The first time my wife was going to burn the soup, it was really a very expensive soup with assorted meats. We must have spent over #7,000 (Nigerian Naira of year 2021) to make that soup a reality. And to make matters more challenging, around that period we didn’t have much spare cash in the house to replace it.
On this occasion, she was in the room surfing social media, totally oblivious of the soup she was cooking. It was the smoke that alerted us. She screamed and rushed to the kitchen but at this time the soup had given up the ghost. She was shaking visibly upon discovering this.
This event preceded the event of the running tap. And so this was going to be the first time she would see the way I react to things like that. The implication was she was really scared of what I was going to say as I emerged from the room to find out the situation.
When she had managed to break the sad news to me ?, I looked at her and told her, “Sorry, is there any leftover at all?”
“Practically none.”
Then I said, “we should still have some other old soups in the freezer. We can work with those until we have money to replace this. Pele dear. It is well.” She was very shocked. That was the end of it. No need for any review. Anyone including me can be surfing social media and forget there’s a cooking going on.
Now, there was something said about our Lord Jesus Christ that I want all of us to pay close attention to. Long before He was born, the Lord spoke through Isaiah about a major aspect of the meekness He would possess.
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A BRUISED REED SHALL HE NOT BREAK, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
Isaiah 42:1-4 KJV.
This prophecy by the way was declared fulfilled in Mathew 12:14-21 and throughout the earthly ministry of our Lord.
“He won’t call attention to what he does with loud speeches or gaudy parades (MSG). A broken reed He will not break [off] And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish [He will not harm those who are weak and suffering];…” (AMP)
Reeds are tall grasses with slender often prominently joined stems that grow especially in wet areas. A wick is a bundle of fiber or a loosely twisted, braided, or woven cord that by capillary attraction draws up to be burned a steady supply of the oil in lamps. (Webster Dictionary).
A BRUISED REED SHALL HE NOT BREAK, AND THE SMOKING FLAX SHALL HE NOT QUENCH
Our Lord Jesus was so gentle and harmless to the point that he won’t even hurt an ordinary plant – especially one that is already wounded – not to talk of a human being. Since it’s already wounded, He wouldn’t break it further. He was so sensitive to people’s feelings that He would do everything not to hurt them – especially those who are weak and suffering.
The bruised reed is your partner (or anyone around you) whenever they have made a grave error; whenever their omission causes the family financial losses; whenever their weaknesses brought a level of shame to the two of you; whenever you give your partner an advice and they refuse to follow it, and then they got their fingers burnt before realizing that your advice would have saved them.
At that moment, even without you talking, many times they are already ashamed and remorseful. Of course, some will put up a bold face in order to defend themselves from your sharp rebuke, but inside them they know they have failed. You don’t need to break them further with your words. You don’t need to say, “did I not tell you?” That statement will break an already bruised reed. Do not break a bruised reed.
At that moment when my wife discovered the burnt soup or the running tap, she was already a bruised reed; sad, penitent – no need for further breaking. The day my wife asked me to follow a different route and I didn’t listen to her and we got lost, only to ask passers-by and they pointed to the very route she had earlier suggested. As I was turning the vehicle, I was a bruised reed, already humbled. If she looked at me mockingly and said, “Did I not tell you?” She will be breaking a bruised reed.
This is the life of Jesus that we’ve been called to live. A life that covers the other’s nakedness – not mock it. A life that is sensitive to people’s feelings and thus treats them with respect and gentleness.
Stop breaking the bruised reeds brothers and sisters in matrimony. What the bruised reed needs is acceptance, accomodation, love, encouragement and healing. Not a sharp tongue or sharp criticism.
A BRUISED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK!
Your brother,
Peniela E. Akintujoye.
©️Peniela Eniayo, Akintujoye| hello@lovestraighttalks.com
#resettingtheodds
#raisingchristlikecouples
#makingyourmarriageacenterofrevival
#lovestraighttalks
