When a young child goes out and commits a crime, who is held accountable? Is it the child, or is the adult parent who ought to know better?
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him.
Teach a child the way of the Lord, and when he grows, he will not depart from it.
Clearly, the scriptures above tell us who to hold responsible.
The mutallab boy almost single handedly brought disrepute to our nation, but thank God the plot was unsuccessful (and i know it was the prayers of the saints that stopped that from happening because the price would have been to enormous to pay, for us as a nation).
Now my question is should the Father be absolved of any blame just because he reported his son earlier? I think not. The son has forever brought the father's name to disrepute and i'm certain the father will only find peace when he comes to Christ.
I was seeking God's face about the condition of our Nation, and He spoke to me expressly that those who know better (which is His Church - consisting of you and I) would be held accountable for the current condition and end result of our nation. We would be held more accountable for the right things we didn't do, rather than the evil things we did.
Jer 25:8 Therefore the Lord almighty says this: "because you have not listened to my words, i will summon all the peoples of the north, and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of babylon....".
Wait a minute! did God just call that pagan unbeliever his servant??? Yes he did.
God called him His servant because He was going to use him to execute judgement (not because the pagan king was a righteous man).
I've learnt that the Lord raises national leaders for two purposes:
1. To deliver people and bring about prosperity. (e.g. Joshua and Moses)
2. To execute judgement! (e.g. Nebuchadnezzar)
It's that simple. I believe any, and every leader has been appointed by God, and is there for a purpose. I'm saying expressly that Obasanjo and Yar'adua were 'anointed' by God to lead this country. The question you and i ought to ask is for what purpose? I don't claim to know just yet, but that's an assignment for everybody.
We have sinned greatly as a nation. We have stolen, killed, maimed, cheated and done the worst things imaginable to our brothers. We have institutionalized sin. These things cannot just be swept under the carpet. They have to be dealt with. By who? I believe by the 'adults' who know better. We must realize that the world doesn't know any better, so it's in their nature to steal, kill, maim, destroy, vandalize and hate just like their father. If they weren't doing that, it would be strange and unnatural.
But the problem is not with the food. The problem is with the tasteless SALT. The problem is not with the darkness - the problem is with the dim LIGHT.
The 'adults' are unequivocally you and I - The Church. We are the ones who know what is right, but have refused to do it. Instead, we have become commentators, and have adopted worldly principles instead of taking the lead and showing the world how to live. we have joined the rat race that leads no where.
"The world shall see your works, and give glory to your Father in heaven!"
The people can NOT see our prayer, fasting, church building, endless services, night vigils, tongues,..............the list is endless.
Why? Because they cannot see spiritual things. They are blind. They can only see physical things that they can relate with.
They can see our social development, they can see our giving to the poor, they can see our selflessness, they can see our exemplary leadership, they can see our resistance to corruption, they can see our CSR and Advocacy, They can see our Mushin makeover, they can see our educational institutions, they can see our honesty and integrity, they can see our desire to help them get a better life, they can see our dedication to our jobs, they can see our excellence on the job, they can see our attention to detail, they can see our respectful and intelligent children, they can see our outstanding academic performances, they can see our Harvard and MIT degrees, they can see our multi-billion dollar businesses built upon strong values, they can see our advanced innovative, creative and conceptual abilities, they can see our professional and clean dressing, they can smell our perfume, they can see our shining suits, they can see the beautiful cars we use for ministry and give away freely (not for oppressing them)..............the list is also endless.
2010 is a year to demonstrate the effects of being Xtians. We are the Church, and we will be held accountable for our Nation.
Showing posts with label desire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label desire. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Information + EMOTION => desired action!
Now that’s an awkward title for an article, and I believe most would agree with me, but symbols could be quite powerful and I’d like to “think outside the box” (or is without a box now!?) and do differently. So that’s my title!
STORY 1: There are over 5 million unemployed youths and graduates in Nigeria today, and we believe government, individuals and organizations have a compelling moral obligation to tackle this escalating economic predicament that threatens the persistence of the Nigerian state. We have many graduates that do not have jobs, and are wasting away by the millions. At the last count, over 5 million graduates were found to be unemployed. If nothing is done about this, then we are at risk of failing as a nation and branding ourselves as a classic reference for a failed state where nothing worked, most were downtrodden and remained perpetually at the rear of the social ladder with no hope of redemption.
END of STORY 1
You would agree with me that this is quite an interesting story (partly true and maybe worrying too), that warrants light-speed attention and planning and ought to jump-start all parties into instant action! If you would rightly observe, this story is quite familiar and does not seem to have the edge required to challenge the intended audience, by force-shifting their transmission from the deplorable “Parking” state to “Drive”, or better still “Turbo Drive +” (for those of us that drive Mercedes, and I’m not talking about v-boot here).
Many would probably sigh, think for a few minutes, discuss with a few friends, unanimously condemn the situation together and then utter the expected statement – God is working, things will get better by God’s grace – AMEN, and that’s it! We move on to the ‘real’ issues of life.
……but we’ve been using this same christianese phrase for donkey years, though I think it’s hypocritical and has yielded little or practically no result – infact, things have gotten worse, but we still keep saying the same thing. Maybe God should be held responsible, or what do you think? Or could it be that the responsibility is really ours, and that we’ve just found a convenient way to shift it to someone up there who we all know hardly speaks audibly, at least in physical terms). Now I’m starting to get emotional, and I’m digressing too.
Let’s get back to the main point! STORY 1 doesn’t linger, doesn’t stick in the memory of the intended audience, and definitely produces little action.
STORY 2: Chukwuemeka is a bright young student who read Mechanical Engineering as an undergraduate at Ahmadu Bello University. He graduated with honors, completed his mandatory NYSC Youth Service program in Abuja, and subsequently returned to University of Jos because he was not retained where he served, and could not secure a job after several unsuccessful attempts at tests and interviews. He could not afford the fees for a Master’s degree and since he had no one to look to for help (His father is late and his mother sells vegetables in the village), he resorted to selling telephone recharge cards. The odds of him getting a good job are fast declining, given the fact that most employers have age limits and would always prefer to employ “fresh” minds.
Ladies and gentlemen, there were 2 million examples of Chuwuemeka in Nigeria in 2000, but today, we have at least 5 million. Chukwuemeka is your cousin, your neighbor, your recharge card vendor, and maybe your brother. Tunde had a similar experience as Chukwuemeka, but has since resorted to Fraud and armed robbery. I do not pray for this, but at this rate, there’s a good chance your son could grow up to become just like Chukwuemeka, or worse still Tunde. What we do right now will determine what happens next.
END of STORY 2
Wow! So this is what is really happening, and there’s a good chance my son can become like this??? The answer to that is………..well……………, YES!!!!
Those are the kinds of questions that would race through the minds of those in your audience, and I could almost guarantee that you’ve just successfully launched your “Network Marketing business”. People will talk even more, and many will certainly ACT. Remember what we really want is for people to
JUST DO IT!
Stories are real, personal and they stir up emotions, hence everyone can relate to them. Statistics and theories are real too, but they are impersonal and unemotional. At best, they make us exclaim WOW…...but that’s where it ends.
How we love to quote the stats and present data, but they seem to never work when they stand just by themselves.
Next time you want to communicate and get results, tell good stories and support them with the stats.
STORY 1: There are over 5 million unemployed youths and graduates in Nigeria today, and we believe government, individuals and organizations have a compelling moral obligation to tackle this escalating economic predicament that threatens the persistence of the Nigerian state. We have many graduates that do not have jobs, and are wasting away by the millions. At the last count, over 5 million graduates were found to be unemployed. If nothing is done about this, then we are at risk of failing as a nation and branding ourselves as a classic reference for a failed state where nothing worked, most were downtrodden and remained perpetually at the rear of the social ladder with no hope of redemption.
END of STORY 1
You would agree with me that this is quite an interesting story (partly true and maybe worrying too), that warrants light-speed attention and planning and ought to jump-start all parties into instant action! If you would rightly observe, this story is quite familiar and does not seem to have the edge required to challenge the intended audience, by force-shifting their transmission from the deplorable “Parking” state to “Drive”, or better still “Turbo Drive +” (for those of us that drive Mercedes, and I’m not talking about v-boot here).
Many would probably sigh, think for a few minutes, discuss with a few friends, unanimously condemn the situation together and then utter the expected statement – God is working, things will get better by God’s grace – AMEN, and that’s it! We move on to the ‘real’ issues of life.
……but we’ve been using this same christianese phrase for donkey years, though I think it’s hypocritical and has yielded little or practically no result – infact, things have gotten worse, but we still keep saying the same thing. Maybe God should be held responsible, or what do you think? Or could it be that the responsibility is really ours, and that we’ve just found a convenient way to shift it to someone up there who we all know hardly speaks audibly, at least in physical terms). Now I’m starting to get emotional, and I’m digressing too.
Let’s get back to the main point! STORY 1 doesn’t linger, doesn’t stick in the memory of the intended audience, and definitely produces little action.
STORY 2: Chukwuemeka is a bright young student who read Mechanical Engineering as an undergraduate at Ahmadu Bello University. He graduated with honors, completed his mandatory NYSC Youth Service program in Abuja, and subsequently returned to University of Jos because he was not retained where he served, and could not secure a job after several unsuccessful attempts at tests and interviews. He could not afford the fees for a Master’s degree and since he had no one to look to for help (His father is late and his mother sells vegetables in the village), he resorted to selling telephone recharge cards. The odds of him getting a good job are fast declining, given the fact that most employers have age limits and would always prefer to employ “fresh” minds.
Ladies and gentlemen, there were 2 million examples of Chuwuemeka in Nigeria in 2000, but today, we have at least 5 million. Chukwuemeka is your cousin, your neighbor, your recharge card vendor, and maybe your brother. Tunde had a similar experience as Chukwuemeka, but has since resorted to Fraud and armed robbery. I do not pray for this, but at this rate, there’s a good chance your son could grow up to become just like Chukwuemeka, or worse still Tunde. What we do right now will determine what happens next.
END of STORY 2
Wow! So this is what is really happening, and there’s a good chance my son can become like this??? The answer to that is………..well……………, YES!!!!
Those are the kinds of questions that would race through the minds of those in your audience, and I could almost guarantee that you’ve just successfully launched your “Network Marketing business”. People will talk even more, and many will certainly ACT. Remember what we really want is for people to
JUST DO IT!
Stories are real, personal and they stir up emotions, hence everyone can relate to them. Statistics and theories are real too, but they are impersonal and unemotional. At best, they make us exclaim WOW…...but that’s where it ends.
How we love to quote the stats and present data, but they seem to never work when they stand just by themselves.
Next time you want to communicate and get results, tell good stories and support them with the stats.
.
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