BOOK REVIEW - A Wounded Soul by Bennett Charles Davis
I want to appreciate
Uncle Ben for considering me to summarise this book. It is such an honour and
great privilege and I do not take this opportunity for granted.
I congratulate you!
It is very clear that
this book was inspired by the Holy Spirit, as indicated by the author in his
introduction. He had intended to write a different book by another title but,
the Lord ministered to him on Christmas day of 2022 the evidence is what we
have today.
This book was borne
out of experience, a child of necessity, I would say. Just like God used Gomer’s
unfaithfulness to Hosea to send specific messages to the people, God had to
take our darling uncle Ben through a wound caused by the failure of the immediate
past administration.
This book is borne out
of passion, passion to see people view marriage through the lens of God, to see
healing and transformation in all who have gone through or going through a wound
in their marriage, home and any part of their lives.
This book has a lot of
reference to the scriptures, it is rich and loaded. I sincerely did not see
Uncle Ben in this way.
The book talks about wounds,
its origins, impact on the family and society and reassures the wounded that
there is a balm in gilead.
There are also life nuggets
for singles and married.
Of course, juicy details
and submissions on Nigeria’s 2023 election are all in the book.
There are book has 20
chapters printed on 170 pages. May I say that when I got to chapter 10, I paused
to cry.
Chapter 1 - Origin
of Wounds
The book talks about a
wound as a something that can cause mental
or emotional hurt
to a person’s feelings, soul or reputation. But we are immediately reminded in Isaiah
53:5 that Christ himself was wounded for our
sakes
He cites
other notable people in the scriptures who were wounded wither for the gospel
or caused by the betrayals within their family like Absalom felt when Ammon
raped
his sister Tamar or even because of their condition e.g Hanna’s childlessness.
He stated
that Marriage is a major cause of wound and it was never meant to be so, but lack
of preparation and counselling for marriage makes many wounded. business,
ministry and politics
Chapter 2 - Characteristics of Wounds
The author aims to quickly remind us that
God heals the broken hearted and binds every wound Psalm 47:3
He goes on to enumerate Physical Abuse, Psychological or emotional abuse, Sexual Abuse, Economic Abuse also known as
financial abuse as some of the Characteristics of wounds and reiterates the need to do away
with Impunity,
pride and lawlessness as they do not promote stability and
harmony.
The author in this chapter wants us to know that we all deserve to enjoy
and not endure our marriage.
Chapter 3 – Wounded Children
Just like every Chapter, our author bases his thoughts
from the scriptures. He quotes Ps 127:3, reminding us that Children are Gods
heritage.
This Chapter aims to elucidate the fact that a child
who witnesses abuse has been abused. Parents are stewards and caretakers of the
children the lord gifts them hece have a responsibility to protect the children
from anything tha can harm them spirit soul and body.
We see in this chapter that children should not grow up
in fear but in Love and should respect their parents not be afraid of them.
Chapter 4 - Preparation For Marriage (Character Formation)
A prelude to Chapter 5 aimed to see all young people desiring for a life partner to critically examine and engage in self introspection how prepared they are spiritually, mentally, financially, psychologically and in character before plunging marriage. He mentions that failure to do this may lead to sorry and pain in marriage
Chapter 5 - Marital Wounds: Marriage, Separation and Divorce
In this chapter, the authors addressing married people and
calling us to consider the state of our marriage. He delves
into
the issues, challenges, flaws, gaps, that could lead to separation or divorce.
The author wants all married to work back, identify where they missed it and with grave concern
provide
perspectives
on how to enjoy marriage that will be pleasing to God. When
there are issues in marriage, we cannot see our marriage as a mistake, rather,
we should identify the flaws of our marriage and work towards fixing them.
He defines marriage by Gods standard as a legally and socially sanctioned union, usually
between a man and a woman, that is regulated by laws, rules, customs, beliefs and attitudes that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners and accords status to
their offspring (if any).
The author details separation in marriage,
as a mutual
agreement by a husband and a wife to discontinue living together. And
although this is not divorce, many times it is only the prelude to divorce. The
author talks about separation in marriage as an arrangement that can afford both partners time to
think, reflect about the relationship and whether they want to move on. It could allow the spouse to examine what
life may be like without the other partner and decide the way forward. It also could give both partners some freedom to
identify some nagging issues in the relationship.
In a witty manner, he captions the conditions
that are not grounds for divorce like prophesy of witchcraft
Chapter 6 – Wounded Ministers
Who knew that ministers could be wounded?
The author reveals that minsters wounded
in their work with God are easily identified by their unbridled comments
Lack of trust, unity of purpose, family structure in the church administration, politics, gossip,
corruption in the use and management of finances, adultery, fornication and lack of accountability have all combined
to misdirect and distract the churches are some of the manifestations of a wounded
minister still in ministry without healing.
In this chapter, the author introduces the
superpower of a believer – Prayer.
Chapter 7 -Spiritual Wound
This chapter is for the believer who seem
lost, believers who feel like there is a disruption in the work of God in their
hands.
The author here identifies the impact of false
prophets on believers causes damage to their souls, he also provides forgiveness
as a remedial action and journey to healing
He clearly states in this chapter that if spiritual
wounds are not treated, it may cause the spiritually wounded to react in pain and cry for help
in a negative
way.
He lists sources of spiritual wounds to be rejection by the church due to divorce, adultery,
fornication, corruption, etc. Also, believers who are rigid in their
faith, lack of knowledge, insight or understanding suffer a form of spiritual wounds if
they are unlucky to fall into the hands of false prophets.
Chapter 8 – Financial Wound
The author seeks to drive the idea of
understanding your relationship with money.
He explains that any behaviour or habit you have
with money that causes pain could be considered a financial wound. For instance, being extravagant, having too much
debt and not checking your balance sheet may just cause money scars. I once heard
a Christian spend his last card on something rather frivolous but quoted the
scripture “if I perish, I perish” Living in despair after blowing up ones resources
is a major cause of financial wound.
The writer maintains that financial freedom
is possible, if we follow Gods principles, and stop the unhealthy race for
money.
Chapter 9 – Casualties of Wounds
The author explains that sometimes people carry
wounds based on decisions of certain designated people in authority, an event
or even a situation.
Uncle Ben believes having godly people at
the hems of affairs is a remedy to casualties of wounds.
Lack of knowledge, insensitivity and principles of God also causes casualties. The book
admonishes us to remember that we are not alone, because our helper never
leaves nor forsakes
Chapter 10 – Experiences of wounded soul
In this chapter, Uncle Ben details two
very deep and emotional experiences.
One of a woman who tolerated her husband for
years, through seeing him sleeping with and getting her sister pregnant and
aborting, abandoning his wife for other women and having children with them, going
through the pain of having to raise 2.5m to take care of the same husband when
he was sick , only for him to leave again after he recovered until he eventually
died.
And the second experience which is about the
unlawful arrest of the author, who spent 42 days in Port-Harcourt prison for his participant in the democratic process of this
country.
Chapter 11 and 12- Profound Thoughts I and 2
This chapter is a collection of wisdom nuggets
from great men like
NELSON
ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA
DR. BENJAMINE
NNAMDI AZIKIWE
CHIEF
JEREMIAH OBAFEMI OYENIYI
AWOLOWO
ALHAJI ABUBAKAR
TAFAWA BALEWA
MR BARACK
HUSSEIN OBAMA
DR FRANCIS
KWAME NKRUMAH
ARCHBISHOP
BENSON ANDREW IDAHOSA
PASTOR ENOCH
ADEJARE ADEBOYE
Hon.
Emmanuel Mundemba
Hon. Ibrahim
Murtala Mohammed
Steven
Barlett
J.Martins
Uncle Ben assures us that reading profound thoughts from great leaders can improve our cognitive
abilities such as memory and attention span. If we walk with the wise, we will be wise.
Chapter 13- Healing The Wounded Souls
Having looked at all the types of wounds,
its origin and causes, this chapter takes the reader on a deep journey of
healing
Our soul is a lamp and the devil simply uses
these wounds to attack us.
Uncle Ben prescribes Jesus as the great physician,
the only one that can heal and mend our broken souls. Leting Jesus into our
hearts is the only way to healing
The author strives to make us understand
that
since we live in a corrupt world we must not think like the world,
we are not of this world, although in it.
He demonstrated that he is pro women! We celebrate
you Uncle Ben!
Chapter 14 Political Wounds
The author displays bravery by daring to
call out the way we practice politics in Nigeria that leads one person to take
all and the loose counting his losses unless he chooses to decamp.
Inspite his experience, you see the
passion with which he writes.
The author goes on to share some things
that cause politicians wounds especially betrayal.
The average Nigerian has also experienced political
wound with all the empty promises we have heard, inaugural speech after inaugural
speech, so much so it does not look like much good will come out of this
country.
The world sees the nation as corrupt; we
have maintained the same spot for years on the list of corrupt countries. Unfortunately, democratic practices in Nigeria
since
independence
is fraught with irregularities, thuggery, manipulation, intimidation and
suppression of voters.
Chapter 15- We learn everyday
This is a mantra we have gotten familiar
to as we see this in all the messages verbal or written of Uncle Ben.
The author believes, there is something totally new, unheard of,
or surprising to you or something you would never have thought of in life
He goes on to explain why we must continue
to learn ad be interested in learning. He encourages us to leverage on our
resources and environment. He recommends podcasts, books, including Christian literature, video channels etc. Clearly,
the author is a man who learns, every opportunity he has
Chapter 16 Nigeria’s 2023 Election
The chapter is dedicated to carefully analysing
and detailing with history the 2023 electoral process in Nigeria. In his witty
manner we are reminded of the slogan – Go to court.
For better understanding and context,
uncle Ben takes us to the first election during the colonial era in the Sir Hugh Clifford’s Constitution
of 1922
We are also reminded in this chapter that
the general
election of 2023 is the seventh since May 1999 without military interference.
Chapter 17 -Buhari‟s 8 Years of Wound, Pain and Sorrow (2015 - May 29, 2023)
This Chapter expounds on the 8 years of
wounds, pain and sorrow by Nigerians were deceived into believing the immediate
past president was bringing hope.
The author admits to his support for PMB and
gives his reasons based on historical facts then deep dives into the fight
against corruption in Nigeria, which saw corruption become stronger than before
Baba entered office
Chapter 18 Tinubu and The May 29 Handover
The author discuses the role of INEC, in
the election, the impact of reaction of the other presidential aspirants
especially the prominent ones
The author did not try to access the
current administration because it was just about 6-month-old at the time of
writing the book, hence, too early to judge.
Details on the call for the academic
records of the incoming president at the time, the court’s verdict etc are all elaborated
in the book.
Chapter 19 -“May „Nigeria‟ Not Happen To You!”
Puzzled by the phrase, the author wonders
what this means.
Could it be the once giant of Africa with abundant
human and material resources, intelligent and highly resourceful, industrious nation
has now become a country with no cherished values, purpose and
direction in the comity of nations
Or how we moved from having leaders who
cared and had conscience to the ones who will silence any citizen who dared to
speak up.
The author clarifies the mystery by
explaining that May Nigeria not happen to you implies failure of governance and unbridled primitive
accumulation of wealth.
Chapter 20 - Courts on Public Opinion/Interest in Deciding Cases
The last chapter delves into the conversation on the influence
of public opinion, interest or strict application of the law on court judgements. He
believes the thoughts are only going to make one wiser
In conclusion, the book is loaded, practical and
balanced for marriage, life and ministry, it will refresh your spirit and soul,
it is seasoned with a pinch of fun and addresses the peculiarity of Nigerian politics
from inception of “Democracy” till date
I also learnt few Fun facts about Uncle Ben just by
reading the book.
He loves his Pastor- General Overseer of Gospel Power
Ministry.
He is a feminist- find this in Chapter 13
He is passionate about Nigeria
He is a great author
I want to encourage everyone to support this intellectual
work, buy for yourself and for a friend.
It is my prayer that every wounded heart that touches this book will heal, in Jesus name
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