When a man cannot keep his body!

1 Corinthians 9:27: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

When a man—a father—cannot keep his body under subjection, he introduces instability, strife, contention, anger, pain, shame, and death into his own family. Regardless of your status in society, position in ministry, title, or calling, failure to keep your body under is an automatic open door to the spirit of destruction in the family.

When Abram heeded the voice of Sarai to go into Hagar, Abram did not consult God. He did not keep his body under. He rushed into the room with Hagar and, pronto, Ishmael was born. Of course, sowing to the flesh also produces results. Galatians 6 tells us that if we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption. The problem with corruption is that it is systemic, and it takes a lot of expert due diligence to detect it. By the time Ishmael grew up, problems started, and for the first time, we see a sharp disagreement between Abram and Sarai.

Then Jacob, the grandson of Papa Abram, did not only become a victim of a man who could not keep his body under—he scaled it. He got married to Leah, then Rachel came along. Because Rachel could not give birth, she gave him her handmaid, and Jacob could not say no. Then Leah came, presenting her own handmaid too, and of course, Jacob continued enjoying pleasure with four women from one household.  Dearly beloved, regardless of who is presenting the offer to you—it does not matter if your mother is asking you to go for another woman, or your wife is presenting some inferior fleshly substitute, or your friends are supporting your lust—your failure to put your body under subjection will expose your family to pain and sorrow.

Did you realize that the son Joseph whom Jacob loved the most was almost killed and sold into slavery by his own brethren? When a man cannot keep his body under subjection, what he loves the most will be destroyed or killed by members of his own household. The business you love so much, the ministry you have spent your life building, the mansion, the cars you love the most could be destroyed by members of your family if you fail to put your body under.

Time will fail me to mention great and rich men that I know, whose dreams, visions, businesses, and more were killed and destroyed by their own children after their departure, all because of their inability to keep their body.

Jacob did not live a happy life. He waited and carried his pain until he was about to die. Close to his grave, he called all his children to tell them what would happen to them—and the first three children, he cursed. Reuben, you shall not excel. Simeon and Levi, you are instruments of cruelty. "Cursed be their anger," he continued. "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." Wao. When a father cannot put his body under, he would by himself curse that which came out of him. God forbid.

Friends, time will fail me to tell you about Phinehas, the son of Eli—a man whose inability to keep his body forced his wife into labour and made her despise an innocent child that was born unto them. She was traumatized and numb, so much so that even the birth of her child could not produce any joy. The destiny of the child was compromised from birth, as she called him Ichabod—the glory has departed. Fathers, your inability to keep your body can compromise the destiny of an innocent child. It’s a ripple effect. It never ends with one person. The effect continues to multiply.

Many people do not know that being born into such a household has some level of impact on your life. From where comes the tension, strife, pain, bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, rejection in your life or family? Perhaps because you were raised in such an environment—where you had to fight for love, fight for peace, fight to be heard, fight to survive. You had to rise up to th