Publish and be damned!

In recent times many seem to want to outdo all others at being the first to spread some horrible news. Ha-ha! One wonders: is there money to be made in this one too? After all that is what appears to be the most magnificent motivator these days.

Some other social media news moguls are specialists in sending out the most horrible photos and videos. Even CNN will warn before sharing some disturbing materials. That is not for the social media news peddlers – they spill their horror photos and videos without “gafara!” (excuse/pardon)

Some others have the habit of delivering their unverified stories starting with the words “as received”, “copied” etc. as if these words will absolve them of responsibility. When one receives a story from another amateur news monger, it is only right to verify first before sharing or you can let the story stop at your phone’s doorstep. I honestly think there should be no compulsion or inordinate ambition to share a story that one cannot verify. Once you have decided to share, you share also in the responsibility of putting the story out there. That reminds me of the very instructive and relevant title of a 1953 book by Hugh Cudlipp titled: Publish and be damned!

Lastly, and with profound respect, I like to say that we share only what edifies, promotes love, understanding and peace amongst all peoples irrespective of their tongue, religious beliefs, race or color.

Sins against the Holy Spirit.

Christ told us that sins against the Father and the Son could be forgiven, but never those committed against the Holy Spirit!

Many have sought to understand this. The explanation lies in the fact that The Holy Spirit is the Will of God in Person! The Will of God are expressed in the Laws of Creation and these Laws work out the reward for each and every one of our actions.

The Power of the Holy Spirit streams through all that exist. It can be found in water, plants, animals and naturally also in man. The way we are made is such that we can receive this Power and channel it towards achieving whatever we strongly wish for. This Power works in the direction of our innermost decisions, we guide It through our thoughts and intuition. The Power then works on automatically bringing about good or evil effect depending on how we guide It.

Where we use this Power for good, we are rewarded with a positive and healthy harvest. Where we have dared to channel It for selfish and perhaps evil ends, we reap a harvest of unrest to say the least. Such wrong use is a sin against the Holy Spirit as we have directed His Pure and Holy Power into impure activity! Even if we are the cleverest, the Hand of the Holy Spirit will catch up with us wherever we wished to hide!

There is nothing like good or evil power! The only Power is that of the Holy Spirit which streams through all that exists. However, good and evil are produced or brought about by the right or wrong use of the Power of the Holy Spirit.

We can help ourselves by picturing to ourselves how this Pure Power flows through us every second, every minute and every hour and how we can direct It through our thoughts and intuition to good or evil purpose. Then the huge responsibility we bear as stewards capable of being constructive and capable of being destructive might dawn on us! We hopefully will then choose rightly.

Agege Bread Sellers

And so it was, one evening many years ago, I purchased a decent loaf of bread at the popular Oshodi Bus stop in Lagos Nigeria.  The price must have been N5. I gave the seller who was seated close to her goods a new N50 note which was the highest currency denomination at that time. By the way, the N50 note was issued in 1991 and remained the highest denomination of the Naira till 1999 when the N100 note was introduced. This episode happened soon after the release of the new currency.

As I was saying, I gave the vendor N50, collected the loaf and was expecting N45 change. The lady promptly put her hands into her money bag made of a long clothing usually tied to the waist and presented N15 to me! I told her politely that the correct change was N45 and not N15 but she insisted that I gave her just N20 and therefore the change due to me was N15. I suggested to her that if she looked in her bag, she would see the N50 which was not really common at that time. She calmly turned down my suggestion.

I decided not to cause a scene but told her that I will not collect the N15 from her. I decided to keep the bread with which I have a date the following morning. I felt cheated but walked slowed away to board a bus that will take me home.

As we were waiting for the bus to fill up, I heard an elderly lady that looked every inch an Alhaja call out loudly pointing to the bread seller who had just fleeced me and to my bus: You Agege bread sellers of this place, be warned! If anything happens to you, this woman is the cause! She has just defrauded a man in that bus of his money!

Speedily, the lady in question offered to return my change in full as the other passengers urged me to get down from the bus to collect my money.

I did. Happily.

Chioma

Sunday evening. My sister-in-law requested a Uber car to take her and her children home as she rounded off her visit to us. The Uber driver assigned to her then called within minutes to confirm the ride. She is a soft-spoken lady.

On arrival Chioma told us that many riders reject her as soon as they realise she is a lady! Now wait for this: some men will not allow her drive them but will offer to drive and have her seat as a passenger whilst they are at it. Of course Chioma would still be paid for the use of her car. According to her, the men who have done this say to her that they did so as a mark of respect for her as a lady!

Relating with our neighbours

The word neighbor in this discussion represents all those we relate with, be they parents, spouse, children, other relatives, friends and business associates. Neighbours at the home front may differ from those in the office. When we are in the shopping mall for example, the other shoppers at that moment are our neighbours. How are we to relate with our neighbours?

Since we reap what we sow, then it follows that what we do to our neighbours we actually do to ourselves! My work supervisor once instructed that over the weekend we are to get the person seating next to us at work a gift not exceeding one pound in value. Happiness filled my heart as I made the purchase and the happiness increased when my neighbour at work opened the gift in appreciation. From the happiness I felt before and after presenting the modest gift I realised that I was indeed the first beneficiary of the good deed. 

I have also come to the recognition that we are to give to our neighbours of ourselves and not necessarily with money and goods. Our neighbour will gain tremendously from the kind consideration and respect we give to them voluntarily. Do you know why? Because that way, our action speaks loudly and our neighbour will thereby gain the strength to change themselves! That is far more effective than any preaching you can do with word of mouth!

You and I have a lot to redeem from our past and it will stand in our favour and aid our spiritual ascent if we show our neighbours the smallest kindness, give them a friendly word, take care of them when sick, empathize and identify with them in times of need be they our children, family members or associates.

Finally, in dealing with those close to us let us not give way to our own weaknesses by engaging in envy, distrust, rudeness, and acting without restraint. We ought to at all times maintain harmony in our relationships as harmony is the basis of real progress for us and our environment in the material and spiritual sense!

…and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

These are the closing words of Psalm 23. Now the concept of the House of the Lord is not restricted to places designated, consecrated and dedicated for the solemn worship of the Lord. This earth and indeed the whole of Creation is the House of God the Father in which you and I are guests. Guests who are cared for, with helpers standing by and with a table at all times richly spread from which we can take anything we need through the abilities we carry within!

In this Household, there are numerous servants of the Lord who take care of the waters, the seas, air, fire and the earth so that we have a place to subsist and can call a home. We on the other hand are dwellers who have a duty to cooperate with these helpers and abide by the rules and regulations that sustain the great Household. In other words the whole of Creation is the Mantle of God and we who dwell in its folds have the sacred duty to keep same pure and free of filth be it only through our unworthy thoughts.

Furthermore, we need to consider that we are permitted to dwell here so that we can mature and become true human beings. There is however a limited time allotted for us to attain to the maturity that qualifies us to dwell and live eternally in this Creation. Alas, mankind as a whole have spent this time of mercy in wickedness. We now stand at a time when we must render account, when all those who continually disturb the harmony of the House of the Lord will be forcibly removed so that the Kingdom of Peace can be established.

Let us resolve therefore that as guests in the House of the Lord, we shall remain guests who are agreeable to Him so that in the ongoing separation of the wheat and the chaff, we will not be found too light!

Orange seeds will always produce oranges!

This sounds so simple but this natural happening is the result of a Natural Law that is unalterable, and which has been in existence since the dawn of Creation! Then 2000 years ago we were told: “What a man sows that shall he reap!”

As human beings, we sow through our thoughts, words and deeds. By our very nature, the Power from on High always streams through us and at the beginning of any matter, we are free to choose where and how to direct this Power. We then bear the responsibility for the consequences of the effect of what we do with this Power which works on automatically in the ways to which It is guided.

If one decides to be cruel to others and enjoy seeing people suffer, he must count on a harvest of misery in the long run. Where one lives to bring joy to others then a harvest of goodness is to be expected. A lot affects how a man fares but there is nothing to which man has not himself first given cause.

What about many of us who have indulged in all sorts in the past?  We are scared of the harvest! The good news is that the Maker of the Laws - our Creator is Love! The same Law therefore also works out mercy and forgiveness. Once we decide to turn our backs on our former stubbornness and firmly decide to engage in good and noble deeds, then immediately, a limit is placed on what we have to reap. In addition, if we continue in our decision to engage in only what is good, then goodness will be entrenched in us, will be reinforced and then emerges from us to form a protection strong enough to fend off the evil reactions coming from our past deeds.

Let us therefore make use of every day of this year sowing good seeds in thought, word and deed so that we can redeem the past and even prepare for ourselves a future of bliss!

What is happiness?

Happiness is a condition of the soul. Happiness is what is felt within. It cannot be measured by the earthly senses as such. Our earthly senses (the intellect) wants to dimension everything but who can measure the size, weight or height of happiness? The Yoruba will say that "deep joy has a very tiny body" out of a sensing that our outward senses cannot actually grasp true happiness. It can only be inwardly sensed. At best, the intellect can be self-satisfied, but never really happy. Happiness therefore, depends on the condition of the spirit. A spirit which is unburdened and unconstrained in this Creation will be happy. It is automatic. As long as it knows and adheres to all the Laws of God, happiness comes to it as a reward. He is content. Happiness actually is contentment; spiritual contentment. It means contentment with the present, enjoying and experiencing each moment in all its ramifications, taking in all its blessings and benefits, lessons and maturing thereby. This has nothing to do with earthly position and wealth. Wealth does not necessarily bring happiness and there are many materially poor people who are perfectly happy, perfectly content. True happiness also comes hand in hand with a deep inner feeling of being protected by the Almighty and having confidence in the Will of God. In one sentence, happiness is when we live in complete harmony with the Will of God, receiving and using the powers of Creation aright which lets us intuitively experience peace, contentment and bliss unceasingly! Standing in prayer of thanksgiving in perpetuity!