Choose to Master Life

Choose to Master Life 

"Nature abhors a vacuum, I have heard this so many times throughout my life . Without a rudder, a ship drifts aimlessly". I once had a friend who was a computer science graduate hustling at the computer village, he was living with his older brother into his thirties, his brother would often call him and say "Let me help you put your life in order, I will tell you what to do and how to go about it to become a success" My friend would come to me and complain about this he will say "My older brother thinks he got life figured out and now wants to use his principle to guide my life but what I want out of life and what he wants are not the same thing, why can't he get that? Why does he want to structure my life like his own? I don't like his life,  don't want to live out my life like he is living out his own but he does not get it, I am tired of his constant verbal jabs". 

I told my friend to calm down, this is normal human behaviour. The older brother of my friend was a banker the wife sang in the choir and was into tailoring, three years later my friend was married and had relocated to Abuja. The Nigerian banks went through a crisis at the time and the older brother was sacked he tried getting another job to no avail, so he reached out to his younger brother that he would like to start a business in Computer Village with his savings. Today he is selling phones and making good money daily, It turned out the younger brother was the one with the solution to his predicament in his time of need while all along he assumed he was the one with the solution to the younger brother's predicament.

 Life can sometimes be like that, you have to stand for something and refuse to be tossed here and there by the whims and caprices of people. What worked for your sibling may not necessarily work for you sometimes it works but it leaves you dissatisfied and nothing beats rest! Always remember that we all have our distinct paths in life and playing it safe can get you somewhere but with a lot of regrets.

 It is best to set your goals according to your dreams and follow them through with determination and persistence. Once you know what you are to become in life, dive into the pool either from the shallow end or the deep end, there is always an end that will accommodate you. Once you are in, strive to get better and better every day Learn, grow, and be willing to pay for information and knowledge, don't be too know, it is an illusion because nobody knows it all.

The tortoise once gathered all the wisdom of the world in a bag because it desired to be the custodian of all wisdom when it got to the tree it wanted to climb to hide the wisdom,  it didn't know how to climb the tree with the big bag, it tried several times and failed. A hare was passing by and told the tortoise to place the bag of wisdom on its back as he climbed the tree, It did so and it was successful on the first try when it got on top of the tree, it occurred to it that the hare was wiser than it. It threw the bag down and abandoned the doomed project.

I shared the story to encourage us not to think we know it all, knowledge is best shared for the benefit of all.

When the Chinese invented paper, they didn't know it would become a global tool that would push civilization till today. When the Arab traders brought the paper into Europe, they didn't know it was not just any merchandise, they probably would have preferred to bring gold, diamonds, or other treasures, the paper became the hit trade item they brought. When Martin Luther King invented the movable type, he didn't know it would lead us to the current era of civilization we find ourselves in at the moment. Knowledge when mixed brings us all to advancement.

The Bible said the Philistines knew how to smith iron but refused to share the knowledge with the Israelites, they had temporary domination over a certain knowledge but being a small petty, and wrong-thinking nation, they didn't think to use this knowledge as a bargaining chip in their diplomatic relations with Israel. It backfired as they were always soundly and roundly beaten by Israel in disputes except for the one time God gave Saul and his army to them in battle.

 Knowledge when well traded brings you into the good books of those around you, It makes them better and when they add their two bits to it, they can even make the knowledge shared with them better.

 Now I have to address the issue of tribalism that I noticed always takes us to the Nigerian Christian space whenever discussions around politics and governance are at the forefront of our social discourse. Many Christians in Nigeria simply didn't get the scripture Revelations 5 The Scroll and the Lamb 5
 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.
 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.
 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 
5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
 6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth.
 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.
 9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign[b] on the earth.”
 11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” 
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!”
 14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

 Ephesians 2 Made Alive in Christ 2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ 11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. 

The scripture is very clear, you are no longer Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba, Efik, Ibibio, or Benin you can no longer talk or see yourself in this light, to do so is to go back to your roots in the flesh 1 Timothy 1
 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Timothy Charged to Oppose False Teachers 3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. 

We should all take note of this, The purpose of Christianity is to create a whole new nation governed by the love of Jesus. Peter stated this clearly 1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. The Living Stone and a Chosen People 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”[b] 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”[c] 8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Remember who you are, you are not the one with a muddled history in human pains and hurt, you have been wholesomely redeemed and restored into Christ. You are an ambassador of Christ, a citizen of the New Jerusalem that is above all, Ignore the ignorant, the dissenter, and the bigots you know better! The Holy Spirit in you is reminding you that you are much better off in Him than in the darkness where you once dwell! You belong to the Kingdom of His dear son. 
-GSW-