Compromise (3)

Good day all and so sorry for my inability to post the concluding part of this series last week. In the spirit of the season, I humbly seek your understanding. I wish you all compliments of the season, Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2008. Do enjoy the remaining part of our series on compromise until next week when we have a new topic for discussion.............

Now what happens when we refuse to compromise? Sometimes it leads to pain and involves a lot of sacrifice but ultimately, it ALWAYS leads to achievement, success and accomplishment. Refusal to compromise is usually alluded to when we use such words as courage, persistence, determination, etc. Anytime we refuse to settle for anything less than what we believe in, then that is refusal to compromise.

Examples abound in scripture on refusal to compromise. Abraham, our father in faith refused to compromise to doubt God’s word concerning sacrificing his only child Isaac when God asked him to do so. He believed God was going to give him another child and he was accepted by God as righteous and that sealed his covenant with God (Gen. 22: 1-18).

David refused to compromise to the threat of the Philistines and God gave him victory over Goliath of Gath and the philistine army, though he was just a little lad (1 Sam 17: 22-54).

Noah did not compromise his faith in the command of God that he builds an ark to save himself and his family from the impending destruction of the world God was planning. He obeyed God and he and his family – eight of them – were saved (Gen. 6: 5-22).

Even though he was sold into slavery by his siblings, Joseph did not compromise his faith to sleep with his slave master Potiphar’s wife. He suffered the pain of imprisonment for a while but rose by God’s special grace to become the second most powerful man in the whole of Egypt, a foreign land! (Gen 39: 1 – 41:46). There are many stories of refusal to compromise seen in scriptures in Heb. 11.

In our time, we see refusal to compromise resulting in great achievements: Henry Ford was able to produce the first 8-cylinder engine by refusing to compromise to his worker’s claims that it could not be done.

England’s former Prime Minister Winston Churchill refused to compromise and surrender to Adolf Hitler’s war threats in spite of Hitler having conquered much of Europe, and the war was eventually won against Hitler’s forces.

In his bid to save many of his patients who were dying from surgical infections (though unknown at the time), Joseph Lister, a surgeon, refused to compromise to his colleagues tauntings and criticisms for over 16 years between 1865 and 1881 and was eventually able to discover the importance and use of antiseptics that we know today.

Thomas Edison who had only three months of formal schooling and was sent home to his mother as one who would not amount to much, did not compromise and give up. Today, his refusal to compromise with his mother’s support has placed him in history as one of the greatest inventors with over a hundred such inventions as the incandescent bulb, telegraph, and so on.

No matter what it is you choose to become in life, always remember that true wealth derives from non compromise in what you have set out to achieve. There is a story of a man who travelled from Africa to the United States in search of greener pastures.

Though he was married back in his home country, he needed to get a permanent stay in America so he entered into a union with an American lady who now insisted contrary to their original agreement that he must sleep with her before she signs the documents to give him his stay in America.

This man was a supposed Christian and after seeking advice from a wrong source, he compromised and went ahead and slept with the lady and behold, she had HIV, which passed to him and he eventually died and lost all his dreams.

If you are still not moved by that tragic story of compromise, then what do you say about our first parents Adam and Eve who compromised, disobeyed God’s command and that singular act has resulted in death entering the world and mankind losing the eternal joy found in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3: 1-24)?

Never seek to compromise your situation in your pursuit of wealth, fame or recognition. There is always regret lying in wait for such a person. Concluded.

© copyright Gabriel Ama.

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Compromise (2)

The next question we need to ask at this point is, what fuels or drives compromise? Issues like values, beliefs, discouragement, greed, fear of the unknown, peer pressure and bad influence come to mind. In Saul’s case, it was fear of his soldiers. Influence was the cause of compromise in Samson’s case.

In Ahab’s case, it was greed and bad influence that caused his compromise. In the case of Whitney Houston, it was fear of losing her husband’s love and bad influence. In Winnie Mandela’s case, compromise was caused by fear of the unknown, discouragement and bad influence. Patricia Etteh compromised because of greed and fallen values.

The compromise in the examples on corporate organisations was fuelled by greed, fear and fallen values.

Talking of values and beliefs, we see a world where things that were once considered abominable are now fashionable: women dressing half-naked and young men wearing falling pants without belts, cheating in examinations by students and their parents with active connivance of teachers, publicly displayed gay marriages and gay ordinations of so called “men of god” (certainly not the God of heaven and earth)

The word of God condemns in very strong terms any gay relationship (Romans 1: 18-28). Note especially verses 26 & 27. So those who think the word of God has no message for gay people should read this particular scripture quotation and if they choose to ignore it, too bad.

As is the case with human nature, one can be doing the wrong thing for a long while out of a false belief and see nothing wrong in it. A typical example is seen in racism. One person sees himself or herself as being superior to another because of skin colour and begins to taunts and call the other person names like nigger, black monkey and so on and so forth.

The word of God makes it clear that God created man in His own image and after His likeness (Gen. 1: 26-27). God never created anyone less than another. This false belief and segregation has led to compromise on the part of those claiming to be superior to others. Unfortunately too, some other people have compromised and accepted themselves as inferior.

This false belief led to several hundreds of years of slave trade in Africa and still continues in another form nowadays. How unfortunate!

No matter the excuse given for one’s compromise as earlier defined as “bringing to a dishonourable position or to bring to shame”, we have clearly seen how it ALWAYS leads to devastating consequences

………. to be continued

(c)copyright Gabriel Ama

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Compromise

This week’s topic is a very touchy one since it will have people on either side of the divide trying to take a stand on what they believe. However that may be, let us not forget the main thrust of this blog….true wealth secrets.

From the public view, the word compromise is one that is difficult to define because of human way of doing things. Before I write further on the issue, let us look at what the word of God says in 1 John 1: 5-7, “This is the word which came to us from him and which we give to you, that God is light and in him there is nothing dark.

If we say we are joined to him, and are walking still in the dark, our words are false and our acts are untrue:
But if we are walking in the light, as he is in the light, we are all united with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son makes us clean from all sin” (Bible in Basic English).

From the word of God above, we see clearly that to be joined to God Who is light is to walk in His light in our words and deeds. In the light of this scriptural revelation, it is clear that the definition of the word compromise that means “to put into a dishonourable position or to bring to shame” is at variance with the word of God.

Whatever you want to become or achieve in life, whether fame, fortune, recognition, etc, compromise of any kind as defined above should not be a part of you. In the scriptures, we see how compromise of God’s command caused very devastating consequences for people.

We see compromise in the priest Eli who refused to take drastic action against his sons Hophni and Phinenas who were committing a terrible sin against God. This caused them their lives, priesthood of God forever and a generational curse of death before old age (1 Sam. 2: 22-36; 3:10-14).

Saul, king of Israel compromised and that caused him his kingdom forever (1 Sam. 13: 13-14 and 1 Sam. 15: 13-23). Even when Saul later did what God asked him to do, it was too late (1 Sam. 15: 32-35). Samson compromised because of Delilah, a Philistine, and it cost him his eyes and eventually his life (Judges 16: 15-31).

Compromise to evil urgings of his wife Jezebel caused Ahab, King of Israel his dynasty forever (1 Kings 21: 1-25). Even though Ahab repented, the damage had already been done because God’s word cannot be changed once it has been spoken (1 Kings 21: 27-29).

Compromise caused Amaziah, Priest of Bethel his priesthood, his life and his family’s life (Amos 7: 10-17).

In our world today, we see how compromise to her ex-husband’s hard drugs urging caused Whitney Houston her physical and mental health. Dr. Samuel P. Langley, professor of mathematics and astronomy should have entered history as the man who achieved flight in aeroplanes. After two failed attempts, he compromised and gave up due to the scathing remarks he got from the press over his efforts.

He died a very demoralised and defeated man after suffering a stroke. Today, the world remembers two men of little education, Orville and Wilbur Wright as the men who achieved manned flight in the aviation industry.

Compromise caused Winnie Mandikizela Mandela her marriage after waiting for 27 years for her ex-husband to return from incarceration because of the useless men she associated with. It could be very easy to say that what happened to her could have happened to anyone, but what can we say of those who are able to resist evil urgings? Are they anymore human than the rest of us? No, they just have self discipline, which is required to resist such!

Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, first female and former speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, lost the prestigious position because she compromised her office in a contract award scandal and gave a very bad name to women in that country who have been calling for more female representation in public office.

In the corporate world, we see compromise when Arthur Andersen, a formerly acclaimed and respected accounting firm connived with Enron Energy company executives to defraud hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting investors of their hard earned income. The result? Those involved are currently serving jail sentences.

We also see compromise in the activities of Siemens and Nigerian government officials in the bribery scandal of 10 million Euros to get telecommunication contracts from the Nigerian government. The result? The Nigerian government revoked the existing contract entered into with Siemens.

We can go on and on about the dangers of compromise and the resultant bad taste it leaves in the mouths of those involved

……………..to be continued.

(c)copyright Gabriel Ama

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You Don't Have To Survive (2)

Last time we left on trying to find out what wisdom is. Well, I must say here that most people have an idea about wisdom being something abstract.....something that cannot be fully explained but is just there, something that comes with experience in life. 

I would simply define wisdom as a "force" that drives people to do things. And I want to note categorically that wisdom does not come with age as most people erroneously believe.

Why do I say that? It is because those who have wisdom are those who have deliberately looked for information to make a difference in their lives! It is not everyone who is old that does that. 

It is only those who have made a conscious decision to look for wisdom that find it, and that is the only way to get it!

If you doubt what I say here, then look at Sacred scripture in Proverbs 24: 5-7, " A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety. Wisdom is too lofty for a fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate". (New King James Version). You can see clearly that no reference is made to age when talking about wisdom here and note verse 7 that says wisdom is beyond the power of foolish people!

Basically, there are two kinds of wisdom - human or worldly wisdom and divine wisdom. We see human wisdom at work in works of ingenuity and works of evil as well.

Human wisdom is seen in works of ingenuity in all advances man has made to better his life, defend himself or entertain his fellow human being or to earn a living, be it technologically, scientifically, artistically, socially, culturally: Internet, aeroplanes, motor vehicles, motorbikes, trains, ships, telecommunications, architectural and engineering masterpieces, medicine and surgery, scud missiles, nuclear reactors, electricity, photography, literature, etc.

On the other hand, human wisdom is equally seen in man's evil works borne also out of man's desire to entertain, destroy, defend or prey on his fellow man: pornography, nuclear bombs, machine guns, witchcraft, examination malpractice, assassinations, calumny, rape, arson, armed robbery, treachery, murder, gangsterism, occultism, ritual killings, adultery, etc, etc.

One may wonder how some of the evil things mentioned in the preceding paragraph are results of human wisdom. Well, do note that all actions derive from thought. Your thought determines your feelings, which in turn determines your action. There is no evil action that is not derived from thought......even an angry person who decides to hit someone or hurt the person first thought about it before doing it!

Divine wisdom is wisdom derived from above, from God our Father. With divine wisdom, there is only one course of action: positive with guide from the Holy Spirit. With divine wisdom, one cannot make mistakes or take wrong decisions for the simple fact that it is guided not by human thought but by Providence.

Sacred scripture makes reference to divine wisdom in Proverbs 24:13-14, "My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off" (King James Version).

Sacred scripture talks about finding divine wisdom. So how do we find divine wisdom if it is a force that drives man's action as earlier defined? Again sacred scripture provides the answer in 1 Corinthians: 17-30, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- (New King James Version)

Notice the distinction made in the scripture quotation about human or worldly wisdom and divine wisdom. Notice especially verse 30 that says Christ Jesus is the wisdom from God. 

So the implication for anyone who wants to find divine wisdom is to find Christ! How do we find Christ? It is in His teachings contained in sacred scripture, the Word of God.

My dear reader, please note that everyone needs divine wisdom if you must advance in life. And that is why I said you do not have to survive. 

Survival is about struggle in life and is traceable to ignorance of what to do to make a difference in your life and how to go about it. With Divine wisdom as your guide, you will surely achieve in life.

(c) copyright Gabriel Ama

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You Don't Have to Survive!

Most times when I watch television and see less priviledged Africans speak, all they talk about is survival...."we have to look for something to ea"t! Majority of them ALWAYS talk about looking for something to eat. And I then wonder if that is all there is to life....what to eat.

Unfortunately, it is this idea of being concerned ONLY with looking for what to eat that has kept Africa where it is and usually at the mercy of rulers who refer to themselves as "leaders". 

The bad news is that most people just cannot figure out what to do and continue to believe it is the duty of the government to do everything for them!

The good news is that your situation does not have to be like that. Get this into your inner being that "there is no hopeless situation, only people who have grown hopeless about their situation" as truly said by a war general. 

So what makes the difference? Information! Some people may think I am talking about formal education here, but you may want to read my previous post on that subject.

Creating true wealth requires information especially in this age of ours.......the information age. In Sacred Scripture we see King David teach his son Solomon the value of wisdom in Proverbs 4:5-10, "Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you.

Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you. Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many". (New King James Version)

Note verse 7 that says Wisdom is the principal thing! What this means is that we all need Wisdom in EVERYTHING we do, whether it is relationships, work, business, name it. 

Wisdom is the principal thing and only those who find wisdom find the true meaning of life! So, just what is wisdom?

....................to be continued next week

(c)copyright Gabriel Ama

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Overcoming Setbacks (2)

The first advice I want to offer and it is a very very important one: never get desperate about trying to overcome setbacks. Once you get yourself in that mode, it would be one wrong decision after another, more desperation and more wrong decisions one after another!

And if this cycle of wrong decisions persist, it could lead to depression, then chronic depression and finally a desire to take one's own life when one feels that all is lost and nothing can be done to change or remedy the situation.

So you must never ever get desperate during a set back so as not to destabilise your mind and ability to think clearly.

The second advice I offer is found in sacred scriptures, Proverbs 3:5-6 (New King James Version), "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

Just like sacred scripture tells us, you cannot rely completely on your reasoning to get certain things done because there is a limit to human reasoning or the senses.

This advice is the most important in dealing with any kind of setback one encounters in life because you simply do not know what the future holds for you. Can any human say for certain what would or could happen in the next hour? Most certainly not!

Your absolute faith in God determines that and if you simply trust in Him and offer your fears, worries and concerns, He will surely come to your aid. How do I know this? Again, God's word provides the answer in Hebrews 13:5-6 (New King James Version), "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For God Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

Dealing with spiritual setbacks especially from real enemies is by prayer and constant devotion to the word of God. Things such as spiritual setbacks may not be common in the Western world but they are prevalent in Africa and can only be dealt with in such ways.

Your prayer life must be constant and persistent because evil people are never resting in their desire to destroy someone. Our Lord Jesus Christ assures us in Luke 10:19, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

Notice Christ said authority over ALL the power of the enemy, not some. But you can only exercise such authority with prayer using the name of Christ Himself! There is no other way of dealing with spiritual setbacks except by spiritual actions too. So CONSTANT and PERSISTENT prayer is a MUST for anyone who is serious on overcoming spiritual setbacks.

The third advice is for physical setbacks. In trying to reach your goals, you definitely must have strategies in place and smaller goals in between as a way of encouraging one to go ahead. With persistent setbacks, you need to look at these strategies very critically to see what needs modification.

As simple as this sounds, it could make the difference between moving forward and remaining in the same spot more like a tree shaking its branches violently from the winds and not moving anywhere!

For example, a company selling milk was losing revenue greatly and in trying to find a solution looked at what their competition was doing. Their competitors were making milk and selling in sachets in addition to tins and sales were hitting the roof.

A senior person in charge of sales of milk in this company trying to improve sales said, "how can we begin to sell milk in sachets?' He was vehemently opposed to the idea of the company condescending to sell milk in sachets.

When sales plummeted further, the manager in charge of milk sales was relieved of his job and replaced by someone who immediately advised sale of milk in sachets and sales improved drastically! So in dealing with setbacks, you have got to get rid of pride and look critically at your past decisions and strategies. What worked well sometime ago may not work well again now.

I once heard a story of a guy who was a graphic artist before computers became very popular. His business was doing fine and he used to have lots of customers.

With use of computers simplifying the process and producing better results, this fellow refused to go and learn the new technology to help him improve his business and retain his customers.

He was scared of using computers or looking like a fool in front of others while using it. What happened? Technology overtook him and his business and nowadays, he feels sorry for himself and is quick to tell anyone who cares to listen how the advent of computers threw him out of business. How pathetic!

The fourth advice I offer is that you must never lose sight of your overall goal. Keeping your mind focused on what you want to achieve and where you want to be in life is very important no matter the setback you encounter.

Except a person born into wealth and trained in the proper management of it, there is absolutely no one who did not encounter setbacks on the way to achievement.

Even after achievement, other setbacks crop up but you must never forget what your goals are. You must muster that spirit of determination that no matter what happens, you will get there.

The fifth advice I offer is closely related to the fourth and has to do with avoiding dream killers: it could be loved ones, relatives, neighbours and friends. All in a bid to offer advice, they can make one lose direction in the pursuit of valuable and worthy goals. This is so because they do not really understand how to deal with setbacks, make temporary sacrifices and move on to the top.

I recently saw an inspirational television story on the program Turning Point about a former chief executive of a company in Kenya who while attending a conference in the United States suddenly got an inspiration to return to school.

And he wanted to go to a bible school in the U.S. So he went back home, discussed and convinced his wife and left with his children for the U.S. His friends thought he had lost his mind, leaving a lucrative job as a CEO for study in a bible school.

When they got to the U.S., all he could afford was a one room apartment and all he could get was a job as a janitor! His wife and kids however supported him and at the end of his study, he had two offers: one from Coca-Cola International and the other to become president of the college where he studied. He took the offer to become college president and today that school has been upgraded to become a full-fledged University.

He started with a vision and knew what he had to do to get there. He had setbacks along the way but never lost focus and came out the better for it. These are the ways to overcome setbacks on your road to achievement.

Never think for once that you cannot have setbacks. And never think for once that you cannot overcome them. With such determined spirit, you will always rise again. See you next week.

(c) copyright Gabriel Ama

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Overcoming Setbacks

First of all, I want to apologise once again for leaving this blog without a single post for over a year now. If I try to offer excuses, it might be difficult for readers to understand. I'll just offer my apologies once again and continue the write-up with the hope that it will be regular this time around.

I equally appreciate my readers, who have patiently waited for me for so long to continue the posts, especially Kiibaati who asked if I was not posting any more. Thank you so much for your patience.

My experience in the past year is what has prompted this topic: overcoming setbacks. When we set out to achieve a goal or goals, there are usually those unforeseen factors that have been aptly named contingencies.

They can come when we least expect them and they can also come at times in torrents.... one after the other, one after the other and one after the other. They have a way of destabilising one and if care is not taken, can make one give up on his or her plans.

Does anyone ever fully plan for failure? I doubt it. Most people believe it cannot and must never come. So when it does come, it devastates them completely. They cannot understand what hit them!

Recovery for such people usually takes a long time and a whole lot of effort. Others know such things could happen but being human, are never really ready for it. So when it does come they are hurt but know such could happen and are not as devastated as the first group.

Do setbacks announce their intention to come? Not at all. Setbacks could be frustrating, especially so when you keep making attempts to get over them and nothing and nothing seems to be working. When it does appear one is about making progress to get out of the setback, something happens and spoils everything.

Setbacks could come in one or a combination of different ways: death of a benefactor or a loved one; fire, earthquake, flood or other natural disaster destroying one's business premises; disappointment or betrayal by a perceived benefactor or loved one; armed robbery attack on one's business; examination failure; loss of one's job; change in technology in one's business; arrival of new competition in one's business type; loss of a large number of one's employees to competition, etc.

Unfortunately in Africa, setbacks are usually viewed as attacks from one's own enemies, both real and imagined. Some may go to the extent of visiting spiritual homes and witchdoctors with a view to finding out the source of the problems.

Unfortunately too, most of the so called spiritualists and witchdoctors capitalise on the person's desperation and begin to point the person in the wrong direction of accusing siblings, in-laws, relatives and even friends!

There's no doubt such evil things do happen in Africa because of the prevalence of idol worship and occultism there. But setbacks may not always be traceable to these sources alone.

So just how do we deal with setbacks?.....................to be continued next week

(c) copyright Gabriel Ama

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