The tree in the post is the national tree and flower of Thailand. It’s also the tree of the region of Kerala in India. The name of the tree is Cassia Fistula.
Lessons of Life
1. The Church was not established to make us rich.
Her primary role is to prepare people to have the character and nature of Christ. Her role is to spread the Gospel of Christ with power. Even though I give lectures on entrepreneurship in churches, I usually look for a church where I can listen to messages that will transform my character.
On Easter Sunday, I was in a Roman Catholic church to listen to a sound educative sermon.
Wealth is created in the market place; it is not distributed in any denomination. Legitimate wealth is purposefully created in the modern era according to principles not prophecy. Let’s stop looking for money where it is not stored and from people whose duty is not to distribute it.
2. The wealth of our denominations do not translate to our personal wealth.
The wealth of our general overseers do not necessarily translate to our personal wealth. There are poor people in his family, and even among those working for him.
Most of the noise being made about the wealth of Pentecostal pastors pales into irrelevance when you consider how much Warren Buffett gave to charity some years back. He gave 31 Billion USD to charity.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not jealous or being cynical. I am not a poor man by any standard, but there is too much noise about the net-worth of Pentecostal pastors.
Let’s put more emphasis on the character and kingdom lifestyle of our pastors and our members. Let’s not pretend we don’t know what is right or wrong. His spirit bears witness with our spirit. When I finally stand before Jesus, I won’t show him my account balance.
What George Soros gives out to charity is enormous; he might be a Christian, but the principles of his wealth will work for believers and unbelievers.
3. Many of those who eventually get rich from our money are not Christians.
Imagine the microphones, keyboards, drum sets, amplifiers, mobile phones, computers, cows, goats, beans, cars from Japan, imported rice, drugs, cement, iron rods, roofing sheets, steel beams for our prayer camps, etc., are not manufactured by Christians. A great percentage of our wealth as Christians drift to other people.
4. The cattle on a thousand hills belong to God, but the control is different from just believing the Scriptures.
The Fulanis in Nigeria know that the cattle belong to God too, but they have known how to control and own them, and they make about 5% of the GDP of Nigeria from animal husbandry. Christians in other nations have known how to own and control cows and other animals.
I did not know much earlier that believing scriptures must be followed by actions to actualize them. Shouting ‘amen’ does not immediately translate to economic reality; it must be backed up by the methodology, means, mental capacity, muscular activities, and men to actualize it.
5. The riches of the gentiles belong to us, but we must have economic and transactional intelligence to do the wealth transfer.
An unbeliever that has better financial Intelligence than you, will get your wealth from you, even as a believer.
6. I did not realize on time that though the silver and gold belong to God, the medium of exchange is no longer based on silver and gold.
You need money to buy gold and silver now. Even if gold or silver is in your backyard, you must know how to explore, refine, and add value to it and put it in the international market.
To be blessed is not enough; you must know how to harness and maximize your blessings.
I did not realize that after the collapse Bretton Woods Systems in 1970, a new value system, that removed the value of currencies from the gold reserve of a nation, was created.
I did not know on time that just believing scriptures about wealth is not enough. We must ask God for ideas to exchange values through goods, skills, and services. The ignorance about this is so deep-rooted in the body of Christ; that’s why we do what we are doing.
7. I did not know on time that people value talent more than education.
A comedian earns more than a neurosurgeon. A Grammy award winner gets more recognition than a girl who won a global mathematics competition. I annoyingly realized late that a girl who won a beauty contest is more recognized than a girl who made the best result in a medical school or law school. It is not only in Nigeria. Musicians and sports men and women earn more than professors, even in developed countries.
If I had known, I would have developed my talents alongside going to University and, most probably, I would have read Economics, which was my best subject and best grade. I would also have been a very rich actor or comedian. I would have been a director of a big company by now, if not a multinational corporation. After all, I am not even doing much with the medical degree now. Don’t say anything; it’s my degree not your own.
Sometimes, I dey vex ooh! At a point in time, we were going to search for retainers from managers who were are our juniors in University. They confirmed payments for our bills.
8. I did not know on time that cutoff mark to enter University is not the cutoff mark of wealth and influence.
Wetin be the cutoff mark of the people when dey rule Nigeria now? Wetin be the cutoff mark of the prophet or pastor when dey tell you, “Say after me”, and you go say after am? It is not your cutoff mark that matters in life; it is the mark you choose to make in life and the appetite you cultivate to cut off some piece of life for yourself legitimately.
We get old too quickly and wise too late.
God Bless You.
One Comment