Die to Live; Live to Die

“

I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Saviour
I surrender all

”

But church people can lie sha? Mehn!

So you see Bro Micheal singing this song in church. Man is singing the song with raised hands and eyes closed. Brother Michael is even sprinkling some ‘skibanj shebang chennai mumbai’ tongues inside. Man is all sweating and all but when he opens his eyes and sees Bro John, you know the one that took the microphone from him that did not let him finish sharing his testimony one year ago, dimensions will change. Thing is ‘ordinary’ John that only started going to church 4 years ago had the temerity to cut short the testimony of an ‘important’ Christian like Bro Michael. A whole Brother Michael fa? He even called him Michael and did not but the ‘brah’ in front. The share guts of John.

Sighs.

The latter bit of 1 Cor 15:31 states very clearly “.. I die daily”. The ‘daily’ bit in the sentence brings it all together. It is not suddenly total neither is the process of surrendering immediately absolute. Yet, the ultimate goal is to be completely dead to self and take on all of God. Spirits don’t have bodies so have absolutely no need to have their bodies and souls serviced by food and pride respectively. While we have bodies, we have limitations unfortunately but seeking to be as close as possible to a position of forgoing all the trappings of the physical body is the aim. It will only be perfected in physical death or transfiguration of man but getting as close as possible to that state is the biggest single secret to walking with God (well, God or whatever other spirit you want to walk with).

The above song was obviously written by someone who must have got to the point of understanding the secret of giving everything over to God but the song is unfortunately sung by many people who have not. If telling a lie is bad, is singing a lie also as bad? That however is an aside.

Stepping out of yourself is hard. Awfully hard. At least initially it is. Keeping quiet when you have the answer is not the naturally human thing to do. Naturally speaking, no one was made that way. Yet I know it gets easier, hence the ‘daily’ bit. I have studied a bit and done a little bit of observation as well to know God disables before he enables. He breaks before he moulds. If every of man’s righteousness are like filthy rags, it could be safe to also assume all of man’s abilities that are outside God could also be seen by Him as inabilities. For instance, there is a level of ego that has been said that all great men possess. However, could it be safe to say that is a no no with God? If God is going to take it away like it does not exist, what is the point building up on it? Why not kuku die before He kills you? Why not humble yourself before He humbles or even in some cases humiliates you?

There could be men who would get away with having their way but there are some that will not. There are some that have been designed to only find succour in Him. If you are one of those, know that the only way to truly flourish in Him is to die to everything else and only have Him as your source. How much frustration will I have to face before I realize there must be an easier way? I insist man was created to fulfil a void within. In the popular Westlife song (yes, I am a big Westlife fan, sue me) ‘Flying without wings’, Shane Filan said “Everybody’s looking for that something.. that makes it all complete”. Not sure Shane should always be quoted as a reference while talking church stuff but that one line is apt. Very apt. The lie is to think the ‘something’ will fill the void. It WILL NOT. What fills the void is not something, it is SOMEONE. And I call that someone God. And yet, the only way to truly be happy in this walk with God is to take on as much of HIM as possible. Coming to God with credentials is more foolish than trying to impress a mermaid with how much water you have. And in reference to that analogy, if you think just because I am a Yoruba boy, I have good experience in trying to impress women/girls, I can neither deny nor confirm these allegations. **Silently pleads the blood of Jesus over my past life and does the sign of the cross**.  

The key to truly live in God is to die to everything else. The way to live is to die. And for every moment of living, dying should take place. We’ve go to die to live and live to die every day. The assignment: die to live and live to die.

PS.. Words like ‘sha’, ‘kuku’ and ‘fa’ are written by a Nigerian for the understanding of other Nigerians. Please speak to a Nigerian around you for further clarification. 😊

Bigger Stuff

Imagine a bubble. Now imagine placing the bubble in a pool of water. Okay? It is safe to say any object in the bubble is also in the pool of water right? But do you also know anything or any object in the bubble might ever know of the pool if it does not look out or is forced out of the bubble?

Welcome to humanity. Where everyone thinks all there is to life is what physically exists on earth. Only difference is you don’t have to peer out of the bubble, life itself forces you out at some point because the bubble WILL expire.

One of the favourite sayings of my Pastor is “The spiritual controls the physical”. And fortunately or unfortunately that could not be more true. There is more to life than what the naked eyes can see. There is more to love than what can be seen. I suppose love is probably the best example to use in this instance as it is quite relatable. Everyone knows there is more to love than the physical touch from person to person. While physical contact might be a mode of expression, the feelings generated inside would often be the biggest factors. The weird smile for no reason is not necessary generated by touch, it is generated by what is inside. It is hard to explain but you know it is there. It can not be expressed but whoever feels it knows for sure it is there. A force so strong yet cannot be seen or explained. I will make bold to say there is ‘something’ that controls love, even if that ‘something’ cannot be seen. The bible calls that ‘something’ God but then that is a different topic entirely.

Point is, there is spirituality and it is in control of everything. I repeat, EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, there is little or no cognisance paid to it. We live in a world where everyone seems to pretend hard work is the only prerequisite to success. Where admiration is the only thing required for a successful marriage or relationship. Where looking tough is the bedrock to garnering respect. Where saving money is all you must do to have a fat bank balance. Come on! Stop being childish. Why is the road side vulcanizer not a multimillionaire while some guy who visits a spiritualist and makes animal sacrifices suddenly a multi-property owner if hard work was all it took? Why would a good girl with a model figure get heartbroken but the ‘runs girl’ who consults multiple herbalists ‘happily’ married if admiration and good manners was all it took? – Happily in this case in quotation marks. If saving money was all it took, why would a stingy person who rations bread slices for his children seem to die broke but the guy who gives 100 dollars every week in church somehow seems to thrive financially?

Of course, human input is needed but the main driving force is most often spiritual. Point is human input and human actions are most often subject to spiritual forces.

Wake up people! There is bigger stuff at play. And proper balling requires you playing in this bigger realm. There is a whole lot more than meets the eye in every situation.  A horrible trick the rich foster on the poor is to blind them to seeing the whole truth. Making abnormal things look normal is an art perfected by the ruling class. Don’t get it twisted, there is a whole lot more at play in the universe than CNN and Twitter reports. Fortunately, man was created to have a spiritual awareness as a path to fulfilment and we can find the deepest answers within ourselves. Men call it religion. I, personally call it a ‘walk with God’.  There is a reason why religion is not going anywhere no matter the persecution and that is simply because it fills a void nothing else fills. Man recognizes there is something missing, unfortunately, the route taken to try to fill that void is filled with too many errors. Yet again, a different matter entirely.

Summary is, there is something bigger than what we see. Only a fool will focus all his/her attention on what is within the bubble when there is way more outside the bubble.

Be True to You

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:14 (KJV)

The above is a quote from the first book of the new testament in the bible (a book I am an avid believer of by the way). It was Jesus speaking, someone who knows more than a few things about acting right in my opinion.

A popular saying goes thus “majority carries the vote”. Yes, that is how democracy works but is that really how personal decisions should work? Is stuff just right cos everyone does it? Should something be the norm because most people think it is normal? Should you imbibe a habit because everyone around you has the same habit?

Not to get it twisted, I am one for pragmatism when it has no long term effects or tends to deceit. If you have to wear a blue pair of shoes that your work contract tells you to wear, by all means, go for it. However, should you wear a Nazi flag because your line manager suggests it even though it is against your belief system? Does it really make sense to eat pork at a work party even if it is against your religious beliefs? See, the thing is drifting from your original path or place of destiny assignment does not happen overnight, it is gradual. I will say that again more clearly, losing your identity and consequently yourself is a gradual process. A one-degree turn from a straight path does not look huge over 10 metres, the difference is clearer over 1000 metres. A little compromise here, a little compromise there, watch what becomes of you over a few years.

Again, do not be foolish or become a social outcast by being unnecessarily stubborn in folly or stupidity and blaming everyone else for always disagreeing with you but please stand your ground when you are under pressure to betray who you are. It should be said at this point that if you have to keep fighting everyone and every single thing in sight over your opinions and values, maybe it is time to call those values into question. After all, it is okay to have a different point of view as you mature. 

No one gets respected by being easily manipulated. You don’t have to be cantankerous or troublesome, but by all means, hold your ground – with a smile if you have to. If you are a vegetarian, stay off meat even at a barbeque meet (see the play of words 😊). If you like rap music, listen to rap music even around church folk. If you love to wear jeans, don’t wear a suit to please anyone (well, except your father-in-law especially before you get married).

Point is, without getting over sanctimonious, stay true to yourself. I am not the most experienced guy in this life thing but the little I know tells me true and genuine joy comes from within. See the pretty girl, the boss guy on the 7^th floor or the ever-serious-looking guy at church? Their validation might bring a bit of happiness but never really joy. What makes you smile for no reason and gives you the courage to face what this world throws at you is within you. Do not sell it for what the people who don’t even understand you have to offer. Oh, err.. about the joy-giving thing, having a Jeff Bezos kinda bank account balance would help as well but that’s a whole ‘nother sermon topic for another day.. 😊 Stay safe friends and stay true to yourself! It’s what really drives the enemies bonkers.