny fire that can set of such a magnitude of devastation. This is why I try to keep my distance from those with a poisonous tongue. Such a person should be left alone, for the more you tend to get angry with what he or she says, the more fuel will be added to the fire.
Sometimes I wonder, “what if Adam had bitten his tongue instead of the apple?” I am sure there would be no sin on earth today. How wonderful and peaceful life would have been. There would be no quarrels, no fights, no nagging, no gossip, no rumors, no divorces, no hatred or hurts and most important, no wars. I guess we should all have a bumper sticker that reads “Bite your tongue, or your tongue will bite!”
