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| Felix N.Jarikre |
“When a person has a
vision that transcends himself, that focuses on an important course or project
that he is emotionally connected to, then the real course of least resistance
is to put service above self.” –
Stephen Covey.
The urgency of the call
for leadership does not permit us to waste our time in criticism, frustration,
or complacency, but to engage the political process. There are some educated
people reading this now who are probably unemployed and searching for elusive
jobs. They are angry, frustrated and perplexed. Yet they question their
leadership role, thinking it is safer to merge with the status quo, instead of
resisting it. They see nothing wrong with being foot-soldiers of manipulative
politicians who brazenly steal elections and go to one church or the other to
do a thanksgiving for their fraudulent victory. “God gives power to whom He
will” is a brain-deadening mantra of these electoral thieves, and their
co-conspirators. Losers are cynically advised to go to courts, so-called
judicial temples that are formatted in Nigeria to protect only the lawless
rich. In an irony of self-flagellation, these youths, looking for food to eat,
take to the social media to justify the electoral heists under one false
premise or other.
Author Marianne
Williamson said: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest
fear is that we are powerful beyond measure...It’s our light, not our darkness,
that frightens us...You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve
the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people
won’t feel insecure around you...As we are liberated from our fear, our
presence emotionally liberates others.”
Don’t disqualify,
remove or restrain yourself because you
think you don’t have the pedigree, status, credentials or money to engage the political process. We should not mistake our
insecurity for humility. Late Stephen R. Covey in his seminal book, The 8th
Habit, consistently maintained that leadership
is a choice, not position. A wise man said: “Evil triumphs when good men
do nothing.” Do you have the passion to
change what you are agitated about? Now
here’s a reminder that passion, the fuel that burns away opposition, cannot be
faked or crafted. Does your
speech-making carry any moral
authority to command money?
To engage the political
process by putting service above self, what you need fundamentally is wisdom. It takes wisdom to give you the
abundant mentality that money cannot
give. WISDOM IS SUPERIOR TO MONEY. Wisdom gives you an authentic voice that is
timeless, inexorable and self-evident. Wisdom gives you a voice that is not subordinated, or
seeking to be validated by the opinions of others. Basically, the wisdom from
above comes to make you a leader and
commander, resourceful and fruitful. Jesus says in the book of Luke: “For I will give you a mouth and wisdom,
which all your adversaries shall not
be able to gainsay nor resist.”
Practically, how do you identify wisdom? You have wisdom when you sacrifice your material substance to sustain others less fortunate to enable
you have the moral authority to speak the words of God from your heart.
No matter how your speech-making is challenged by people,
to rejoice steadfastly, and not
waver in doubt and irresolution , is another confirmation that you have wisdom.
It
takes wisdom to deliver a nation. With wisdom, Joseph
in the Bible rescued the nation of Egypt from perishing in hunger while money failed the land. Ideas, not money, still rule the world. The
Bible in Ecclesiastic chapter 9 from verse 14 talked about how every man forgot
the poor man who delivered the city
(nation) by his wisdom. Yes, the man
who had the keys that delivered a nation from being a war booty remained anonymous due to his lack of money. Can you
imagine how painful and humiliating it is to be forgotten, ignored and despised
by the very people that you rescued from perishing? Yes, to be shunted aside without recognition and honour on what is supposed to be your day of reckoning because of
your poverty could be very troubling. Everyone wants to be recognized and
celebrated for some noble achievement or deed.
Donald Trump, the billionaire U.S. Republican
presidential candidate, recalled how at eighteen he was taken by his father to
the opening of Verrazano-Narrows in New
York city, one of the most elegant and longest suspension bridge in the world,
erected at a cost of $320 million after fierce opposition by local politicians.
According to Trump, at its opening, the 85 years old Swiss engineer, Othmar
Amman, who designed this remarkable bridge was ignored and nobody ever mentioned
his name, while the politicians that opposed the bridge’s construction were
praised and celebrated. Of the event, Donald Trump said: “I realized then and there
that if you let people treat you how they want, you’ll be made a fool.” At least, from the billionaire’s perspective,
to be ignored without a mention of your name equates with being made a fool, a
non-entity! Not a very pleasant thought!
We have a common saying
here in Nigeria: “A poor man with ideas has no reason to open his mouth in the
presence of a rich man.” Should you now
neglect your leadership role to pursue
money? You better not! PURSUE WISDOM INSTEAD! Poverty is the term
used to describe a situation where there is a lack of money. Destitution of
mind describes a situation where there is a lack of wisdom. Yet
there’s no shame being poor if you
have wisdom. Certainly, it’s better to be a poor man temporarily to enable you escape destitution of mind.
Undeniably, DESTITUTION OF MIND IS WORSE THAN POVERTY.
A
man who has no money cannot afford to downgrade his speech.
It’s delusional to think that your words are not sound and relevant because of
your poverty. Being afraid to speak freely what you desire from your heart is
self-defeating. Don’t restrain your mouth and go into silence because you fear
people would not bother to hear you. If
people refuse to hear you, God is waiting
to hear you. To be heard is to be
remembered. Malachi wrote in the Bible: “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of
remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that
thought upon his name.”
Working
on the way you speak is serious business. Take it not for
granted. How you speak on any issue close to your heart must be purposeful,
deliberate but spontaneous. What you say
must be objective and applicable to resolve
specific situations. Downgrade money
from the level of having the ability
to master your speech. Once you allow money-power to determine the way you
think, the decisions you make, and the direction your speech would go on a daily basis, you are in deep trouble. On the
other hand, you should learn how to master and control money by your
speech-making ability. Don’t allow money pretend to be what it is not. Money has only one purpose: to be given
away, not hoarded!
Your true personality is not defined by the shape or height of your body; or
the colour of your skin; or where you come from; or the size of your bank
account, but by the manner of language
spoken from your heart. TO BE
CONTINUED.
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