If You Want to Succeed, Celebrate Mediocrity

Mediocrity stands out to mean a nice word - a word not very good and not very bad. People have said many things as regards mediocre, but I keep wondering whether mediocrity signifies lack of ambition to aim higher, even to the highest?

I remember passing through an institution with a bold inscription as its motto - Duc In Altum. In a plain language, what the school is trying to project is that though admittance is open to all qualified candidates, yet there is no offer of hope for the person who is so indifferent as not to want to get ahead in life, and who is not willing to pay the price.

To aim at the highest, there is always a great price to pay. Bishop Shanahan College, Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria occupies a strategic lace in the outskirts of Orlu town with two imposing architectural buildings that announce to all passersby the presence of a great institution. This is where I had the later part of my college life.

It is a school noted for its academic and moral excellence, which the teachers always try to force down the throat of all the students. The motto says, Duc In Atum (Aim At The Highest), yet not every student is in agreement with that. Many wanted a care-free life, others wanted to sit at the fence, whereas many more students never wanted anything at all.

Friend, no people, or nation succeeds with a government of mediocrity in power. My father was such a wise man. He was not able to decode my chances in life in a village school, and so decided to take me to a college, where I was trained to be a man, where I was called to a good age - the age of reason, knowledge and wisdom. I was taught not to celebrate mediocrity - mediocrity breeds failure, lack and poverty.

To celebrate mediocrity is to die unfulfilled. Fulfillment comes when one aims above mediocrity. Majority of the people I know today who worked against the school motto are living on the wrong side of life. The voice of truth sounds so low in many cases, only those that hear and heed its sounds are saved.

In the areas where you live, there are sounds of truth many of which are warnings, others are advice, while many more are persuasions, targeted to shape and mend your life. It is only left for you to make a choice, to be an achiever or a mediocre - the choice remains your own.

Developing a Positive Mental Attitude - A Task Impossible?

The question that comes up in the mind of any individual that has come across Gordon Brown's book is, can people really develop a positive mental attitude to life? Does it really work?

Well, my aim here is not to give all the answers to the dozen questions that emerge as a result of this, but as long as I have chosen to delve into the matter, I will try as much to alleviate some pains that these questions have created in the lives of people. The book in question caught my attention by its catchy caption and when I tried to read through, my attention was quickly drawn to simply explore the world through imaginative thinking and a proper, careful study popularly referred to as Research and Findings. I was also captivated by another unique avenue which is attending seminars, workshops, symposiums, conferences basically for renewing of the mind. His theory of developing the habit of viewing or listening to information products such as documentary and educative programmes, presentation and reading of inspirational books that would awaken the giants in me, stayed in my mind for a long time.

All the same, I later discovered that it is one thing for a man to go through a thing and come out without that thing going through the man and remaining. I have watched a lot of people passed through an institution, yet they never become a true representation of that institution. What makes a man is the man in the man. Without the man in the man, everything else is an inference. People go to school for the simple purpose of having a qualification attached to their names, not that they want to become what they opted to study about. Little wonder then many people with certificates of great institutions are not making impact in their generations.

Every man, every woman is created to fill a niche. When you make an input in your field and I make another in my field, this generation will be advanced. Creating a positive mental attitude is to ignite the man in the man to perform his niche, assume his rightful position, and build a conducive world for all to live. Development and progress would have been the goal if every man and woman is working towards the development of a positive mental attitude. Gordon has done a nice job, but who among us will bell the cat? Who is to inculcate the true traditional values and norms to our young ones? Who among us has truly developed that positive mental attitude towards himself or another? Take a look at our home-fronts - Divorce has taken the place of love and good relationship. Children born in such homes cannot be said to be 45% balanced, emotionally. They are deranged by the activities of those that could have given them love and care. How could we offer help, when majority of us are living like people without conscience, ambition and purpose? Our institutions of learning have become a place of all kinds of evil activities, instead of a place to call people to manhood. Our religious affiliations have all the same become places division rather than the peace, discipline, love, morality, care, good relationship and worship of God in truth and in spirit. Are we not guilty of the problems of our time?

Friend, the way forward is the way up. Our lives started from cradle to end up in the grave, so we need to re-discover ourselves as individuals, as fathers, mothers, entrepreneurs, agents, civil servants, etc and begin to do what is expected of us. Discovering ourselves is the first step, the next is to position ourselves to our individual assignments and pursue our set goals to the end. However, we must be daring enough to go for not only gold but also for diamond. Let us develop the mindset to climb the mountain, reaching the pinnacle of anything we set our mind to be.

Finally, making good use of our time is of utmost importance. When we manage our time well, we can truly have time to think about ourselves and others. We cannot accumulate time as we do to money or raw materials, because time waits for no one, and the best time we have to develop is NOW, not tomorrow!

Africa - A Nation in Captivity

A captive is one that is taken prisoner or kept in prison by an authority, legally or illegally, held down or overcome by something but cannot get freedom or exercise its right, either spiritually or physically. Whosoever is held down by anything, habit, sin or spirit is in bondage of that which has trapped him.

Captivity is of two kinds - lawful (legal) and unlawful (illegal) captivity. Lawful captives are those who legitimately, willingly, knowingly and deliberately went into captivity. Besides, they are lawful captives because they are kept in bondage as a result of the evil they committed. In the scripture, the Bible told us how the nation Israel went into captivity - carried into slavery for so many years. The deserved captivity of Israel in the hand of the mighty (Babylonian) tells us how a person or nation can be enslaved. They became a prey and it was not likely that they should be rescued by force. They were lawful captives, by the law of God; every offence is always a legal ground for captivity. In other words, the law of nations has a part to play in the case of Israel. They were justly delivered into captivity because they have been taken in war. They were lawfully detained in captivity till they should be ransomed or be exchanged.

By way of inference, human beings can as well be taken captive by some evil spirit because of their sinful living. The powers resident in them claim legal right because those people deliberately entered into certain agreements with the spirits, whether through secret cults to search for fame, protection, prosperity and power, or through any other means. As a result, the activities of the spirits in these individuals or group becomes lawful or deserved, and the people lawful captives. Those also who deliberately dedicate themselves to the service of Satan and his purpose are among the lawful prisoners. Among the lawful captives, there are unconscious victims - people who did not deliberately become captives, but because of some problems and difficulties that defile solution, except by the possession of these spiritual beings. There are also, unwilling conscious victims - people who are free and not willing to associate themselves with diabolical spiritual powers, but got entangled because they have no choice. The last in this category are the consciously willing victims - people whose priority in life is to appear noticeable whether by hook or by crook. All these are legal or lawful captives.

In the other hand, the unlawful captives are those who are unlawfully held or kept in oppression by what another person has done - their father, ancestors, friends, relatives, etc. Every unlawful captive has a pathetic story to tell. How then did Africa go wrong, and what story has she got for us?

Well, the Bible tells us a story of a servant of God called Noah. He was told by God to build an ark through which He (God) will save a remnant of people that will serve Him on earth. This remnant must be a people of absolute obedience to His will and command. This Noah did, and God blessed him for it. Along the line, the old man took to farming as a way of life. He planted a vineyard, drank of the wine, and was drunk; as a result, he lay in his tent uncovered. His son Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, Noah and reported to his two brothers - Shem and Japheth, who took a garment, laid it upon their shoulders, went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father. And because their faces were backward, they were unable to see their father's nakedness.

When Noah awoke and was cleared from the influence of wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him, and he cursed him: "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren", but he blessed his two sons that covered his nakedness saying, "Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant".

From the Bible story above, we find out that Ham was the name of one of the three sons of Noah, and of the history of Ham, nothing is related except his irreverence to his father and the curse which that patriarch pronounced on him. The sons of Ham are stated, to have been Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan.

The Canaanites were descendants of Canaan. Their language was very similar to the Hebrew. They were probably given to commerce; and thus the name became probably in later times an occasional synonym for a merchant. The name Canaan later on came to denote the country west of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, and between those waters and the Mediterranean; given by God to Abraham's posterity - the children of Israel. Apart from the Canaanites, the other settlements of the sons of Ham are always discussed and known by their respective names. Therefore, the three most illustrious Hamite nations are known today as the Cushites, the Phoenicians and the Egyptians, who were greatly mixed with foreign peoples. Their architecture has a solid grandeur that we look for in vain elsewhere.

Africa was of the stock of Ham through Canaan. History told us that Africa was once at the head of world economy. She discovered the elements of the arts and sciences, founded the study of the laws of nature, civil and religious systems, which still govern the universe today. It is a surprise that Africa after recording such breakthroughs in human history, is seen and viewed as a reject, and an insignificant addendum that managed to find a space in world map. Africa, the very continent that has given the world civilization, the very people whom the Greeks had looked with admiration, has now become the most humiliated and brutalized race - a race of slaves and outcasts. How could a race of inventors and manufacturers become traders and passive consumers of western technology? God forbid bad thing.

As a Christian and a minister of God, I know that the God of heaven and the Father of my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, will never sit down and watch His people who are created in His image and likeness and bought with the blood of His dear Son Jesus Christ, languish in penury simply because of a father's curse to his son. Truly, curses have effect, but there is a limit to it. When God Himself gave His people Israel to captivity, He equally delivered them when they called on Him because of His Name. Africa, for all I know has been a center for God's activity, and God is at work in Africa using Africans. God can never be doing all these things and still hold Africa responsible to a father's curse to his son, for such a long time - many generations behind. That's very unfair and not the character of the God I serve. He told me that those that in Christ have become new creatures and that He will never hold them responsible for their old lifestyles. They have passed away and a new life has begun.

In the case of His people Israel, God knew very well that Israel's captors were right and the captivity of Israel, well deserved because of their evil against the Lord. Their captors, though mighty and terrible, with legal backing, both from the law of God and the law of the nations, yet the Lord decreed that Israel (the lawful captive) shall be taken away and delivered. That is final. The captors of Israel cannot with their impudence outface the deliverance and counsel of God concerning His people. The King of kings, and Lord of lords has spoken - no one can declare otherwise.

This is the God I serve, and I am an African, why must I be under a generational curse? Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law and that is in accordance with God's decision to redeem Africa. God's determination is to deliver and to bring judgment upon the captors and oppressors of His people no matter who they are, and then work out salvation for the oppressed. God's decision on this matter is final, the same way He said to Pharaoh "let m people go". He did not go back until He saw Israel out of Egypt. Africa is a shining star and will continue to radiate till eternity.

Friend, don't be afraid again, because all the satanic arrows of poverty, lack, decrease, financial distress the devil fired against us have been arrested, disgraced and destroyed by God himself. All the instruments of oppression of witches and wizards, all the oppressors of Africa have been scattered, and consumed by fire in Jesus' name. As I pray for Africa, I see the rod of the wicked which has caused great discomfort in the life of Africans being removed permanently, and every power blocking the covenant blessings of God from flowing to us in Africa has been broken to pieces in Jesus' name. Are you an African? Be bold, be courageous for the Lord God of heaven says, "Even the lawful captives shall be delivered", and this day has deliverance come in the land of Africa.

Forget About Women Liberation: Ours Is A Woman’s World

Women command a large number of world population, yet it’s very hard to find a nation whose government will come up boldly to say that they have more women in their nation than men. Take a look at the record of birth in any community, the number of female children tend to outnumber that of their male counterparts. In every angle you look, you see women in their great numbers – schools, Churches, armed forces, markets, playgrounds/beaches, offices, hospitals, etc. Women have taken up some challenging roles and performed better in certain offices than the men themselves. In the field of medicine and engineering, women thrive and as such, are looking up to seizing political powers, yet it is a wonder that many people come up in our generation to complain about the ill-treatment of women. Women themselves were later forced by the prevailing situation to delve into a struggle that is enshrined in malice.

The Bible said a lot about women. It gave a down-to-earth story of how she came to be, the challenges before her and her future reward as a mother. Jesus Himself regarded and treated women with respect. After observing the actions of Jesus towards women, Charles Seltman commented: “Jesus was a feminist to a degree far beyond that of His fellows and followers… No other western prophet, seer, or would-be redeemer of humanity was so devoted to the feminine half of mankind”. Women suffered humiliation at the time that Jesus walked upon the earth. At that time, both pagan culture and so many other cultures (Jewish inclusive) insisted that women be kept in “their place” – and that place was clearly spelled out. Avenues open to men were closed to women. Such opportunities for self-fulfillment, personal development, and for achievement and leadership in public life or organized religion were greatly prohibited. Women were required to stay behind the scenes, keep the home fires burning, bear and rear children, and remain apart from the “busy, important world of men”.

Nevertheless, Jesus’ personal attitude towards women gave promise to liberation from the chains of custom. Women who followed Him, spoke with Him, and listened to His teaching, could not help but contrast His treatment of them with the way other religious leaders regard them. Could it be that His message of God’s love and redemption contained the seeds from which could sprout possibilities for human dignity and authentic personhood for all people – regardless of sex, class or race? Could it be that He was the women’s liberator? We shall not hesitate to say yes!

Speaking in terms of change of role, liberation and developing awareness for every women especially Christian women, we are not thinking in isolation of an organization or movement, but rather a state of mind in which a woman comes to view herself as Jesus Christ sees her – as a person created in God’s image whom He wants to make free to be whole, to grow to learn to make proper use of her God-given talents to the fullness as a unique person. It is a realization that men and women together may be freed from sex, role stereotypes and traditions which hinder development into the true humanness that was God’s original plan at the dawn of creation into male and female in His own image to delight in cordial fellowship with Him and with one another.

Early enough, women were considered to be inferior to slaves, in the sense that the slaves are the possession of their masters who may legally represent their will while the women could not. In the Jewish world, the male Jew, for instance, was taught by the rabbis to thank God that he was made a man and not a woman. In the patriarchal Roman family, the man alone possessed the legal rights of the family while the wife and children had none. Among the Greeks, women were part of the household property of the man.

The life of woman in many societies was greatly and gravely dominated by men. For the purpose of marriage, girls were captured from neighbouring clans in the primitive times to continue the family line. Daughters were then transferred from being the property of their fathers to being the property of their husbands. At any rate, what changed the position of women in marriage was war. Because men fought wars and women and children kept the homes, their social status brightened up. In other words, women became queens in children’s environment – a dreary situation.

The Scripture appears to confirm the lordship of men over women and other creatures in the Genesis’ account of creation story in some measure. God built the ribs He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man (Genesis 2:2). The story was not different in Christian era. Most Christians had the negative views about women such that monks were advised to flee their company.

Women had through the years been treated as a thing that needs a constant “purification” whereas everything masculine is believed to be sacred. In most parts of the world, certain places are forbidden to women; they are not allowed to touch certain men and more so immediately after or before some religious rituals. It is not surprising that after many centuries of such taboos a couple of women still ask such questions as – “Do women enter here?”, “Do women touch it?”

Women are bared by retrogressive native laws from sharing in the estates, of either their fathers or husbands, simply for being women. Women whose husbands are torn away from their embrace by the cold hands of death often face terrible situations from their husband’s relations. They roar into their brother’s home even before the woman’s eyes are dried of the tears of mourning, and turn the heat on the “stranger” – his widow. That shows an eloquent demonstration of the fluidity of the status of women to borrow a time – worn cliché – in a male dominated world.

However, you find out that such women become at once complete strangers in the home they helped to build, losers who had no claims to the sweet trappings of victory. Such is the woman’s lot, especially in developing countries where a quaint mix of queer customs and traditions rule the lives of the who set goals as well as the pace and pattern of development. Up till now, women are yet to be accepted to stand bail for suspects at police stations in many parts of the world.

In different places, women are seen but not heard. There are a lot of variables involved in determining the status of women in the primitive or modern society. Women are considered almost as property in some primitive societies whereas among the non-Christians, their status is radically infradig. Most of their practices portray the absolute subordination of women to men. Thank God for Christianity whose birth became the turning point in the history of women. Christianity proclaims the equality and unity of men and women, converging all human differences towards a single supernatural goal (Galatians 3:28). No previous civilization had accorded inalienable rights to women and children.

However, today’s women, unlike their mothers and grand-mothers of yesterday, are all true aware of their roles. They do not only know that the world is larger than their kitchens and homesteads, but also want to reach beyond the kitchen and the homestead and get into the world entrusted to creatures by the Creator, to cultivate and harness. This awareness on the part of the women folk is one of the forces behind their present drive to get into every area of life. Jesus did not come to raise up stiff-necked people, drug addicts, armed robbers and prostitutes. He only came that people who are in such activities should abandon them and receive a new life which only Him can give.

Today, most women are cheated out of God’s plan for their lives. They are totally out of order, taking hold of almost everything they can get at. Women allow themselves to be used in such a way that they advertise and commercialize their feminity in beds, boardrooms, or classrooms. They over-react to issues by doing violence to their naturally good feminine qualities. Almost everything has the tincture of woman power. Talking liberation of womanhood is completely out of the question here, because in everything women rule. They globe-trot, and challenge issues alongside the male counterparts thereby making it difficult for some people to consider them as serious minded people. This ugly trend has forced most Christians to see women as unqualified to handle certain offices in the Church. In true terms, no sensible person can entrust God’s business in the hands of an amazon, or a half-man half-woman, but to a composed person with good and authentic feminine qualities. Apart from that, nothing else can suffice.