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,
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...???
wow sis. u killing me. u just killing me. exceptional piece. God bless your talent for Hisd glory....
ReplyDeleteAmen, Ntiri, my initially-envied competitor now my beloved mentor in literature...
ReplyDelete