This morning, I wrote about ‘The Blessing And The Burden’, and I believe it really blessed many readers. Thank you to everyone who responded with encouraging feedback. Gracias! I sometimes wonder why it is so hard for some people to COMPLEMENT or show GRATITUDE to someone/something that has blessed, motivated or inspired them.
Why is the spirit of ingratitude so prevalent in our day? Well, the answer is in 2 Timothy 3:1&2. Don’t get caught in that devious spirit! It’s already at work in many people, including our church folks, who would rather run down one misdeed, but never praise a thousand rights. Hmmm, it is not good o! Remember, you will reap what you sow.
Prof. Gbenga Okunlola told us about his younger brother, who wrote WAEC and GCE 8 times, because he was always failing Chemistry, and needed the subject to advance to the tertiary institution. The brother is a Professor today, and often teaches Chemistry for free, to shame Chemistry, and Satan.
He also told us about his sister, Folu, who failed in her Year Two at the university, and the entire family feared what their father’s reaction would be when he’s informed about the unprecedented occurrence, because she had never failed before, and was perhaps, the brightest of them all. Eventually, Folu summoned the courage to spill the beans, and to everyone’s surprise, their father said, “Thank GOD”, and took it very calmly.
When they ‘recovered’ from his shocking response, and manned up to ask him why he wasn’t annoyed as they had expected, he said, “Folu has never failed at anything before. I feared that she wouldn’t be able to handle pressures later on in life, because life is never smooth sailing all the time. But now that she has failed, she’ll know that there’s another side to life. But, if any of you boys should fail, I will beat you and nearly kill you!”
Even in the bad, there is GOOD…………for the wise, and discerning. John C. Maxwell wrote a book and called it, “Failing Forward.” For the wise and diligent, failure can be a stepping stone to greater heights. For every Child of GOD, Joseph’s words in Genesis 50:20 can ring true for us all. He said, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but GOD meant it for GOOD, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” All evil done to us, and every failure experienced, can become our building blocks and crowns’ gemstones.
Selah!
DA