Christian Living

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Sometimes questions are asked to put us into perspective. They may be asked that we look inside ourselves before we offer answers. In the Garden of Eden, God, although He is all knowing, asked Adam where he was after the latter went into hiding following the disobedience of eating the forbidden fruit.

When He comes to us, God works from our vintage points, with what we have, at that time. Similarly, the prophet Elisha asked a widowed woman who had come for his help what she had if she expected any help from him(2Kings4:2).It is no wonder that we are told in the scriptures that those that have will be added more but those that have little, will have even that taken away from them.

It is universally assumed that when we wish someone a happy new day or year they automatically wish us the same. In the African culture, the answer to a greeting is almost always an affirmation of health and well being even if the answers come from those that have not eaten for days. It is always heartening though when cheery greetings are exchanged and the whole world decides to overlook famines, deaths and wars, by simply stating that things are fine. Is this man’s way of trying to deal with pain? Whatever this coping mechanism is, it serves to help us get going.

A T-shirt screams, ‘the older we get, the better we were’ and I cannot help but agree that most of us are almost always caught looking in the wrong direction; the past. This is a period that should be honored but not dwelt in. It does not help much to always long for the good old days yet what really distinguishes the successful people from those who are not is the ability of the former to handle failure and the inability of the latter to pick up and move on. It really is a mark of maturity and growth if we can be able to distinguish between whether or not we are getting worse or getting different with the ticking of the clock. Newness involves change whether it be a new year or a new day and should as such be handled with all the ceremony that comes with another chance to try out life. In His division of night from day, God certainly had this in mind; that we would be given a new chance with every new day, new season, new challenges, new responsibilities ultimately new year.

Focus is subjective as we choose to see what we want to see; this making it selective looking. We decide what we want and we look around for those opportunities that enable us to work with them. This enhances our uniqueness as humans, that what might appeal to one might not do the same for another. This puts us all at positions of uniquely achieving our goals by whichever means we have identified, at the time we are comfortable with and not necessarily in competition with one another.

Motive is important and we should always know ours. All that we do should be for the glory of God because no amount of acquisition will ever satisfy us. Self interest greatly derails us from focus on God’s glory and it is in this way that we miss out on further blessings. Any new thing that we wish to another, be it a new year, new day, happy (new) birthday, should focus more on the giver of the same than to the given for only He, in His mercies and through His will can bless us enough to enjoy them.

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