Genesis 4:17b (MSG) says, “He then built a city and named it after his son, Enoch“. The previous verses show how God, Himself, cursed Cain. Despite that he was still able to build a city. How did he get capital? How did he get raw materials? There was an inherent ability in him that was not affected by the curse. As a Christian, who has been redeemed and given a new life, why are you still living as a tenant, without landed property, if cursed Cain could build a city? If a man cursed by God could build a city and bear a child, how come the sins of your grandfathers or ancestors are preventing you from having finances and having an abundant life?
There is an inherent ability—a deposit—of God that is still in man. Even though the Bible says in Romans 3:23 that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, it is just that we fell short of the glory; it doesn’t mean we have become empty or denuded of God.
When God created man in His image and likeness, the first thing he gave to man was ambassadorial duty and responsibility; however, God had respect for man’s ability to deputize for Him, improve on God’s creation, and sustain it because He was inside man. When He created beautiful Eden with all the resources, He knew that Adam was able to tend it; there was nothing written down for Adam besides, “be fruitful, multiply, and replenish . . .” That intrinsic deposit of God in Adam was such that when God finished creating the animals, He told Adam to name them. That intrinsic ability was not learned, but was inherent in man. When Adam named them, God respected Adam’s choices. That same expectation was replicated when Jesus Christ said, “Greater things than these shall you do“.
The curse placed on Cain did not affect the God in him. That’s why when we keep concentrating on curses and covenants in African Christianity (as limiting factors), it’s just an escape route. It’s a transfer of blame to yesterday; it negates your present existence, negates who you are, and even negates the significance of the death of Christ.
After the destruction of the earth in the time of Noah, the people came together and decided to build a tower that would get up to heaven. When God came down and saw them, He said, “Since these people are of one speech and one language, there would be nothing impossible for them to achieve”. Although it would have been easier for people to come to see Him if they built the tower, the reason He confused them was that, firstly, there was the possibility that the tower would collapse at some point and they would not maximize other horizontal possibilities. Also, if they built a ziggurat and didn’t see God, they would lose their faith. However, there was that ability to build, to create. It’s the same ability we see in the pyramids, the 7 wonders of the world. It also the same ability we see in the Benin moat and the Benin Kingdom extending down to the Republic of Benin. It’s the same we see in ancient civilizations and empires. That ability is inherent.
Faith is two-fold. There is the faith for God to act on your behalf. There is also the faith you have that you have the ability in yourself, because God is in you, to achieve. A lot of people don’t have faith in themselves. The friends of the paralyzed man removed the roof of another man and lowered their friend into a crowded house to meet Jesus. The Bible says, “When Jesus saw their faith . . . ” That is the measure of their faith was the energy, effort, risk, and sacrifice they were ready to take and make to see their friend healed. It is true that the power was resident in Christ to cause the healing; however, there was a crowd that acted as a hindrance to getting through to Jesus. Therefore, faith is measurable, faith is tangible, faith is describable, faith is visible in your actions and efforts towards achieving objectives.
The black man tires, mentally, too easily. The black man gets exasperated and agitated too easily. The average religious black person expects a perfect state of affairs simply because of salvation. Therefore, anytime there is a challenge, he/she rather gets agitated and confused, and passes the blame on to someone else, rather than exerting his/her mind in overcoming that challenge. Any person who gets easily agitated in the face of challenges lacks faith in himself to solve issues. Any person who always blames others and the devil, or justifies herself lacks the ability and faith to ameliorate and solve problems; such an individual is resistant to taking definite and positive actions to improve on herself.
The problem in Africa is that we thinking we are robots, and that by calling the name of Jesus, by giving offerings and tithes, by going for night vigils, by singing and anointing oils, by slogans, calendars, and stickers our problems will be solved. No! Our problems will not be solved until we are ready to solve them. You don’t expect the Inspector General of Police to control traffic in a junction unless the commissioner, traffic wardens, and police officers are inefficient. God has transferred authority to us; we can’t expect God to solve every little problem out of our inefficiency; the problems will stay if we are not ready to exert our minds.
Like I said in The Power of Knowledge, the day Christ died, the land was healed. The curse that was placed on the earth was removed. Any man, who is willing to think like Christ, will have the mind of Christ, and the creative ability of God is in us. The African or average individual, who is living below his/her capacity and means, is not creative, not daring to venture. The cars we drive are created by the Japanese and might not be possibly Christians. Thomas Edison was, most likely, not a choir master, a prayer warrior, or a pastor.
The miraculous is an intermittent intervention of divinity in the affairs of humanity, when humanity is helpless and confused.
When you are not helpless, or you can do what your mates have done, God will not answer your prayers. In fact, He might even make the situations uncomfortable for you to see how willing you are ready to exert your mind and the inherent creative ability inside of you.
There is hardly anything that man hasn’t improved upon, from the test-tube baby, cloning, genetic engineering and modified animals, boats, going to the moon, the Internet etc. Some of the things these nations, who are not predominantly Christians, do are mind-boggling. What the average African needs is not more of emotional Christianity, praising God, or prayers; we need more of thinking.
To be continued . . .
God Bless You.
Really good site,thank you very much for your time in writing the posts.