Choose to be convinced, choose to hold a conviction

Hello, it's been a while... and I agree it was never your fault, that's even why I am much more glad you're reading this. I am honestly grateful to Jess who wrote something I read today that drew me back to this page again... thanks Jess.

So why this title... I was thinking this afternoon about our free will as human beings. And then I thought about some things I believed in and others I did not. Then I realised I arrived at these sets of beliefs and unbeliefs because somewhere along the line, I chose to believe them. All human beings, as a lot of research I can not name (because I don't know who researched on it) has proven, are born with a "blank" mind. hmmm... okay... so if I was born with a blank mind how come at twenty-something I have a whole set of beliefs and unbeliefs?? And why do I say I chose to believe them...  

I also thought about what I thought is allowably possible and what I thought was totally impossible and what I held as my convictions, my unwavering beliefs. And then it also occurred to me even more that I had come to these lists by my choice... hmmmm...

I do not disagree that our external environment plays a high role in an individuals list of beliefs, unbeliefs, convictions, what is thought as possible and what is thought as not. In fact it is one of the greatest factors that affect the list above which comes in many forms including parental and family influence, peer pressure (good and bad), experiences: personal, general and those of others, what we see, hear, touch, taste... the list goes on and on. But in the end, as our actions boil down eventually to what we chose or choose to do, our school of thought is also a choice we made and continue to make...

And I love using examples... so here's one...

As I said before, I believe the research that human beings are born with blank minds and pick up a lot along the way to fill it. When I was two, I may have been convinced that lying was wrong because those around me, which may have been mostly my siblings and age mates apart from my parents and their age mates, who were caught lying were punished. So I may have had an equation:

lying = punishment

punishment = wrong thing has been done           

lying = wrong thing

And then, when I was about seven I may have thought lying was smart, because all the smart kids lied without getting caught. So my belief equation changed to this:

smart people = good thing

lying = wrong thing

punishment = wrong thing has been done

lying - getting caught = no punishment

no punishment = no wrong thing has been done

no wrong thing has been done = good thing

lying - getting caught = good thing

smart people = lie - getting caught

I chose to believe this. Even at that age, I had a great hold on what I believed in, but I'm sure I had no idea I had. But it wasn't my fault that the children that happened to surround me lied...environmental factor?? But I chose to believe that those who lied escaped punishments because they were smart, and no punishment was a good thing making the act that came without punishment itself good, though by then I had been taught at home, school and my Chidren's Sunday School class that lying was a wrong.

Before I was twelve, I believed a lie was wrong. It had bad consequences that were not always immediately experienced but could easily and evidently be traced back to the lie. But then I believed that lying could be good in certain circumstances and God still approved of those lies... why then would He add the account of Rahab in Jericho in the Bible which helped the Israelites win...??? So because of these, I chose to believe that it was possible that lying could be both good, approved by God and bad, not what God wanted you to do then. 

Now some time after the age of twelve, I was convicted that lying was wrong not only because smart  people sometimes got caught which disproved my theory when I was seven, but the Bible told me so. It told me God could not lie, so He always told the truth which is the main conviction that brought me to  the particular conviction that lying was wrong. I chose to believe God was always right, no matter the "good" examples of how sad or unfortunate "good" people could get, like Job. I chose to believe that God's Word was true and told us the truth, and that's why it wouldn't hide the failings of the saints just to be a good book. I chose to believe that God would not lie, and therefore if He said disobeying His commands was wrong, then lying too was wrong... YOU SHALL NOT LIE... is part of the Ten Commandments and mentioned in other places of the Bible as wrong as well. I chose to believe that lies, especially unconfessed lies, had bad consequences (punishments) even though the Bible shows instances where lies were part of things that led to victorious battles, like Rahab in Jericho, but did not change the fact that lying was wrong. That even made it more of a conviction than any other; irrespective of examples and theories in the Bible, books, and my world around me... I chose to believe lying was wrong, even if justified. My conviction was my choice even more than ever.

So I could be brainwashed, blackmailed, threatened, wooed, persuaded, deceived, seduced to be convinced to accept a belief... but in the end if I accept that belief, it is my choice no matter how hard or easy the situation is. And my convictions: the same, even more so because I can allow a lot of things around me to justifiably disprove my convictions, but I still decide to stand firm in my conviction. 

God gave me a free will to choose what I will do and go on to do it... and He also gave me the free will to choose what I believed in, what I thought was possible and permissible, what I held as my convictions, at any point in time. And because I believe this, I now decide to choose to obey God irrespective of whether circumstances, past, present and future... my environment is favourable or not... My God is good and won't lie when He says

But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

Jeremiah 7:23 (KJV)

My walk includes my schools of thought, they always affect my actions... I choose to obey God even in my schools of thought...

and you....

what about you??

Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...?

Ok, so this title is in twinglish... that's a nickname for mixing the two languages twi and english, either by mixing words or mixing and/or swapping grammatical syntax or semantics... But in english it means, "Ah, God, don't You see that..." 

Funny that I would be telling the All-seeing and All-knowing and Timeless God that, "Don't You see that..." That what??? Really, what can't He see or doesn't see? It's His nature to... so what do I mean??

We all have faced or still face sins we want to rid ourselves of, not only because God wants us to (unfortunately a lot of us would have stopped a loooong time ago if that was our most important reason for not sinning... though it should be the first and foremost reason... shame on us!) but because we are also afraid of the consequences of our sin: God's wrath, withheld blessings, reduced positive impact on society, damaged relationships including our relationship with God, public disgrace... The general term is habitual sin. Hm. Yes, we all have faced and some of us may still be facing habitual sinning...

I say this often and I am still convinced of this: There is no sin that I (you) have asked God to help me (you) stop that He did not warn me (you) after I (you) said that honestly genuine I-meant-it prayer and even right before I (you) fell in to it again... ask yourself if I am lying. Just look back at that sin you are facing (or used to face) and the time you first asked God to help you stop, and after that all the other time(s) you repeated that sin... no, don't imagine the one in the movie or your friend's life... let's be honest here... after all no one at this very moment knows what you're thinking... undoubtedly apart from God... is what I'm saying true? Or would you say partly true? Either way, God may not have blocked your sin from taking place (at least not all the time), but He did warn you, anaa*?

If you can agree with me, or partly agree... then one may ask... so why on earth do we keep on sinning?? And that's where the title comes in, "Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...?"

God helps us to stop sinning, especially if we confess (agree with Him) that it is wrong and ask Him to help us stop, but we start that debate when He steps in to prevent us from repeating it! Oh it's easy...

Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...

- that Prayer Mama* is also doing it, that means I'm not too bad a person in doing it too...?

- I'm not surfing on the net for porn, I'm just checking if what we learnt in Biology today or in Secondary School is as the lecturer said it is... after all, isn't voluntary research applauded...?

- sleeping-in a few more minutes will only cut my quiet time a few minutes... just for today...?

- he is the rudest human being alive! I need to rebuke him (2 Timothy 3:16) he doesn't deserve gentle instruction (2 Timothy 2:25) anymore... and it sure won't be gentle, he also needs to hear other things that are not in Your Word dito dito... tsssswwww*...?"

- that other Ogyacious* brother is doing worse...and he is still blessed and blessing us too...ah God, this small thing too, no where near his own, and you want me to stop....?"

- this is the last time I'm going to do it...?

- if we're going to do it 10 or less years later, why not now... after all, we love each other... and we still love You too as You love us and want us to be happy...?

- no one will see this time, so I won't be disgracing Your Name in front of others... and You know me God, I can't impress You...?

- I always come back and ask for forgiveness... just shows I still love You... and I'm prepared to work at this...?

- that particular command is too hard, and even no longer in vogue...?

- at least I'm still active in the Church and obeying all Your commands, it's just this one...?

- You never stop me?!? Or do You want me to continue in this sin...??

I think we get the point...

God will not 

...Lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil one

Matthew 6:13 (NIV)

But He gives us free will and will not force us from running to temptation or from spiting His deliverance. He surely meant it when He said in His word that

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1 Corinthians 10:12, 13

And He remains faithful, even today in spite of all relativity theories and examples, that even plague Christians. 

One thing that helps me in these situations is

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature

Romans 13:14

Where thinking of how to gratify includes scheming, planning my cover up, planning the way to accomplish it with minimum "outsiders" being involved... planning an eat-your-cake-and-have-it scenario, or satisfy-myself-but-not-"all-the-way" case... oh, and yes, the grand debate, "Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...?" where it all begins...

God is love and forgives, but do we

...show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads [us] toward repentance?

Romans 2:4

The next time I start this "Ah, God, Wonhunu sɛ...?" and blame-comparison-and-relativity nonsense in regard to sin, the very sin I have agreed with God Himself that it is wrong (not that He needs me to anyway... what I say right now, or ever, won't make that sin something else apart from sin...), would I honestly look back at what I have said today, and stop, full stop, no comma... or would I continue to excuse myself or blame others, including God??

...and I must ask...

...will you...????

Unexplained not-so-familiar jargons or twi words in the text, now explained... lol...

anaa
:twi word for "or"

Mama
:a woman who is strong in the Lord and His work, therefore a Prayer Mama implies a woman with spiritual strength in prayer and or Christian spiritual warfare

tsswww
:onomatopoeia for an expression of contempt

The Skill of Loving

"Dear God," I usually pray, "Please help me show love today, and everyday...Help me be Jesus to someone today, even to my fellow Christians... May I touch someone's life with your love, O God... Help me love all the unlovables in my life, cos You loved me first, even when I was still in sin... I know You not only love me but give me the power to love others just as You do... May men see I am your disciple by loving others... I know You can do it and will do it, O God... In Jesus Name I pray with thanksgiving... Amen."

So the day starts...

And a family member asks for my opinion in a decision he is about to make, I refuse to help in any way... I'm too busy Facebooking and blogging, can't he see I'm busy!

I ignore the vendor I usually greet on the street, cos yesterday she duped me big time. How dare she! Does everyone she sells to associate with her without favours??? mmtchew

Another family member gives me the unwarranted cheek, hm! I could help her with what she's doing, it'd make life easier for her... but I won't throw myself at someone who can spite me at anytime, without seeing anything wrong with it too! After all everyone has specific chores here, and this is not one of mine... neither am I obliged to help you...

My roommate is asleep, she must be that tired, sleeping at this time of the day... I can keep my voice down... but she doesn't bother when I'm asleep, why should I?

"Oh, Ofosua... I commanded you to love..."

"Yes God, I know... I even asked for help to do so this morning... but God... these ones paa! Wouldn't it have been easier for me to love in more favourable circumstances...?"

 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:34,35 (NIV)

Ɛɛɛ... I get it... but... but... hmmm... I not only guess You're right, I know You're right...but it's hard, very hard... but wait, someone said: "The skill of doing comes from doing." It applies here too... *frustrated sigh*... the skill of loving comes from loving, the skill of obedience comes from obeying, the skill of loving the unlovable comes from loving the unlovable.... Oh, Lord! Forgive me! Did You not say in Your Word

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead ... As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 2:17, 26

I made that prayer in faith, I really did. I had no doubt that God would help me. But I nullified my faith by not living it out when I was presented with the opportunities to do just that! I had the chance to love like Jesus, who loved the very people the world may term unlovables, (even in this age of relativities... even more so in this age since there are so many standards)... but God loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for the world... the same price He paid for me... He paid for all, lovables and unlovables alike. He gave me faith free of charge, and the power to act. But then I shove it with all those excuses... He equipped me with all I needed to live out what I asked for, but I did not develop the skill because I did not do... The skill of loving comes from loving... and if I don't love, how then will I learn to love, and acquire the "skill" to love...???

...and then I ask... as I usually do...

...what about you???

Hwɛ ɔno nso!

My second blog title in twi, literally translated: Look at him/her too... twi has a unisex pronoun for third person singular...

I've grown up hearing this expression said in disgust, in envy, in anger, in malice and slander, or in ridicule... but they always point to this (well, they do most of the times I've heard it): JUDGEMENT! 

Hwɛ ɔno nso! It makes me feel angry the first time I hear it, usually... I turn to the direction of the bullet's destination... who is that person who dares violate the law, the written code, the accepted norm, our social pride, the unspoken rule, the very WORD OF GOD... where is SHE... where is HE??? Lemme at him... lemme at him... (trying to mimic one of those cartoon characters like Scooby Doo's nephew...lol)

That was actually the first reaction one could jolt out of me... those magic words of Judgement! Hwɛ ɔno nso! Until one day I went to IHCF (an interdenominational and nondenominational Christian Fellowship on Campus (KNUST), a member of the bigger body of GHAFES), and Asare, one of the leaders, made a statement that put me to shame, and still does today...

He said something like this, "...And when you see that lady with the short skirt and seductive dressing all you can say to yourself as a Christian is, 'Hwɛ ɔno nso!' but you don't even bother to pray for her..."

I tell you, that day I was totally ashamed! I thought he'd conclude that with..."and you don't even bother to talk to her/ bother to share the gospel with her/ bother to tell her that she is in the wrong, etc...", that would have been easy, and left me as self righteous as before... because talking to her would have been easy to wiggle out of, right? Oh yeah, it would... there are a hundred and thirty-six excuses I could coin up for that. Examples:

Oh, she was in a hurry...

She was going the other way...

She could insult me and disgrace me in front of everyone...

I was in a hurry...

I was late for this very meeting...

I wasn't in the Spirit then...

God didn't tell me to approach her...

I was late for my midsem...

I know her roommate and I know God has specifically assigned her to do that job, He never gave that job to me...

I have to go and break my fast now or I'll be late for the meeting tonight that concludes my fast today...

I'm shy...

I may say it the wrong way...

She has a gun and will shoot me there and then! After tearing up my clothes!! And spitting in my face!!! And slapping me left, right and centre like there's no tomorrow!!!! (really?? get real!)

I guess you get the point... but prayer... the way he put it, I could not find any excuse that sounded excusable, even to me! And I bowed my head in shame...

I judge, too many times. And I don't even do anything about it, most of those times! And then, the illustration Jesus used in Matthew 7:3-5 hit me HARD!!

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)

It wasn't just that I had my own issues to clear, I'm definitely no perfect saint... yet ;) ... but it was the fact that I wanted to cover up my own issues by emphasizing another's. I blinded myself to my own problems and the way to resolve them, and confused my sight to starting the process of helping the one I judged resolve his/hers. To God, all sin is sin... but all humans are in need of love, restoration, concern... prayer... and that's why we intercede... we are called to intercession as Christians, we face no condemnation (Romans 8:1), and we are called NOT to condemn as well, not to judge... 

Saying of or telling another: Hwɛ ɔno nso!, to me, doesn't only mean I pass judgement on others... it also means I overlook and cover my own flaws, condemn his/hers just to make me feel good and all "Christian" (why not? I've been able to fish out their wrong... sensitivity to the Spirit, no???... discernment??)... and it also means I'm not dealing with my own shortcomings, my sins... and  all my other hindrances that slow me down in my Christian race... I'm killing more than two birds with one stone, birds that were not formed to be executed without trial like that! 

The next time I say or hear, "Hwɛ no! (Look at him/her!)", or any "judging" comment for that matter... I will consciously remember that Jesus Christ died and rose again to save us all from sin and use us for God's glory... not my glory... and has called me to make a positive difference, which includes the very non-excusable things like a simple prayer... prayer for myself AND for them...

...and then I ask...

...will you too????

Ɔsɔfo regye ne fans!

Ok, so this is my first blog that has a title in twi... but kindly allow me to talk a little before I explain and translate it. 

Some of my classmates and I were casually discussing the topic of glorified men and women of God who basked in being popular, being rich, being influential, being ogyaceous (Holy Ghost fire filled), being Mamas and Papas, being powerful. Then one of them chipped in a statement he was making, "...Nyame regye ne glory na Ɔsɔfo regye ne fans!" Of course, we laughed, it was funny, it was true for a lot of us too.... "God is taking His glory, and Pastor is taking his praise!" literally translated.

I'm so grateful to all the readers of my blog, it was such an encouragement to see all the comments that flowed on Facebook and my blog after my first posts. It was amazing. Finally being publicly heard AND appreciated was exhilirating! It was a dream come true and none of the needed cost I imagined to bring such about was part of this package. And when I got those big ups from my mates, my seniors - that was heartwarming, and also felt better than eating garden egg stew made with agushie and freshly boiled rice on a hungry day after being beaten by the rain and having just finished a hot bath with water at the perfect temperature. I must say, I was soooooo grateful to God, ɛɛ? I was sooo grateful I couldn't stop thanking Him, even in the responses to the comments I received...

Then later, I had to make a conscious effort to give God the credit in the response to the comments. I'm not saying that was bad, no... I encourage people, old and young to give God praise and credit for their accomplishments even when it doesn't come naturally... which I did for some of the comments... But then when I remembered the joke I just shared with you (I hope it sounded funny, but don't worry if it didn't, I don't think it was set too well to be seen as one, and some jokes are better heard than read...but really that day it was seriously hilarious! Trust me...!), and I relived the rush of delightful emotions that raced through me at the joy of getting all the responses (comments and likes alike) to my blogs... I started to look at myself... and felt silly, cos really... the joke was on me....

"Well," you could say, "at least you're not acting like that so-called Pastor and so-called Prophet... not forgetting Bishop fill-in-the-blank-space too..." Yes, I may agree with you... I may not be acting at all like them... but the readings we had at our last Evening Devotion (our daily exclusive time with God as a family) even threw more light on it. Allow me to share some of it with you:

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

1 Corinthians 4:2-8 (NIV)

I may have not openly displayed my pride and maybe arrogance, and I have at least made a conscious effort to prevent all seedlings of such from rooting, and sometimes even germinating... but as Paul put it, my conscience is clear, though I may not be able to trust that either. God judges me, and will bring to light my motives for all these, whether good reasons, bad reasons, reasons for the greater good, reasons that feed my utterly selfish ambitions, reasons that please God and give Him exclusive credit...

I once told a child at Sunday School that pride starts from the heart, and to God, it's still pride even if undisplayed for others to see or whether we openly thank Him simultaneously... he tried to argue that out with me...and I'm wondering if his argument applies to me now? Do I hide beneath false humility, whilst parading with grandeur in the secret places within me? Do I busy myself pointing fingers at all the other Workers in God's vineyard when I am no better...? Am I more concerned about what people think than what my God thinks...? Do I keep in mind that when I receive my praise from God it will be the real deal, with all my motives, and the things hidden in darkness including my thoughts brought to bear on it....? Would I be told by our Most High God that I boasted about what I received as if I did not... in my thoughts and in my heart...? And what about all the other areas in my life... social, moral, spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, academic, at home, at church, at school, online... as separable units and as subsets and supersets of every other unit...? Would it be said, without jest, that Nyame regye ne glory na (Ofosua) regye ne fans... in the all-exposing light... on the final Day... ??

...and then I ask....

...what about you...? Yes, you???

The Generation that knows everything

My Mum sometimes says, "Nnɛ mmɔfora a moaba, modwene sɛ monnim biribiara!" which means, "You Children of today, you think you know everything!" At first, I never agreed with her, I thought she was just following all the other grown ups who said, "The young man thinks the old man is a fool, the old man KNOWS the young man is a fool!" At a certain time in my life I actually thought it was some sort of grand excuse to keep the intelligent I-know-more-tech-stuff-than-you-do Youth down because the World today encouraged free-minded children, and that made the grown ups soooo uncomfortable cos they really didn't know much as they claimed so had to put up a front; they were that jealous and that determined!

But now I agree with her (I may have been willing to put my life on the line 5 or so years ago to refute anyone who said I'll ever say this, can you imagine!). But it's true, we do think we know everything, can you really blame us? About 10 years ago barely anyone I personally knew in my parents' generation, especially here in Ghana, could read a text message let alone compose one...please, that was easy for us, even then! Fewer years back, my Grandma of blessed memory could never figure out the other basics of a mobile phone apart from receiving a call. She mastered dialling a number though, but I can't remember if she passed or even got to the "look for the number in your contacts and just press the call button" level. I had to "decide" how much credit she needed and load it for her most of the time she stayed with us, which made me feel very knowledgeable in my late teens, especially because I seemed to have a phone at my disposal that I could easily use without any cost to me, and the owner couldn't even start to evaluate how extremely generous she was being, whilst she willingly encouraged me use much more than I was... Yes, we did know everything. Glory days! But now I look back and seem to say, "Glory days of who? A fool?"

At first my eyes opened to the fact that we were "fools", but I still was too proud to say it anywhere or repeat it in my mind. But when I accepted and could readily confess my foolishness, I started to learn even more. I learnt more from my Mum in the kitchen as a twenty-something year old fool than when I was a know-it-all teenager. Really, I never thought I would. Why would I? I was praised a lot at home for my dishes, especially when I had my way in determining what and how much of what went into each one. But who knows if the praise was because mine was different, but not necessarily any nicer. I once realised the biggest mistakes in my tomato stew, and fried chicken as well, when I patiently watched and observed what my mother was doing and stopped preoccupying myself with, "You think you're always right" and all the other justifications and self righteous disrespectful thoughts I could never think of saying out loud.

But my greatest realisation of the fact came when I had to teach some people who obviously did not know and ended up thinking they knew better, especially because they felt they were "fresh blood".... My goodness! It was so annoying! You know they are capable; that is a fact. You teach them and they may get it right the first time. But somewhere along the line, they drift, and the drift makes things go bad! And the final icing on the cake of frustration, you try to correct them and then they snob you! Can you believe! The ignoramuses think they know better for some apparent reason! The funny thing is that they never even see nor choose to see the obvious difference when you present the original result from the process you taught them and the result of what they so pride themselves in...

But then my anger turned to shame when I noticed how foolish I was being... see me, the pot telling the kettle that it was black... I must confess, I'm no goody two shoes here, I'm sometimes still guilty of what I'm talking about. And with all the "knowledge" I had back then, I must have done worst...

And what does the Bible say,

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age , he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; and  again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile"

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 (NIV)

And if the Word of God tells me, 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

To Him belongs eternal praise.

Psalm 111:10 (NIV)

Where his precepts include,

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honour your father and mother..."

Ephesians 6:1,2 (NIV)

Where honouring includes truly respecting their opinion, taking instructions in humility and not thinking I know it all just because they seem archaic... then I may be releasing myself from the foolishness I can so pride myself in. After all I can't be wiser than God. And if really the elderly are being as foolish as I claim, at that moment, can't I still trust God to uphold my cause His way... the right way... the all-knowing way....??? Can't I still follow His precepts knowing I honestly don't know it all... and that my God does and cares so much about me, and is still wise in telling me to honour and obey them... and simultaneously knows the best way to solve any of my "generational gap" dilemnas, whether it involves my parents, my superiors, all those in higher positions of age and experience... and can do it especially if I trust and obey....?

....and then I ask....

and you, what about you...???

Sunday Wear

I was refolding my clothes today since once in a while I get tired of my not exceptionally neat wardrobe and want to feel the pride of having it look like arranged books in the library of an organised-freak of a meticulous professor. Since I’m a fan of putting stuff in categories, I do just that with my clothes too. So I have Sunday wear, and house wear and outside-the-house-but-not-Sunday-wear as my three main categories, and then sub-categories under each. I apologise if I sound like a school research report…oh wow! No wonder I loved to organise our group reports so much…sorry once again, got lost in my grand discovery…so where was I? Ah ha, categorising my clothes...

When I reached Sunday wear, I had three categories: Foreign wear and African wear, with kaba-and-slits and non-kaba-and-slits coming under African wear. To my amusement and pride, I noticed that my African wear took two of the three stacks of Sunday wear. Then I looked down to the shelf that contained the house wear and outside-the-house-but-not-Sunday-wear, and noticed the two combined contained at most 15% African wear. My house wear did not have even three sets of African wear… ok so what was the big deal then? African wear is usually expensive anyway and held in high regard, and usually not even in any knock-about clothes category anywhere. It was a big deal when I compared this scenario to my Christian life, and the Christian lives I saw around me. Then I felt sad… L

I am from Ghana which is in Africa. I wear Sunday clothes only on Sundays when I go to church, or on very special and dressy occasions at church during the week or other such events not necessarily at church, like being taken to a classy restaurant in town.

I wear house clothes at home, or in my room at school and usually don’t even dare to take it out. They are used for chores at home, or just being at home. But they are never really publicly presentable and kinda have the capacity of shaming yourself and/or your family if you are seen walking in town in them because they are usually faded or worn out. They may even be so worn out and heading toward “rag” level depending how often you’ve worn them before. I spend most of my time in the house when I’m not in school and  therefore do most of the things I do at home in my house clothes.

Outside-the-house-but-not-Sunday wear is worn when moving out of the house, but to not so much of a dressy event or for a dressy reason. For example, going to do the shopping, running an errand like going to the bank, or going for a get-together (I usually don’t go to parties, that’s the closest I get), going to a concert, or visiting a friend, going for lectures…I guess you get the picture.

Okay, so get to the point already, you may say (I’m telling myself that now, I didn't think I’d type so much before I got here).  I'm a Ghanaian and wearing African wear readily identifies me with my Ghanaian citizenship (especially since most of my African wear is Ghanaian) and the people of the African continent. Now if I wear my Sunday wear occasionally which has most of my African wear, and my outside-the-house-but-not-Sunday clothes are worn a little more frequently but has way fewer African attire, and my house clothes are worn practically everyday and used to do the things I do on a daily basis, which usually end up being the most important things in my life, then I can conclude that I'm usually not identified as a Ghanaian in most of the important things and most of the time in my life, that is if my only identification as a Ghanaian rested on what I wore.

Now here's the point: I’m a Christian and my life is to depict my Divine Citizenship in heaven and the Royal family to which I belong, the family of God of which Jesus Christ is the firstborn and the standard we all are to follow. 

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God...

1 Peter  2:9 (NIV)

He [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians 1:15 (NIV)

If I were to take the above illustration as an analogous factor to my Christianity, then it means I don't readily come off as a Christian in my day to day affairs. Oh yeah, I do look Christian at church on Sundays, and at very "dressy" occasions of my life when it's so obvious people could be watching and I'm in the spotlight. Is it so obvious I'm a Christian when I'm doing my chores at home... when I'm running an errand for my parents... when I'm in my room at school with my roommates and there are no non-roommates around... when I'm doing the stuff I usually do everyday... go for lectures... at group studies... in the exam hall...? Do I follow the example of Jesus Christ when I'm bargaining the price of goods at the market... watching a movie... on Facebook... sitting by the labourer with the dirty looking clothes in the trotro... talking to a subordinate...?? Do I....? Really, do I...?

You yourselves are our letter... known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ...

2 Corinthians 3:2,3 (NIV)

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

... and then I ask...

what about you...?

Terms of Service

I started this blog because I wanted a place online I could write my heart out... and because I was in such a hurry to create one, I didn't take note of most details, any if you'd have it that way...especially the Terms of Service tab. I never really do anyway, and then it occurred to me, there are sooo many things that we agree to but don't even bother to check what the "Terms of Service" are, sometimes we even blatantly refuse to even if we had the time and luxury to do just that. And then my thoughts drifted to one point of life that I noticed we barely check for "Terms of Service"

But let me start with a little story...

I teach at Children's Sunday School and last Sunday I had an altar call. I noticed a lot of children who had raised their hands to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Personal Saviour had done so before...and not just once before in my presence. Then I wondered what were they thinking? That what? Giving their lives to Christ was a fashion statement, another badge of prestige, the more times the more honourable?? So I chipped it in, "If you have given your life to Christ before, you don't have to do it again".

Still, the same hands were raised, then I said, "If you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord and Master, and help you live a good life, don't raise your hand."

It was more of an order then. The same hands were raised, especially those that I knew had given their lives to Christ at least once before. So I gave up, hoping to discuss it later with them. So I started with the Sinner's prayer, and then I noticed that almost all, if not everyone in the entire class repeated after me! Including those who had not raised their hands at all! That was bad. So becoming a Christian seemed to be a popular thing to do, did they know the "Terms of Service"? Did they understand it? 

Then when I created this blog it came back to me...then I wondered, with me being a Christian, do I, myself, know the Terms of Service? Have I read it well? Have I understood it? Have I followed it? And then I realised I could not confidently answer 100% affirmative to the entire stream of questions I asked myself. Read it? I guess most of it, I don't think all of it... Understood what I've read? Not all of it, and sometimes don't bother to....Have I followed it? I try to most times, and usually do when I set myself to obey God, but sometimes I just want to have my way, or no way including God's. 

The Terms of Service are all in the Bible, the Christian's Manual. With respect to my Sunday School Children, what they missed may be that they need not give their lives to Christ over and over again. If they do any wrong, or sin after that, all they need to do is ask God for forgiveness and help to not repeat that and take hold of God's provision and not repeat that sin victoriously. What I now see I've missed is proper communication to help them be reassured of their salvation.

With respect to my errors, I may be faulting at each step.I am to read the Bible (if I don't read, I won't know what's there to even speak it, better still speak from memory)...meditate on it and by so means understand what the Word says to me... and be careful to obey it all the way always...Joshua 1:8, no?

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 

Joshua 1:8, NIV

And then I ask myself, do I ignore the Terms of Service, or EULA: End User License Agreement in my walk with God, as I may usually do with software et al that I blindly agree to just to less stressfully complete my setup and/or installation process? Do I now treat my Christian faith like that? Do I now reduce the Christian life I live on earth which would continue in eternity to an exciting software that may be archaic in the next 3 or 5 years? Do I now choose to skip reading, understanding, meditating on and eventually obeying the Bible just because it's more convenient to skip it? 

...and then I ask....

what about you....?