In the first post, Work—The Purpose Of Your Existence, we said the primary purpose of God creating man is to deputize for Him to do good works and how work is the basis of functionality of any society or organization. In this continuing post we look at some reasons why our ‘workplace’ provides a channel for God’s blessings.
Moses heard from God in his workplace while tending Jethro’s flocks. He met his wife, Zipporah, in her workplace as a shepherd. It was the good works of Moses in fighting off the troublesome herdsmen that endeared him to Jethro.
Rebekah met Abraham’s servant in her workplace at the well. She fetched 1,200 litres of water to qualify for her marriage to Isaac. Isaac was looking for capacity and companionship; romance was secondary.
God spoke to Gideon while working. Elisha was called into ministry at work. Jesus called several of His disciples at their workplaces. Boaz met Ruth at a farm; she shared her expectation of a levirate marriage after work in Boaz’s farm.
The Parable of Talents is about functionality and productivity. God likes results and responsibility. We, who are created in His image and likeness, must be responsible and productive. I will not be afraid of being guilty of repetition when it comes to this issue.
The average friend, relative, or young person, who wants to benefit from the labours of your past are not ready to labour. Young people want to jump from soft spot to soft spot; they don’t want to settle down and work. The foreman of Boaz’s farm noticed Ruth’s hard work; she got married to Boaz because he was looking for competence and character. The average young lady, today, wants to be a slay queen. You see then jumping into cars with fraudulent young men with funny looks; some eventually get killed, raped, or pass through traumatic experiences. Others go abroad and are led into sexual slavery.
Workers and technicians want to do shoddy jobs even after inflating the charges.
The existence of miracle centres for examinations is because our young people find it too labourious to read for examinations.
I detest the shabby treatment netted to us in different embassies in Nigeria. They don’t really want you in their countries unless you are going to contribute to their development. I don’t blame them, however; they have made their countries work by working on themselves to make their countries work. They also expect us to make our countries work. They are not like the father of the prodigal son; they are more like the eldest son. The eldest son had been at home rebuilding the wealth of the father while the rascal was busy squandering the wealth of the father.
When you see our policemen at roadblocks, they reflect the dysfunctional nature of our country. From their boots to their uniforms, their duty posts, and the way the roadblock is mounted, you will know that things are not right. It is extreme stupidity to think that criminals would be trapped by stationary roadblocks; they are not fishes. Their dirty, old, and obsolete guns and their shabby looks cannot compete with the energetic, well-nourished, and articulate armed-criminals. A policeman begging money from drivers is an indictment of the leadership; they are poorly paid, sleep in very uncomfortable environment, sometimes over worked, exhausted, and irritated, and they subsequently become very aggressive. Those posted to guard banks can be seen on their mobile phones and chatting with local girls; they are not usually alert.
The rate at which our soldiers are being killed by a rag-tag rebel group is an indictment of the military leadership, structure-preparedness, and tactical competence.
God blesses the works of our hands, not the length of our prayers or fasting. Work is the raw material God needs to bless us and promote us. Even when God blesses the works of our hands, we will need work to harness and benefit from the blessings. Counting money is a difficult work when God truly blesses you; that’s why currency-counting machines were invented.
When Isaac was blessed a hundredfold, assuming he was reaping 10 tonnes of grains before, he now reaped 1,000 tonnes. That was much more work. Isaac had to go through the following processes before he could maximize the harvest.
- Harvesting
- Gathering
- Bundling
- Threshing
- Winnowing
- Bagging
- Transportation
- Processing
- Storage
- Sales
For Isaac to become very rich and become the envy of the King of Gera, he needed to know how to make money, manage the money, and maintain the wealth. Managing the consequences of greatness or success is not an easy job.
Just like our muscles were created to work and bear responsibility, any muscle that is not used undergoes atrophy. It reduces in size and, sometimes, renders the joints ineffective. If you work out, your muscles grow bigger and stronger.
The more you use your mind positively, the more your mind works for you. The more you serve society, the more society works for you. If our nations in Africa must become functional and developed, each person must see his or herself as a contributor to its functionality. The failure of any business or nation is an accumulated outcome of little things individuals failed to do well.
Make up your mind to contribute your quota judiciously to your country, community, and family.
God bless you.
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