Tag Archives: Opinion

May 4, 2020 · 7:20 am

I DON’T KNOW

Have you experienced that awkward moment when a question was thrown at you and you threw back an answer that you were convinced made zero meaning? In order not to appear ignorant, you just crafted a combination of words while exuding sterling confidence built on a foundation of thin air, knowing quite well that you were not making any sense. In most cases, the people asking the questions are nice enough and play along pretending to understand you so that you will not be embarrassed.

One of my friends was not that lucky in an encounter that he had with a senior executive at work. As part of the processes to get a required approval, he had to explain some details to the senior executive. When asked a question, he had no clue what the right answer was, but decided to ride his luck and just say something. He did not expect what he heard next. The boss told him: “If you don’t know, just say you don’t know”. You can only imagine the rush of blood to his face when those words hit his ears.

I dont know

At the root of this behaviour in most cases is the feeling of: “I should know this but I’m ashamed that I don’t know and I don’t want to be seen as someone who doesn’t know”. In Zechariah Chapter 4, Zerubbabel could have pretended that he understood what he was seeing. He was a reputable prophet and he should have known what the vision meant based on his long years of prophetic experience. The angel’s questions in verses 5 and 13 tend to suggest that he expected Zerubbabel to know and understand what he was seeing. Zerubbabel, however, did not know and he was not ashamed to say that he did not know. This admission gave him the opportunity to receive an accurate interpretation of the vision from the angel in those two instances. He chose the higher path of stooping low to learn and it paid off like it always does.

When we don’t have the answer and we pretend to know, we leave the person asking the question with an impression of us that might be difficult to change in the future. The shame we were trying to avoid may now come to us in multiples. No matter how long you’ve been in church, it’s okay not to know answers to some questions. You may even be a pastor. It is still okay. And then as a teacher, it is okay to tell your students that you don’t know but make a commitment to get back to them with the answer.

The chance to say “I don’t know” may not always be an opportunity to learn anything, it may just be an opportunity to simply say “I don’t know” and move on without shame. Humility. We are not omniscient and it’s okay not to know somethings. But this does not mean that we should bask in blissful ignorance and not seek to acquire the requisite knowledge and indeed more. It is also instructive not to plan to answer “I don’t know” to the same question more than once. The first one is enough cue for us to go and research the topic.

Keep learning!

5 Comments

Filed under Lifestyle, Ministry, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

May 29, 2018 · 6:26 pm

I BROUGHT MY OWN SHOES

I recently attended an event that was organized to welcome the new member of the leadership team of a company. The event also doubled as a farewell ceremony for the departing leader. The accolades were not in short supply because the outgoing leader was an exceptional leader on every front. He was the type of leader that Jim Collins described as a Level 5 leader in his book; Good to Great. Many were sad to see him go, but he had to go.

Several people were invited to make speeches as the evening wore on, most speakers focused on the outgoing leader, with a few making remarks that alluded to the new member of the team that he had very big shoes to fill. Almost everyone seemed to agree with that point of view because the impressions on the hearts and minds of people were deep.

When it was time for the incoming leader to make his commencement speech, he made a very remarkable statement. He said “I am not going to try to fill Mr X’s shoes because I brought my own shoes”. So, he already told everyone that he was not made from the same mould. His style was going to be different and he did not suggest that he was going to lower the standards. He was just different and he was going to be himself.

shoes

It’s good to have people we look up to, especially people that have gone ahead of us successfully. But we must never aspire to be them. We should rather aspire to become the best version of ourselves that God made us to be. We will stand on the shoulders of those people, learn from their mistakes and glean from their wisdom. We will place our hands in their hands and allow them to lead us. We will plant our footsteps in their footprints if needed. We will draw out deep things from the depths of their hearts. We will be humble around them, no matter what we become. We will preserve their good reputation while building ours. In all this, WE WILL NOT BE THEM because we will bring our own shoes!

3 Comments

Filed under Lifestyle, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

March 9, 2018 · 9:37 pm

WHO HAS YOUR EARS?

Growing up, we often had some artistes and magicians set up makeshift stages on busy street corners to show off their skills and make some quick buck. Crowds of spectators easily formed around those acts the way ants are drawn to sugar. Such crowds had a way of bringing together the good, the bad and the ugly.

My mum told me never to mingle with such crowds and I obeyed for a while, until one of those days, when the pull of the crowd was more than my resolve. I could not resist the temptation of catching just a glimpse of the performance. I really can’t remember what the show was about on that day, but one thing I will never forget about that day is that my wrist watch ‘disappeared’ from my hand on that spot. Obviously, the guy that took it from me was a professional as I was oblivious of the fact that the ownership of my watch had changed until I got home and couldn’t find it on my wrist. Needless to say that I never went near any of such crowds again…thereafter, heeding my mum’s counsel became something very vital to me.

That was the way that I lost my first wrist watch. As a matter of fact, many victories and failures we experience in life depend on who we listen to and what we do with the counsel we receive from different sources. In a way, it could be viewed as a matter of life and death because lives have been made or destroyed based on different types of counsel.

ears

The dethronement of Vashti as Xerxes’ queen was a product of the counsel that the king received from Memucan. If any other person other than Memucan had spoken up on that day, the outcome might have been different.

 Memucan answered the king and his nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also every noble and citizen throughout your empire. Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king. Before this day is out, the wives of all the king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. There will be no end to their contempt and anger. Esther 1: 16 – 18 (NLT)

Esther’s ascension to the throne was in part because she listened to all that the king’s eunuch told her. She did not trivialize Hegai’s advice.

Esther was the daughter of Abihail, who was Mordecai’s uncle. When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. Esther 2:15 (NLT)

After the death of King Solomon, his son Rehobaom lost 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel because of wrong counsel.

But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. 1Kings 12:8 (NLT)

David destroyed the Ammonites in a needless war because their king listened to wrong counsel from his commanders,

Some time after this, King Nahash[a] of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king.  David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!”  So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. 2 Samuel 10: 1 – 4

If you take stock in retrospect, I’m sure you’ll have your own tales of wise and unwise counsel, wise counsel heeded and otherwise. Most times, we are in total control of who we listen to and what we do with whatever advice we receive. So, we can choose who we give our ears to. Words are like seeds sown into our hearts through our ears, we can’t just afford to give all manner of people unfettered access to plant different things in our hearts. On the flip side, we need to make every effort to ensure that our paths are lined with wise counsel.

As we prudently seek out wise counsel and shut out destructive advice, we can be sure of one source of wisdom that never fails – the WORD!

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Proverbs 3: 1 – 2

3 Comments

Filed under Lifestyle, Ministry, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

January 14, 2018 · 8:21 pm

ADAM’S APPLE

For some reason, I grew up believing that Adam was not at home when Eve ate the forbidden fruit; he was probably at work or just taking a routine walk around the garden. The version of the story that was in my mind was that Eve was alone when she was conned and convinced by the serpent to take that bite that changed everything. She took the fruit, enjoyed the first bite and then kept the remaining portion to be shared with Adam on his return. When Adam came home, he took a bite and behold, their eyes were suddenly opened…and we know how the story develops from there.

You can imagine how shocked I was when I realized that I was wrong:

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. Genesis 3:6 (NLT)

So, Adam was standing there, practically watching his beloved wife going off on the wrong trail and he could not intervene and correct her. Remember that he had earlier on described her as “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” (Gen 2: 23), yet that extravagant display of affection did not translate to any modicum of correction.

Why is it that Adam could not correct Eve? I don’t know the answer, but I know that the answer will be similar to the reason why Sapphira could not challenge Ananias when he suggested that they should keep some of the money from the sale of their property to themselves and tell the apostles that they brought 100%:

But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.  He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Acts 5: 1-2 (NLT)

One of the best things that can happen to us is to have friends or associates that can tell us every shade of truth that we need to hear at every point in time, especially when we are going off track. We need such people, not willing accomplices that always want to make us look good and feel good. If we don’t have such associates, one of the probable reasons is that we may not have handled past corrections or criticisms well and they are now scared of offending us. It’s also possible that we have created a shield of defence around ourselves that sends a message to people that we are irreproachable and beyond correction.

We need to make every effort to surround ourselves with people that will bluntly refuse to be willing accomplices; people that will not be clapping for us as we’re going off track at full throttle. We need people that can look us in the face and tell us the plain truth, no matter how we feel. We can consciously create the environment that will make that happen. It’s all in our hands.

8 Comments

Filed under Lifestyle

Tagged as , , , ,

November 18, 2012 · 6:18 pm

Shifting Grounds

I’m sure you’ve been in that situation a couple of times, where you felt it would be fine just to shift your ground a bit. A little compromise won’t hurt anyone and of course we serve a loving God who is more than willing to understand. You are not alone. I guess we’ve all been there.

Image
A story I heard in my school days came to my mind recently; a young man was known by most of the students in the school as a committed, uncompromising Christian. He frequently shared the gospel with his classmates. As far as they were concerned, he was an excellent example of a believer. During one of their examinations, they had a mix of questions that proved difficult to navigate and under this pressure, ‘Kevin’ let down his guards and joined the rest of the students in the examination malpractice. At the end of the day, the spotlight was beamed on him and the story of how he cheated in the exams was the news of the day. He went into his room and wept like Peter did after he denied Jesus Christ. He wept and asked for forgiveness and of course the Lord forgave him, but the damage had been done. The reputation that he spent years to build had been destroyed by this one little act. His testimony had been tainted forever.
Enticing opportunities to shift grounds abound in our lives as we walk the earth. It might even have become the culture at the place where we find ourselves and everybody seems to be doing it, including the pastors you respect. Funny enough, some of these opportunities present themselves as the key to the breakthrough we’ve been praying for. At such moments, angels along with the cloud of witnesses who have gone ahead of us are there, cheering us up and encouraging us not to let down our guards. You can imagine what would have become of the nation of Israel if Joseph had shifted his ground for Potiphar’s wife. Even Egypt would not have been spared because he would never have had the opportunity to meet Pharaoh’s butler and they would have died from the effects of the famine.

Paul encouraged the Philippians in Phil 1: 27 (NLT): “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ…” This should be our guiding principle. No matter how enticing the reward for just that little slip appears, it is nothing compared to what will accrue to you if you stand your ground. Joseph would have cheaply traded the palace for the position of chief servant in Potiphar’s house if he had just done it. The destiny of Israel would have been destroyed. Has it ever occurred to you that some destinies are tied to you? If you can stand your ground, your testimony will be spotless and you will never be ashamed to talk about God at any time and place for fear of the accusers. The name of the Lord will not be blasphemed because of you. Stand your ground because in the end, it is worth the while.

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , ,