Choosing Battles

I saw the greatest of all injustice earlier 
this year
It happened in a nation where many 
of us assumed such an injustice could 
never happen
It happened right at the time I had 
assumed that due to the advancement 
in technology and the "All Eyes on Me" 
position of the nation concerned in 
global affairs that such can never 
happen
I was wrong.
It happened and nobody could do 
anything about it, not even the fact 
that the victim was occupying an office 
deemed to be the most powerful in 
the world.
Power, true power, works from behind 
the throne. 
For many years the balance of power 
in the world was controlled by a few 
faceless people who will back someone 
bold enough to step into the limelight 
as long as such did their bidding
Even presidents have sponsors, campaign 
contributors, endorsers,  constituents, 
and organizations they must remain loyal 
to if they are to remain in power
That is the secret of power, it is usually 
behind the throne and it does not belong 
to the people
It is wielded by a few who will crush 
opposition like a bug for daring to 
inconvenience it
Recently one of my brothers walked up 
to me at an event and said "We know 
the five pillars holding this ministry 
together
We know the ladies pulling the strings 
in your ministry behind the scene
We know the ladies backing you up 
financially and he proceeded to mention 
five ladies
He even mentioned the name of the 
minister he had a conversation with 
who told him i was a puppet with five 
puppeteers
I told him he was right but the numbers 
were way more than five, so i proceeded 
to name the ladies who work tirelessly 
with the ministry whose names he 
omitted
I did this deliberately
I knew he came to push my buttons 
so i decided it will be best to humor him
He smiled and walked away
I knew he went to deliver the message 
that he was bold enough to say the 
things usually said at the back of the 
leader to his face
It has most likely backfired on him
Those who enjoy good gossip hates 
a telltale because once gossip was 
taken to its subject it becomes backbiting 
and backbiting is not fun.
During the campaign that ended up 
producing the injustice mentioned 
above, i watched carefully for the 
reaction of people
I paid attention to the words of 
pastors
God had spoken to me about some 
things and God was clear
I shared this with some people who 
are quite close to me
What they didn't know was that it 
was a Gideon's test for me
Soldiers watched intently as they drank and picked based on how they drank regardless of their precedence
If you drank water the wrong way- 
you're out
I have known the voice of God since 
2007
I have walked with him through all 
the seasons of my life since then and 
i have come to absolutely depend on it
what he says for me is LIFE
If anyone took a stand against it, even 
in a subtle way, i keep away from such 
I have never been a friend of ideologies, 
common sense or any of the realities 
that come as a result of partaking of 
the tree of the knowledge of good 
and evil
Where you stand on God's word 
determines if i remain your ally or if 
we parted ways
I do not keep friendship or alliance 
with any individual or organization that 
stands openly or secretly in opposition 
to God or God's will
As long as I am clear what that will is 
and you are not on the same page 
with me it will be bye-bye
I waited after the obvious injustice for 
those who saw it to say "Even though 
i do not support this guy or i dislike 
this guy, he is being robbed and 
that is not fair." If i was in their shoes, 
that is what i will do
If we say we are God's people, we 
should insist on fairness for all and 
not turn a blind eye simply because 
we hate or dislike a particular 
personality enough to override those 
senses in the name of the greater good
Some are still baffled at the speed 
with which communications ceased 
between us 
Men moved by an inordinate sense 
of "I know Good" usually ends up 
not knowing "God"
Good was conspicuously spelled out 
by the law of Moses
None could do it
The Bible says there is none that 
is good, no not one!
When Jesus came, he taught us 
how to do "God"
He was a model of God to all those 
who believed in Him and being a 
Christian means being like Christ who 
himself acted like God on the earth 
Being "God" and being "Good" are
 two different things
You can be good without knowing 
God but you cannot be God without 
being good.
Goodness without God is morality 
and self-righteousness, when you are 
motivated by these factors you will 
most likely make decisions contrary 
to the will of God but such a decision 
will look pleasing to the eyes and will 
be cheered by many
Many men of God, like the Pharisees, 
are led by their human spirit to live 
this way.
Ironically, they will argue that they 
are also doing God's will but they 
are not
Common sense is not God's will
Israel once asked for a king so that
 they can be like the nations around 
them
It wasn't God's will and yet Israel had 
her way
The Long term effect of their rejection
 of God was their exile and the 
destruction of their cities
A nation not led by God will be led 
by men into error over a period of time.
A spirit-led believer who keeps the 
company of sense led believers will 
find himself making a lot of compromises t
hat will continually grieve his spirit
The sense usually makes sense while 
the spirit confounds
Like King Saul, Error is constant in 
the reality of a sense led believer
He or she will find himself or herself 
jumping from one crisis to the other
Seeking common-sense solutions to 
spiritual issues and blaming others 
who are walking with God in their own 
capacity for not falling in line behind 
his or her schemes 
I woke up to two trends that were 
designed to cancel each other out 
this morning
Some want to occupy while some 
want to defend
Both sides are clamoring for social 
justice but from two different points 
of view
Neither of them is right and neither 
of them is wrong if we have not 
learned anything from recent history, 
we must learn this
Violence and agitations will not bring 
justice
Those who advocated for black lives 
in 2020 made a lot of noise globally 
but changed nothing in human 
behavior or history
You must choose the side of God and 
do the will of God 
Do not be driven to act by sponsored 
hashtags and the few powerful people 
behind the thrones of power and its 
opposition
Before Achilles was to set off for the 
War at Troy, his mother called him aside 
and told him if he went to the war he 
would not return but he would have 
glory and fame
She told him if he stayed away from the 
war, he would have a good life
She told him he would get married and 
be a father to many children and a 
husband to a loving wife with whom he 
would grow old and be at peace
She told him she would bless whichever 
decision he made 
Achilles went for glory
He went off to war and he killed Hector, 
the greatest warrior of Troy
He was celebrated but he died at Troy 
just as his mother predicted
You must choose your battles and 
do so consciously while weighing 
the consequences.

-GSW-