Can I Have A Mulligan?

  I have hit some bad golf shots before but I don’t think anyone has hit one worse than Metthieu Boya. He’s not a tour pro, however, just a ground technician at an airport in the west African state of Benin. On his lunch break, He was trying to get in a little practice when he sliced a drive, badly. The ball struck the windscreen of a jet fighter that was preparing to take off, causing it to careened into the four jets neatly lined up by the runway. Those five plans happened to be the entire Air force of Benin.

  Whoops.

  You wouldn’t think a golf ball could bring down an air force but here it is. Little things can do big damage. Like words. A caustic remark at the wrong time, a little white lie, a pointed barb may not seem like much but they can kill joy, deflate hope and send folks down the wrong path.

  James tells us, “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!” Jesus warns, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.”

  We may want a ‘do over’ when it comes to our words but once the fountain is open it’s impossible to put back the water. That’s why we need to choose our words carefully before they do more damage than we ever imagined.