WHAT HAS GOD GOT TO DO WITH YOUR ACADEMICS?

Some weeks ago, the academic secretary of the christian fellowship I attended during my undergraduate days called me and asked me to contribute a little piece to their publication. He gave me the above topic and this is the write-up i gave him to publish, but hey, I still have the copyright, so it is being published here first.

It is usually said that life is in phases and men are in sizes. One very important phase of our lives is our academics. There is nothing such as a spiritual life or academic life. Life is one, but it has many phases, of which academics is just one of the many seamless interconnected phases. An example that comes readily to mind is the leather football. It has many shapes and sides. Take your academics as one of those 5 or 6 sided shapes on the football. Without one, the football is not complete. So it is that our lives are not complete if one area is missing.

The most important factor to realise in the pursuit of academic excellence is that God is as much concerned with our academics as with every other phase of our lives. Has it ever occurred to you that God did not create a world in which He would not be needed? It has been said that no one can understand the use of a product as much as the creator or inventor of the product. In the same vein, God created us and every aspect of our lives, so we can only come into full realisation of his intentions for our lives by acknowledging Him. Prov 3: 5 & 6 says “trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths smooth.”

Another important factor to consider is that wisdom is very crucial to academic excellence. Wisdom determines how you spend your time, what kind of people you move with, how you use available resources, how you make and execute plans. Wisdom is not bought in the supermarket. God is the source of true wisdom. James 1: 5 says “if any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and He will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn`t find fault with them.”

God is concerned about you. He has good plans for you, to give you a future and a hope. Putting God first is important in our academics and also in every other phase of our lives. Learn to acknowledge God in all you do and never forget to ask Him for wisdom at every step of the way. The question this short piece started out to answer is “what has God got to do with my academics?” The answer is that God has everything to do with your academics because he said in the last part of John 15: 5 that “...without Me you can do nothing”

YOU WILL SUCCEED.

THE MEASURE OF A MAN pt.2

Having discussed about Creativity as a measure of a true man, we move on to discuss another important attribute – CHARACTER. By character I mean the true essence of who a person is. Character refers to the consistencies of a person`s words, thoughts and actions. Character refers to the real fabric of who you are. If I ask you that “who are you?” you will most likely tell me your name. That is not wrong, but the paradox is that your name does not fully answer the question “who are you?” What your name gives primarily, is an identity. It does not give a picture of who you really are. Character is what makes a name to become a brand. For a name to become a brand, it has to be associated with something. The very first and easiest thing your name can be associated with is your character.

Human beings hear in pictures. This is what I mean – if I mention the word “bag” to a 6 year old, what first comes to his mind is a mental picture of a bag. This is because he has seen a bag before and it had registered on his mind. If I say “hyrax”, he might ask me what that is. This is because he most likely has not seen one before. A hyrax is an ancient animal, so he might not have seen the picture anywhere.

In like manner, a person`s character is what creates a true picture of him in the mind of other people. Beyond your physical attributes, your character goes a long way to describe who you really are. So when your name is mentioned, your character is what comes to the mind of someone that knows you. Someone once said your character is who you are when no one is looking. That tells me that character is not formed in public. It is developed in private but it can not be hidden from the public. As my people will say “character is like smoke”.

How would the people who have known you for a long time describe you? What one word would such people use to describe you? A real man is a man of positive and enviable character. Will people who have met you describe you with any of the following words – dubious, wicked, selfish, greedy, violent, or will you be described with the following words – sincere, loyal, courageous, patient?

SINCERITY is a mark of being a real man. To be sincere is to be honest and open. How honest and open is your line of business? Do you pay the right kind of tax for your business? Can your clients and people you do business with take your word at face value? The Bible says let your “YES” be “YES” and your “NO” be “NO”. Can you be trusted to keep your word? Remember, your word is your bond. Be a real man, be sincere.

LOYALTY is a virtue in short supply. Loyalty means to be faithful to whatever cause you are involved in. You as a man are involved in several causes – family, work, business, friends, organisation, country and God. How committed are you to these causes. If you were committed to your family, you would be faithful to your wife and provide for your children. If you were committed to your nation, you would not soil her image. The wisest man who ever lived said “many a man will proclaim each his own goodness, but a faithful (loyal) man who can find”. You can be that faithful man.

COURAGE is the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action. Life they say, is not a bed of roses. There will be difficult times and there will be discouraging situations. Courage is not the absence of a storm but in spite of the storm, still steering towards your course. Courage is personal resoluteness in the face of danger or difficulties. As a man you can not afford to chicken out in difficult times. No soldier becomes a General without fighting and winning battles. Stand, fight and win. Like someone said, when I was in school and there was a student protest, “if we fight we may win but if we do not fight we have lost”. Be a man, if life throws you lemons, make lemonade.

PATIENCE is the capacity to wait for something. We live in a “Microwave generation”. There is instant coffee, instant food, instant cash, instant anything, and even instant miracles. We no longer want delayed gratification. We want it now. Life does not always favour the microwave mentality. The creator made life to run on processes. Think about it, God took six days to create the world, but could he not have created everything in an instant, since He is God? I think God wanted us to learn a lesson there. To always allow the process to take it`s full course. Real men understand the benefit of not disrupting process. Wait patiently, do not be driven by desperation. Children are the ones that always want it now. Be a man.

These character traits are not exhaustive. The list is endless. Real men of good character are scarce. This is a clarion for men of character in our generation. WILL THE REAL MEN PLEASE STAND UP?

THE MEASURE OF A MAN

Who do you think a real man is? How would you define real manhood? What are the attributes that you think describe a real man? Is it just about being “male”? Like the Porters in a female hostel in my University would announce at the close of the visiting hours “...all male men, please it is time to move out...”

You must have seen some adverts that describe what is perceived as being a man. One of such adverts shows an empty glass of beer; with the rider “...a man was here”. Another beer is advertised as “brewed for the strong”. Another describes “...greatness in every man”. The list is endless.

From another perspective, a man is described by the muscles; size, tone, shape and so on. A true man in that perspective has the six-packs, bulging biceps, the V-shaped trunk; looking like Governor Arnold. Physiologically, a man is expected to weigh not less than 70kg.

A real man in another sense is judged by how virile he is, i.e how many women he has been able to conquer in bed and probably put in the family way. In that wise, there are many “men” in traditional Africa. In Africa also, men don`t cry.

To some, a real man is seen by the “engine” in which he cruises, the kind of club he attends, and how much cash he throws around.

We could go on and on to describe how our generation perceives the true measure of a man.

I want to gainsay these popular opinions about the true measure of a man.

A real man is CREATIVE. To be creative is to move up from the lowest rung of the “life pyramid”. At the lowest rung, all you find is CONSUMERISM. Little wonder why all third world countries are consumer nations? As long as a person will not put to use the limitless power of imaginative ideas given him by God, he remains a consumer. A pointer to how creative a person can be is how much a person is able to achieve with little resources. I do not think the ability to be resourceful is given to only a few. If you must be creative, you must be able to think resourcefully. The greatest capital needed in any business venture is not money; it is resourceful thinking, bringing forth novel ideas. The greatest men in our world, either dead or alive, were men who saw problems as opportunities. Being resourceful about those problems launched them forth into greatness. A real man must be a person who holds the ace in at least one aspect of life.

A test to how creative you are. When last did someone around you come up to you to solve a problem and you delivered? Most men who show their greatness only at bars and clubs create more problems than they solve, if they ever solve any.

Men who drive civilization, economies, technologies, good governments, successful organisations and good families are creative people. They are problem solvers. They never wait on another person to solve their problems for them; they rather go all out to find solution to every problem around them. The best inventions that have made life so easy these days are the results of creative thinking. Infact, the most enduring names are not those perpetuated by biological offspring but rather by products bearing the name of their creators. Do you know Rank Xerox is a person`s name? So also is Ford, Mercedes, Daewoo and so on. Do you know about Ford`s biological children? But at least, you know the Ford Motors – his brainchild. Believe me, brainchildren outlive biological children. Bill Gates would be remembered 300 years from now, not because of his sons but because of Microsoft. Which would you rather have? I want both anyway.

The pyramid is fully loaded at the base. If you want to move up, then step up your CREATIVITY QUOTIENT. There is no limit to how far you can move up on the life pyramid if you become a problem solver.

There are a lot of creative people in our world but we can never have enough of them. You can do much more than all those who have gone ahead. You can bring creativity to bear in your own little corner of the world. Think globally, but don`t be deceived not to act locally. There is a lot you can do for your family, your organisation, your neighbourhood and so on. Be counted for something. You can make a difference. Don`t just be the neighbourhood bully, be the neighbourhood lifesaver.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I pledge to Nigeria...

I pledge to Nigeria my country,

To be faithful, loyal and honest,

To serve Nigeria with all my strength,

To defend her unity,

And uphold her honor and glory.

So help me God.

Almost everyone who grew up in post-independence Nigeria can remember saying this pledge every morning at school. Morning assembly was not complete until pupils said the pledge. Looking back, I think we should have taken it more seriously than just being for primary school pupils.

What really does a pledge mean? It is a solemn vow that one promises to keep and fulfill. It is a pledge to …Nigeria my country. Meaning that, the nation Nigeria is supposed to be personalized by every citizen. You can`t ever take anything about Nigeria too personal because it is ‘your Nigeria and my Nigeria. Do you ever think that you have a personal stake in Nigeria? You sure do. See Nigeria as your personal possession.

You and I pledged to be faithful, loyal and honest. If you really consider it, it is such a lofty vow that we all made to Nigeria, howbeit unconsciously. Faithfulness is simply a measure of how dependable a person is, especially when things are bad. Being faithful to Nigeria means you can still be trusted to do what is right, even when it is not convenient to do so.

A wise man once said, “depending on an unfaithful friend in times of crisis is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking with a crippled foot”. Simply, an unfaithful person is a source of handicap rather than an asset. Can Nigeria have faith in you to do things right? We seem to have had a difficult time understanding the concept of “the rule of law”. This is so because we have not learnt to always do things right, no matter the situation and circumstance. Simply, faithfulness is the reason why a married man will not take a very good opportunity to have a fling with a colleague when they both travel abroad on an official trip. At least, they are both far away from home and no one will know. He does not take such opportunity because being far away from where anyone will know still does not make it right. We seem to have come to perceive being right as relative, but I am sorry to say, it is rather absolute.

Our perception of right and wrong seem to have been dulled by several years of not finding any benchmark about right and wrong to which we can refer to as a nation. What seems to define right from wrong is that whatever benefits you is right and whatever does not benefit you is not right. This faulty perception is clearly against the vow we took in the primary school to be faithful, loyal and honest to Nigeria.

Anyway, notwithstanding how bad things may seem for us as a country, I see hope (not referring to the book written by a former head of state). I see hope in a new crop of Nigerians. Men and women who are renewing the pledge they took in primary school. Men and women who live by the values that will eventually create a new Nigeria. These men and women are the prime citizens of a new Nigeria. I belong to this elite group. Do you want to know more about us? Spare a few minutes and visit newnigeriaclub.net/authentic You will be glad you did.

NATURAL COMPENSATION

Have you ever taken a good observation of people with physical challenges? I mean people who are maybe lame in the feet or blind or deaf? Did u notice that these people with one form of disability or the other are compensated by nature in some other parts of their body? If you find a man who has lost his sight, it is very likely that his sense of smell and hearing will be sharper than that of the other person without that disability. If you find a man who is lame in the feet, he would most likely have very muscular and strong arms.

In Genetics, the law of use and disuse is what explains this phenomenon. The law explains that a part of the body not being used will lose its functionality while the part that is being used very well will develop better and gain more specialization. To me, this seems to be a way of natural compensation.

The same way it is in the area of our talents, skills and proficiencies. You sure can not do everything perfectly. You must have found at least one thing that you are not very good at. Let us liken that challenge to that of the person with physical deformity.

So, what can u do about this challenge? I have just one suggestion: forget about that which you are not good at and concentrate on that which you are good at. Pay less attention to your disability but more attention to that which you can do fairly well. Develop such proficiency that no other person can easily beat you at it. Be known for that which you do very well.

You definitely have talents and skills which are rare. Identify those talents and skills, polish them, enhance them and they can sure be a money spinner for you. God never created anyone without some special gifts or talents. Do not sit back and mourn what you lack, you most likely have something that compensates for that lack. You may not be a good orator or public speaker but you may a master strategist and planner. You may not be a good poet but you may be crafty with numbers. You may be tone deaf musically but you may be so caring to be a good nurse. You may not be a good stand up comedian but you may do well as an opera singer. You may not like maths but you may be an artist greater than Picasso.

Look inwards and away from your inabilities, see the abilities. Disability is relative and it only becomes important when you refuse to see the abilities that compensate for what you lack. The word ‘disability’ itself has 70% of its letters as ‘ability’, meaning, for every 30% of disability you may think you have, there is a compensation of 70% ability. God never created anyone to be a loser. Even if life has thrown you lemons, get up, pick the lemons and make lemonade. Your brand of lemonade might just sweep the market, who knows?

Think possibilities. My Bible tells me ‘God is able to do much more than I can ask or think’. So, be careful what you think, because He answers not just prayers, but thoughts too. I have made up my mind to think more about the things I can do rather than those which I can`t.

This is a wake-up call. Take advantage of your compensation.

SEE YOU AT THE TOP.

BE GRATEFUL

Few days ago on my way to work it occurred to me again how good and kind God has been to me personally. I do not know about you. I do not know if you think you really have the power to keep yourself alive. Forget about the good diet, the hygiene, the exercises, the medical check-ups and the rest of the things we do to stay healthy. A lot of people actually die from 'unknown causes'. I mean people who lived well. Yesterday, there was the picture of a lady in the papers who died from being hit by a bus while trying to cross the road. She would never have planned to die that fateful day. She did not die because she is such a bad or devilish person, just as you are not alive because you are so good and pious. The Almighty preserves who He wills. So, if He has chosen to preserve you, be grateful to Him.
It is very easy when you look around and see certain things in your life or around you which you are not happy about. But then, it is also possible that if you look well, you will find more than one reason to be grateful to God.
I believe God even preserves from certain troubles by not allowing them to happen at all. So, we do not get to know about them.
Concentrating more on what is unpleasant puts you in an 'offside' position in receiving more blessings from God. Even if some things are unpleasant with you, think about it,they could have been worse. You have a reason to be grateful.
There is an African proverb that says 'if a child shows gratitude for yesterday`s favours, he positions himself to receive today`s favours'. So if you want to receive more blessings from God, be grateful for that which He`s already done.
My advice for you today: BE GRATEFUL.

ARE WE IN ORDER?

“…let everything be done decently and in order.” 1 Cor 14:40

Order in the context of our discussion of today is simply defined as everything being arranged in its proper place. That is to say, there is the proper place for everything. Bringing this to a larger picture, permit me to say that everything about your life has an appropriate place. Putting your whole life into perspective, you discover there is an appropriate way to handle every issue of your life. Picture your life as a jigsaw puzzle; it does not make sense until everything is put in its proper place.

I have a few reasons why you and I may need to cultivate the habit of order:

1. ORDER ENHANCES BEAUTY. Have you ever seen a shelf disarranged? It sure does not look any inch beautiful. I had the privilege of organizing my boss` book shelf when we moved to a new office months ago. After several days of sorting and arrangement, the shelf took shape and it was a good sight. The same way a person`s life takes a beautiful shape if everything is put in order. Everyone appreciates the beauty of a well laid out housing estate as compared to a slum. If a life lacks order, it looks like a slum. Is your table or shelf or wardrobe disarranged? Try to arrange it and see if you like it or not. If you like it, do the same to issues of your life too. Your appointments, your daily itinerary, your spending pattern, even your dressing, and everything about your life must be in order. Then, real beauty will be seen on you.

2. ORDER PROMOTES PRODUCTIVITY. Have you seen a production line before? There can never be any successful production without a well laid out production process. Process design is a fundamental course in Engineering. Things don`t just happen, they have to be deliberately orchestrated. Creating or producing something takes a step-wise process. If any of the steps are missing, you come out with a fake or sub-standard product. Following such steps to ensure productivity is what order is about. A productive life, just like a production line requires order. If you are not yet at your optimum, check to see if everything is in good order. Do you want a qualitative life? Then create order in your life.

3. ORDER ENHANCES SAFETY. Several years ago, a young cousin of mine needed to do her home-work. She needed to sharpen her pencil, so she reached for the side pocket of her bag to get a razor. Instead of coming out with a razor, she came out with blood. She had just cut her fingers with the razor because she did not put the razor in its wrapper before putting it in her bag. The moral here is that when order is neglected, safety is compromised. Not all accidents are inevitable. Some can be prevented by doing things orderly. When you drive, be orderly, when you speak, be orderly. Let`s take some responsibility for our safety by learning to put order into our lives.

It is not too early or too late to start. At least, it is better to be late than never. You still have a whole life ahead of you. It is time to take your life to the next level. Little blocks fit together to make a building. Order is just one of those little blocks. But mind you, if any of the blocks is missing, then the building is a failure. Do not leave out this little block as you build your life.

SEE YOU AT THE TOP.

LIVING WITHOUT REGRETS

I wrote this on the 1^st of January, 2008, but posting it now. Compliments of the season to you. Let us start this year by considering how to live in 2008 and beyond without regrets.

What is regret? Simply, it is a feeling of sadness about something wrong or about a mistake you have made and a wish that it could have been different or better. By the end of 2008, I want to take a stock of the year and have no regret about anything whatsoever.

HOW CAN YOU AVOID REGRETS?

A prime factor to avoid regret is to take your decision making process seriously. Decisions are always time bound, you should not be too hasty neither should you be too slow. Apart from timing, decisions should not be made without adequate information and knowledge about the subject of decision. You will have to make decisions about almost everything that comes your way. When you make decisions, consider the long term effects of such decisions. Do not be short sighted. Every decision you take now will determine whether or not you will have any regret at the end of the year.

Next is your attitude to opportunities. Several opportunities to take your life to a higher level will present before you. But then, opportunities should be well discerned because not every attractive opportunity is actually a good one, so watch out. Also, a lot of times, opportunities come dressed in overall called “work”. Be alert, watch out for such opportunities to improve your career, improve your value in the organisations you belong to, improve the quality of your social relationships and improve your life.

Also important is your “locus of control”. Locus of control is the process of attribution. It could be internal or external. External locus of control means that you attribute everything that happens to you to the action or inaction of others or external factors. Internal locus of control means you take personal responsibility for everything that happens to you. If you operate an internal locus of control, you will learn to lead your life more responsibly and avoid regrets.

2008 comes really loaded. I pray that the evil therein will not be yours but the goodness and the blessings in the year will be yours.