HOW THINGS GET LOST (4) – CARELESSNESS

I was in my teenage season. Mum called me that afternoon and gave me instructions to get pepper from the woman who supplies us. I approached my childhood friend and got his bicycle for the assignment. I rode all the way to the woman who sells pepper. They blended it. The journey back home began. It was a smooth ride. I tied the blended pepper to the carrier of the bicycle. I tied it diligently. 

I stopped over at my friend’s house to return his bicycle. Again, I diligently untied the pepper and began the short walk from his house to mine. Do you know those four-litre paint plastic buckets with plastic handles? Yes! That was the container that I used. 

As I got to our door, the saddest thing happened. The handle of the plastic gave way, and the container dropped. All the pepper spilled. Ah! My heart stopped beating in a minute. Why did I carry it by the handle? Why did I not carry the bucket like a baby? Why would this happen just at the last minute? I was not beaten, but the lesson never left me. Till date, I carry things with caution and extra care. 

You must show the same level of care and caution from the beginning to the end. If the devil succeeds in getting you to fall into the “in-between lapse,” you may lose more than you bargain for. The journey is not over until the assignment is done and you hear the words, “Well done. Good and faithful servant.”

There was the young prophet who ran an errand from the Lord. He delivered the work diligently. He followed the instructions in the heat of the assignment. However, somewhere on the way back, just some moments before the end of the journey, he decided to catch a nap under a tree. 

“and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.””

I Kings 13:14-15 NKJV

Beloved, it is not done until it is done. It is not done until you hear well done. Everything went down south from there. He went back with the deceiving old prophet. The consequences were dire. The pain did not just cut deep; it was fatal. 

“When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse.”

I Kings 13:24 NKJV

Carelessness with words has cost some valuable moments. Some have carelessly lost relationships because they were not thoughtful. Do not let carelessness pierce your armour. Do not let carelessness erode your values. Do not let carelessness lead you to utter words that give the devil working tools to wreck your life. 

Do not spill the pepper. Carry it all diligently till the end. It is not over until you hear, Well done. Have you heard well done? If not, watch and pray! Do not be careless. Do not let it slip. 

Grace.