I believe many people do not know the true Nature of God. I believe they see Him as a taskmaster who will strike you with leprosy and cancer if you fall into sin. I believe they have a legalistic mindset that fails to capture the essence and depth of God’s Love for mankind.
Unfortunately, this view of God is what continues to push people outside the church away from God, while leaving the people in the church frustrated with the seemingly endless list of chores they have to do to make Him happy.
I believe many do not know that God IS already happy with them, in the same way a Father is pleased with His children.
I believe many don’t realize that the real Gospel is that God desires to pursue a loving relationship with every individual on the face of the planet, and that the sin issue HAS BEEN settled.
I believe God is not looking at humans and thinking, “Filthy, puny humans. I’ll destroy them with cancer”.
I believe He’s not looking at humans and just seeing filth and sin. Rather, I believe God’s heart is aching for a loving Father-to-child relationship. I believe that many pastors don’t do a good job in teaching God’s true Nature, as expressed in the Bible.
But that’s not all.
In the absence of good teaching from the Church, I believe many people have learnt to adopt a monistic, materialistic outlook that fails to acknowledge the existence of both a physical and spiritual world.
Despite having a Ph.D. in the social sciences, I still believe that reality is much more than the three-dimensional space and time.
To borrow from Kantian philosophy, I believe there are the phenomena which we can experience with our five senses and logic, and there are the noumena, which is beyond the scope of our senses.
I believe these noumena are described explicitly in the Bible. Yet, I believe most people continue to miss it because of their paradigm – even more so in West.
I believe there are realms of joy, love, peace and happiness that will never be experienced until one accepts that there is a spiritual reality that is accessible to humans. Sadly, this is not taught in many churches and as a result, I believe many people lead spiritually dry lives devoid of freshness that the Holy Spirit provides.
To bridge this gap, I believe many have resorted to tools and gimmicks that may provide some diagnostic utility, but never really answer the underlying problem. Until we become sensitive to the existence of a spiritual realm, I believe we will keep running after different fads to solve a problem only the Holy Spirit can cure
There are generally two approaches to the study of human behavior: One involves the study of mental processes such as affect, cognition and motivation, while the other involves the study of people’s actions.
Although there is some utility in studying mental processes, treating them as an end in themselves provides an incomplete picture of human behavior. Your emotions, thoughts and drives are not simply hovering around in your mind. Rather, they are embodied, that is, they are contained in your body and expressed in your behavior. For instance, when a person is excited or depressed, you can usually tell how the person is feeling by observing their behavior. Even in people who are not emotionally expressive, when you spend enough time with them, their patterns of behavior provide a window into their internal mental states. This goes to say that a person’s actions can give you more behavioral information than a person’s internal state.
This same logic can be extended to people’s choice behavior.
Suppose a person has to choose between eating fish and eating chicken for lunch. In that moment, if the person goes with fish, it means that he values fish higher than meat. It doesn’t matter whether he had always eaten meat in the past, or he said he had a craving for meat, or he had told the people nearby that he was going to eat meat. As long as he chose fish, the implication is that fish occupies a higher position on his hierarchy of values than meat.
Generally speaking, if presented with the opportunity to choose between two options, “A” or “B”, according to economic thinking, whatever the decision maker chooses is what he values more.
A person who picks the $50 shoe over the $300 shoe values the former more than the latter. Similarly, regardless of what she might say or even feel, the spouse who continually chooses to work extra shifts rather than spending quality time with her significant other has made her hierarchy of values clear.
The Kingdom of God also has the same understanding implicit in its operations.
For instance, take a look at Apostle Paul’s analysis of the Esau and Jacob situation:
“(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.” (Romans 9: 11-14)
“Love” and “hate” are powerful words with certain implications in contemporary times. We have learned to associate them with waves of liquid emotions coursing through our veins. To most people, loving someone is the feeling of butterflies fluttering in our bellies, while hatred feels like a pressure pot about to explode. That is why we look at the statement, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated”, and cannot help but wonder why God had the urge to destroy a still unborn Esau. Students of the Bible, however, will acknowledge that the man Esau lived to be a very materially blessed man – even more blessed than Jacob his brother (Genesis 33). God blessed Esau materially – a move that does not fit within the contemporary usage of the word “hate”.
So, what does “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” mean?
As it has been established, emotions, thoughts and drives are just a subset of behavior. Actions, in the form of choice behavior, reveals a person’s hierarchy of values. To the human, “love” and “hate” are primarily internal states that may or may not influence behavior; in the Economics of the Kingdom, however, “love” and “hate” are preferences which must be revealed in choice behavior.
Whatever is valued more is chosen; whatever is chosen is loved. When compared with Esau, Jacob occupied a higher level on God’s spiritual hierarchy of values. Hence, Jacob was chosen and by implication, loved.
As another example, consider the following words of Jesus:
‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.’ (Luke 14:26)
A surface understanding of Jesus’ statement could lead one to walk away with the wrong conclusions that becoming a follower of Christ is contingent upon you being antisocial.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Jesus is not asking you to keep malice with your family, friends and associates; neither is He asking you to indulge in self-immolation. Rather, what Jesus is saying, in essence, is this: Unless He’s at the pinnacle of your hierarchy of values, you are not fit to be educated or discipled in the ways of the Kingdom. Just as God has His hierarchy of values, subjects in His Kingdom must also have their hierarchy of values with God and the things of God occupying the highest rung.
In secular Economics, your choices reveal your preferences; in the Economics of the Kingdom, your choices reveal your values (that is, what you value most). In this paradigm, the act of sinning is simply choosing yourself over God, while repentance involves changing the way you think, such that your hierarchy of values align with that of the Kingdom of God. And when your hierarchy of values match that of the Kingdom, a whole new set of possibilities become available to you.
II. Substitutes and Complements
Suppose you went to a store to get new shoes, it is inevitable that after you find a shoe design you like and you pay, you would always walk out of the store with a pair of shoes – one right, one left. It is virtually impossible to buy just one shoe; you have to buy them in pairs. In secular economics, a pair of shoes – one right, one left – is what you’d call complements. To maximize the satisfaction you get from buying a pair of shoes, the bundle has to be one right and one left. A pair containing either two left shoes or two right shoes would be upsetting, rather than satisfying.
Conversely, there are certain goods that can satisfactorily take the place of another. For instance, if you happen to be on a long-distance drive, at some point, you will be low on fuel and would need to buy some. As your car’s fuel gauge approaches the “Empty” mark, it would not matter whether the next fuel station was Total, or Shell, or Mobil. As long as the filling station has fuel, and you are able to fill up your car, your happiness is guaranteed. In secular economics, the different filling stations you encounter on your long-distance drive are called substitutes because they can all satisfy your need for fuel in the same way.
The concept of substitutes and complements also exist in the Economics of the Kingdom.
As an example of complements, consider Paul’s admonishment in Galatians 5:16,
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
Here we see two phenomena of spiritual significance offered as a complementary bundle – “Walking in the Spirit” and “Not fulfilling the lust of the flesh”. In the same way you cannot go to a shoe store just to buy a single right shoe, you cannot just “Walk in the Spirit” or “Not fulfil the lust of the flesh”. Yet, much of the religious teachings propagated today go contrary to this Economic Principle of the Kingdom. What is commonly accepted as inspired doctrine is a focus on just one aspect of what was designed to be a complementary bundle. That is why a lot of Christians expend tremendous amounts of effort and willpower in not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh so as to be able to finally walk in the Spirit. Usually, this ends in burnout, a seething frustration with righteous living, and, the inevitable return to old habits and patterns of behavior.
A person operating with a paradigm inspired by the Economics of the Kingdom will see “Walking in the Spirit” and “Not fulfilling the lust of the flesh” as a single bundle. By walking in the Spirit, this individual is confident that he has also received the enablement to not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. This leads to the experience of an abundant life overflowing into one’s actions, thoughts, emotions and overall behavior – even from this side of eternity!
The idea of complements also applies when you talk about the pursuit and fulfilment of purpose.
“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2)
Notice how the Holy Spirit described Barnabas and Paul as a single complementary bundle, as far as their Kingdom assignments were concerned. In the same vein, as you enter different stages and phases in your life, you will begin to realize that God has assigned certain people to complement you on your journey through life fulfilling His purpose. Subjects of the Kingdom are often oblivious to the Economics of the Kingdom. They tend to underestimate the idea of complements in the Kingdom and are consequently biased towards toxic individualism. As a result, there is a lid on their lives that limits them from attaining the potential that God has embedded within them.
Moving on, 2 Corinthians 5:21 gives an excellent instance of the substitution principle in the Economics of the Kingdom,
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
The idea presented here is deceptively simple; Jesus took our sins, and we took His righteousness. But why is that important?
In the analogy of the long-distance driver running low on fuel, the only thing that will bring him satisfaction is getting fuel – regardless of the filling station. In the same vein, since the very Nature of God is just and pure, the only thing that will satisfy Him is that the demands of both justice and purity are satisfied – regardless of who meets that demand. Since no man could meet God’s extremely high standards of justice and purity, the flawless embodiment of perfection Himself offered to take the form of mortal, morally-inept mankind to satisfy the demands of both God’s justice and righteousness. Christianity is founded on this very premise: Anyone who believes in the act of substitution is both relieved of the need to settle the debts owed God on account of sin, while simultaneously having righteousness credited to his account in one fell swoop.
That is the reality of the Economics of the Kingdom.
Just like the case of complementary bundles in the fulfillment of purpose, there are also substitutes.
“…Wot ye not what the scripture saith of [Elijah]? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.” (Romans 11:2-4)
Note how God did not coddle Elijah after hearing the latter’s complaint about being the only one in Israel with any semblance of passion for God. On the contrary, God made Elijah understand two things: First, that Elijah could count himself blessed and highly-favored to be chosen by God – that is, Elijah was ranked high on God’s hierarchy of values and was therefore loved; and secondly, according to the Economics of the Kingdom, God had an abundance of substitutes who could slot into Elijah’s role satisfactorily and still bring God’s agenda into fruition!
This is instructive for every person who is a subject of God’s Kingdom. In His loving kindness, God has ordained complementary bundles comprising of you and certain people you will meet on your life’s path. However, if you drag your feet out of fear, or you deliberately choose to live in disobedience, such that you are unable to play your part in the continuously unfolding story of creation, God will not hesitate to substitute you. He swapped Saul out for David and He can do the same with you. Don’t tempt Him!.
III. Price
There is a cost attached to the attainment of anything desired.
Take the simple act of going to the grocery store to get bread. For simplicity’s sake, let’s suppose you have a budget of $5.
If you decide to spend your entire budget purchasing $5 worth of bread, your preference for bread has cost you $5. However, that is just one aspect of the cost you have incurred. Your choice to buy bread means that you are not able to buy other things such as milk, cereal, cookies, fruits, and so on. In secular economics, all the other things you could have purchased with your $5 are referred to as opportunity costs.
You also incur costs in the form of the physical effort it took to leave your house for the grocery store. You could have used that physical effort in the attainment of some other goals, like doing the dishes, or doing your laundry. In addition, there is the cost in the form of time. As with effort costs, there are numerous other things you sacrificed in order to spend your time at the grocery store. You could have used that time to call your loved ones, or to start working on that project you had been procrastinating for a long time.
The point is that there is a price that you must pay to get the things you have a preference for.
The same thing plays out in the Economics of the Kingdom.
Consider the following analogy given by Jesus in Luke 14:28-33,
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
Let’s pick apart the tower analogy.
A tower is not the only kind of building a landowner can construct. On the same piece of land, among the other options available to him, the landowner could also have chosen to build a tent or a bungalow. The fact that the landowner has settled with the idea of erecting a tower implies that on his hierarchy of values, the tower occupies the highest rung. That is, the landowner loves the tower and hates the other uses of the land.
As we have already established, preference expressed in words, emotions or thoughts and not in choice behavior is incomplete. Merely liking the idea of building a tower literally doesn’t mean a thing in the world if that idea does not translate into the act of building and finishing that tower. And here’s where costs come in. For instance, a regular house has a low center of gravity, which means that the highest point on its structure is closer to the ground and is therefore more stable. On the other hand, towers are built to be tall, which means that they have a higher center of gravity and are therefore likely to be more unstable than low-rising buildings. To counter this, the foundations of a tower are built to be both deeper and stronger than that of a regular-sized house. All these translate into costs. There are costs incurred first in constructing a foundation with enough depth, even as the landowner starts bracing himself for the costs necessary for erecting a building that is taller than others in the vicinity – more effort, more time, more money, more labor and more resources.
So, what does this first analogy mean to the subject of the Kingdom?
In addition to aesthetics and beauty, a completed tower provides at least two other things: Security (Proverbs 18:10, for example) and an elevated perception (Habakkuk 2:1, for example). Not every kind of building can adequately serve these additional purposes. But at the same time, not every building will suck up the same costs.
This is instructive: There are subjects in the Kingdom whose lives are like towers. They are the real-world exemplars of ‘a city set on the hill that cannot be hidden.’ Outsiders look at the lives of these models and covet the operations of God’s grace that are expressed through their lives. However, what we fail to consider are the costs these exemplars had to pay.
We overlook the effort and time costs involved in engaging in spiritual exercises such as prayer, fasting and meditations on the Word.
We ignore the intellectual costs involved in searching, researching and synthesizing classic compendiums of transgenerational wisdom and insight.
We commonize the costs these trailblazers had to pay in order to move from merely talking about their preferences to expressing them in their actions and choice behavior.
That’s why there is so much wisdom in the aphorism: Never criticize the size of a hunter’s bounty until you know how many traps he had set.
The second analogy in Jesus’ parable is similar to the first.
Historically speaking, a king who wages war against another kingdom does not do so merely because of the thrills. He has jesters and court entertainers for that.
Rather, wars are typically the result of one kingdom desiring to expand its territory into the jurisdiction of another for strategic, political or economical reasons. And as Jesus pointed out, a wise king on the offensive will only proceed to battle if he’s confident of his capabilities to bear the costs of fighting. If not, he must look for alternative ways to attain his goal.
In the same vein, subjects in the Kingdom can expand their territories and spheres of influence spiritually, intellectually, financially, and so on. Just like the landowner, a subject of the Kingdom who wants to expand his territory must be willing to pay the price for that expansion – otherwise, his preference for an expanded territory will merely remain in the domain of good ideas.
It’s not personal; it’s the operations of the Economics of the Kingdom.
IV. Efficiency
In theory, if not in practice, secular economics is set up to avoid waste by ensuring that resources are used maximally. By using logic and mathematical dexterity, secular economists are able to deduce the exact quantity of goods an economic decision-maker should produce (in the case of a firm) or consume (in the case of a consumer) to maximize profits (in the case of the firm) or satisfaction (in the case of a consumer) while minimizing costs. Production or consumption above or below this exact quantity of goods leads to inefficiencies and wastages which economists actively try to avoid.
In the real, practical world, however, economic decision-makers do not always act with the intention to minimize wastages and inefficiencies. For instance, a firm might have the resources to produce 1000 units of a good everyday. However, if the firm is the only one producing the goods in its region, it might choose to only produce 10 goods per day while increasing the unit price of each good. Economically speaking, this is an inefficiency, as the firm is “wasting” the resources it could have used to produce the remaining 990 units of goods. Yet, this is exactly what plays out in a monopoly.
Just like in secular economics, there is a bias against wastage in the Economics of the Kingdom. However, unlike secular economics where efficiencies are usually a theoretical ideal to aspire for, efficiencies are, for all intents and purposes, wired into the operations of the Kingdom.
Consider Jesus’ miracle involving the feeding of the five thousand,
“And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.” (Mark 6:41-43)
After the miraculous multiplication of food to feed the multitude, we find the disciples picking up the leftovers to ensure that nothing got wasted. There is no record of Jesus preventing them from doing so. Rather, although the Bible is silent about it, we can assume that the disciples gathered the food fragments because of Jesus’ instruction. To my human mind, anyone who can multiply food at the snap of the finger should not have to worry about preserving leftovers. Yet, in His position as the visible expression of the Unseen God, Jesus aligned the operations of His Ministry with the economics of the Kingdom and would not waste anything.
Another example that comes to mind is God’s approach to the creation process as described in Genesis 1:11-12,
‘And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.’
If Jesus had the capacity to multiply food whenever the need arose during His earthly Ministry, we can also believe that the Almighty God could have spent time and expended effort creating every new plant or herb on earth. Yet, God did not do that because that would be an inefficient use of His creative energies which would be a violation of the Economics of the Kingdom. Instead, He instituted the system of reproduction which would ensure the continued propagation of plant life on earth.
The same thing plays out in Genesis 1:28,
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
If He wanted to, God could have individually molded each and every human being on earth today – just like He did with Adam. And as with the creation of plants, doing so would have been an inefficient use of God’s resources. Consequently, God created a system that gave mankind the capabilities to reproduce.
The records of God’s creative process serves at least two functions: First, to initiate us to the Economics of the Kingdom; second, to serve as a model for us to imitate even as we serve as stewards of God-given resources in the form of time, effort, finances, and so on.
In the popular Faith’s Hall of Fame found in Hebrews 11, Samson is a surprising entrant that seemed kind of out of place.
For years, I battled with the idea of this man being counted as one of the heroes of faith.
Seriously, it didn’t make any sense to my little church mind.
Religion had taught me that Samson was a moral and character failure that had the biceps, but not much of a brain.
But, I believe that Samson’s name wouldn’t have occurred in Hebrews 11’s Faith Hall of Fame, if he didn’t have a particular trait of faith that the Holy Spirit wanted to pass across to us.
However, I’ve found some interesting answers…
First of all, I don’t believe that Samson was a physically imposing figure.
But what of the movies and comics?
For once, forget the comics and movies depicting Samson as a muscular guy with bulging biceps and a 6-pack abs.
Astonishing, right? Stay with me…
You see, when it comes to describing the physical attributes of individuals, the Bible is quite explicit about it.
For example, Saul was a head and shoulder taller than all the Israelites of his day (1 Samuel 10:23); while Zacchaeus was extremely short (Luke 19:3); and 2 Samuel 23:20 refers to the two lionlike men of Moab. By the way, Vashti (Esther 1:11) and Rachel (Genesis 29:17) were very, very, very beautiful women.
My point is this: If Samson had been a muscular specimen of a man, the Bible would have mentioned it!
And since the Bible was silent about Samson’s physical attributes, it’s safe to say that he was a very ordinary-looking guy. The Bible was also silent about Jesus’ physical looks…but that’s a matter for another day.
Samson did not look like this!
It’s important that we understand this, because it’s key to our understanding how Samson could be an example of faith to us.
Judges 13 reports the story of the circumstances surrounding Samson’s birth. His parents had received the revelation from the angel of the Lord, and they were given specific instructions on how he should be brought up as a Nazarene because he’d be the deliverer of the nation of Israel.
Note that, Samson had not been born when the angel visited his parents with God’s Word about his life and destiny as a deliverer. Yet, Samson would walk in supernatural strength for one single reason.
His parents told him about God’s Word concerning his destiny!
Of course, his parents told him, what’s the big deal?
Well, Romans 10:17 tells us the implication of that truth,
‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God’
That is what made Samson a man of faith.
Samson had no physical sign that could indicate to him that he was going to be a great deliverer filled with supernatural strength. He had no angel appear to him, neither did he see a glory cloud or feel a goose bump…
All that Samson had was the Word from the angel of the Lord that his Mama had told him!
It was that Word that was manifested when Samson tore a lion like a baby goat (Judges 14:6).
That same Word caused Samson to tear out the gates of Gaza (Judges 16:3).
That same Word provided the wisdom that Samson used in catching 300 foxes, pairing them by their tails and putting a burning stick between the tails (Judges 15:4).
That Word came to Samson by hearing God’s Word about him, as his parents told him!
Samson was able to look at things that were not seen with the eyes of faith – created by the Word. He was able to call things that are not as though they were, because somehow, Samson got to know that he did not need to see large biceps and triceps, complete with well-developed pecs and 6-pack abs to match, before God could use him mightily.
Samson didn’t need any of this. His parents had told him that he would be the deliverer of Israel. Samson believed, and the Spirit of God could move him as He willed.
Friend, Samson may not have been an epitome of excellence when it came to moral matters. But, in terms of having a crazy faith in God’s Word concerning his life, very few can trump Samson’s attitude.
Has God spoken His Mind concerning your destiny? Emulate Samson – a man of faith!
During the course of a Christmas break years ago, my fascination with quantum mechanics took a quantum leap.
For the uninitiated, quantum mechanics is a branch of physics that deals with the nature of matter at subatomic levels. ‘Subatomic’ implying sizes that are billions of times smaller than that of invisible atoms and electrons.
The funny thing is that I never really cared about Physics at any point in my life prior to that year. I had always considered the subject kind of vague and abstract and it never seemed to interest me.
However, that changed when I was reminded of a concept of quantum mechanics referred to as the ‘Wave-Particle Duality of Matter’. In simple terms, it means that at quantum levels, matter can either exist as a wave or a particle, but not as both at the same time.
You see, whenever the subatomic components of matter is manifested as a wave, it is actually a probabilistic pattern of where the subatomic component is most likely to be found. To get this idea, let’s assume that I am holding a ball which I intend to put into one of 10 square boxes in front of me. Now, while the ball is still in my hand, all the boxes have an equal chance of being picked, despite the fact that none of them physically has the ball in them. In the same way, at subatomic levels, matter exists simply as a wave of probability or potential of where it would most likely be found.
The whole story suddenly changes when an observer decides to observe this wave of probability/potential, because the subatomic matter would crystallize to form a particle at the exact point that was observed!!!
Now, I’m fully aware that some of you would roll your eyes and call this hogwash.
It’s not! All I’ve shared with you is practical science, with results that have been repeated in the labs, time and time again!
How then does all these relate to the Word?
Good question!
Hebrews 4:12 says, ‘For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword…’
The Word of God is a Living Force, full of unimaginable amounts of Life, Power, Wisdom, Direction, Understanding and Insights. However, just as in the Wave Property of Matter in Quantum Mechanics, that Direction, Power, Wisdom, Life or Insight that you need per time only exists in the form of potential that cannot be of any benefit to you….
…unless you observe it!
In the same way a wave would crystallize to form a particle wherever the observer looks, the Word you need to turn your life around for the better would crystallize anywhere you observe in the Word.
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that ALL Scripture is inspired by God. This implies that every single part of the Bible – including the ‘boring parts’ and the genealogies – is backed up by God’s Inspiration and Power. Every single page of the Bible has the power to change your life…if only you’d pick it up and read!
It’s so simple. It’s so profound.
Are you looking for a Word from God? Perhaps you’re waiting for another person to speak into your life, while you have your Bible under your armpit. Awake and stir yourself up. Take responsibility for your life and get your Bible. Observe the pages of the Word, and watch spiritual possibilities crystallizing into the physical realities you desire to see in your life!
Stories in the Bible are compelling because they are packed with multiple layers of meaning. One reason for this is that the Bible stories describe reality on different levels at the same time.
Christians are already familiar with how the Bible describes the realities of the spiritual realm. We are made aware of how we can either yield ourselves to the influence of God and angels in the kingdom of heaven or to the devil and demons in the kingdom of darkness. There’s no middle ground. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. In the David and Goliath story, David was victorious because he was under the influence of God’s Kingdom and Goliath lost because he wasn’t. It couldn’t be any simpler.
The same David and Goliath story describes the realities of an “objective”, physical realm. In a talk he did years ago, Malcolm Gladwell, the bestselling New York Times journalist, gave an account of the David and Goliath story from another perspective. According to Gladwell, Goliath had a medical condition known as acromegaly which is the result of the overproduction of growth hormones by the pituitary gland in the brain. People with acromegaly have enlarged body parts and may experience symptoms such as impaired vision and limited mobility. If he indeed had acromegaly with its attendant symptoms, Malcolm Gladwell argued that from the onset of the face-off with David, Goliath was doomed to suffer defeat. The lesson here is that physical advantages can spell your doom in another context. As the Yoruba people say, The hand of a child cannot reach the ceiling, the hand of an adult cannot enter a gourd.
The Bible stories also describe the world of phenomena perceived from the viewpoint of subjective human consciousness and experience. Indeed, despite the conflict between science and religion, the Bible still remains the oldest psychological book. This post will be unpacking some of the psychological insights compressed into the David and Goliath story.
Whoever Controls the Frames, Holds the Power
Let’s imagine a scenario with two men. The first man, Mr. A, is well-to-do and has 4 cars, while Mr. B has only 1 car. If you were to give both men an additional car each, which man will be happier? Studies have suggested that Mr. B will feel a greater amount of happiness than Mr. A. Similarly, if you were to take one car away each from both men, Mr. B will feel more pain than Mr. A.
But that leaves an important question: Why would both men feel a different degree of happiness (or sadness) when the same number of cars is given (or taken away) from them? The reason is fairly straightforward. Both men are in different initial states. In other words, they have different frames of reference. Mr. A already has 4 cars, so giving or taking away one car from his collections is not going to affect his happiness much. On the other hand, taking away one car from Mr. B is likely to be hurtful to him because that will mean that he no longer has a car. And when you give Mr. B a car, his happiness will be great because you have literally doubled the number of cars he has!
People’s behaviors in a particular context are dependent on the frames of reference that are active in that context. In the presence of food, a man who just arrived from a dinner date will behave very differently from a man who hasn’t had anything to eat in the past three days. Similarly, on a hot day, the individual who has been indoors all day will not drink as much water as the individual who just came back from a run. Frames of reference even change rapidly from moment to moment. That explains, for instance, why the first bite you take while eating a meal is more satisfying than subsequent bites. At each moment, you’re in a different place, psychologically speaking.
In the David and Goliath story, you find that Goliath held psychological power over the Israelites because he changed everyone’s frames of reference. Even though the Israelites were in the same physical place with the Philistine soldiers, the two armies were in different psychological spaces.
Under normal circumstances, opposing armies simply arranged themselves in position and fought. Every soldier knew his tactical and strategic roles, as well as what was expected of him. What constituted victory and defeat was clear and members of the opposing factions conducted themselves accordingly.
By changing the rules of engagement, Goliath redefined the criteria for victory and defeat. Rather than fight in a war where victory was determined by the military savviness of the warring armies, Goliath wanted man-on-man combat:
Choose a man for yourselves and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” Again the Philistine said, “I defy the battle lines of Israel this day; give me a man so that we may fight together.”
The amazing part of this story is not just Goliath’s 9-foot frame or the sophistication of his weapons. Rather, it is the fact that he dictated the frames of reference for everyone on the battleground and everyone behaved as though they agreed – consciously or unconsciously. No one engaged according to the rules of combat they were already familiar with. Rather everyone, particularly the Israelites, were paralyzed into a state of passive compliance.
As an interesting comparison, when you place an animal in an unfamiliar space – before it starts to sniff around for threats and opportunities – it freezes in a state of inaction. This is the observation that informs the colloquial expression, “Looking like a deer caught in the headlights”. By controlling the frames of reference, Goliath took the Israelites to a place they were unfamiliar with. And when you are in a place you are unfamiliar with, you will look like a deer caught in the headlights. That’s why whoever controls the frames of reference in an interaction wields the power in that interaction.
Also worthy of note is how God inspired David to defeat Goliath by the same rules that the behemoth had laid out. Just as Goliath had changed the rules of combat and took the Israelite army into unknown territory, David also changed the frames for Goliath.
And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
As Malcolm Gladwell noted in the talk referenced earlier, Goliath expected to engage in close combat with whoever came forward to fight for the honor of the Israelites. That had been the implicit terms of the frames of reference he had laid out for the battle.
Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him….
The last thing Goliath expected was to have a projectile hurled towards his forehead at speed from distance. Yet, that was exactly what happened as he embarked on a one-way trip to a psychological space foreign to him. The tables had turned and now, it was Goliath’s “deer-caught-in-the-headlights” moment from which he could never recover.
Error is Variation and You Need More in Your Life
In a previous post, I talked about how the life of the average person in the 21st century is devoid of variation. Individuals who permit variation in their lives are more likely to encounter alternative histories with potentially life-changing outcomes. They are the ones likely to forge quality relationships at a networking event. They are the ones likely to come in contact with paradigm-shifting ideas that could revolutionize entire fields and industries.
When we think about David’s life leading up to the encounter with Goliath, we find that the kind of life he led afforded him the opportunity to incorporate variation into his day-to-day existence.
But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem
David occasionally left the routine, security, and predictability of the king’s palace to confront the unknown as a shepherd in the wilderness. As a result, David was exposed to more variability than he would never have encountered in a controlled environment like in the city.
For instance, at some point, David would have had to care for numerous sheep who may have gotten injured or sick at unpredictable times. Despite this not happening every day, the occurrence of sickness or injury to sheep in a flock remained within the realm of possibilities. Because these events could not be predicted ahead of time, David must have developed the skills necessary for taking care of a sheep when it was sick or injured.
In the same vein, David was exposed to the uncertain weather elements as he discharged his duties in the wilderness. Since there were no meteorological devices at the time, David needed to be ready for the possibility of sudden weather changes. As soon as the first raindrops fell from the sky, David had to find a way to get himself and the sheep under the shelter. Again, weather changes are always a possibility, even if they do not happen all the time. Over time, David must have developed the skills for coordinating his father’s sheep in response to sudden changes in the elements.
Finally, David was more likely to encounter wild animals in the wilderness than within the protected walls of the city. Note that hungry predators do not announce their intentions in advance. Rather, they all show up without any prior warning. In response to the possibilities of attack, David must have developed self-defense skills to keep himself and the sheep safe as they roamed the wilderness.
Indeed, life is like a series of games with different rules running at the same time. The more wide-ranging your skills are, the higher your probabilities of winning a good number of these games. You are equipped with the wide-ranging skills necessary for winning only when you are willing to confront the unknown by incorporating variation in your life.
Leaders are not Born, They are Shaped
Humans have the ability to categorize things into groups based on their similarity. Broadly speaking, people that have the same physical features can be said to belong to the same racial group. Fluorine, Chlorine, and, Iodine, are all elements possessing overlapping chemical and physical properties. As a result, they are said to belong to the same chemical group. This tendency for categorization is not limited to just tangibles, such as physical appearances or chemical compositions, but also our experiences. Experiences that make us feel a particular way are perceived by the mind as belonging to the same category.
In his conversation with King Saul, notice how David lumped the dead lion, the dead bear and a still living Goliath into the same category:
But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
David could not have been confident in his ability to defeat Goliath if he had not gotten the experience of defeating the lion and bear. Likewise, there was no way David would have defeated the violent beasts of prey if he had not been exposed to the possibility of such events in the wilderness. Indeed, the most dependable people in times of crisis are those who have habitually confronted the unknown with courage over time.
Many people desire victory over the Goliaths that rear up their ugly faces in their lives. Unfortunately, they cannot recall a single event where they confronted the unknown and emerged victorious. This is because they have no experiences in their histories that fall into that category of personal victories. All they have ever done is run away from the slightest scent of discomfort. As a result, such people will produce that famed “deer-caught-in-the-headlights” reaction when faced with uncertainty.
It has been said that leaders are not born, they are forged. Exceptional leaders are shaped into what they are, by the gradual, repeated exposure to various situations where the odds are stacked heavily against them. David did not just wake up overnight with the confidence to confront Goliath. On the contrary, that confidence had been shaped into him by the events that played out in the wilderness. The comparatively ‘smaller’ victories God gave David over the bear and the lion created experiences that could be categorized into his mind as the same thing. Consequently, as David faced Goliath, all he saw was another event waiting to be filed into his category of personal victories. And that’s exactly what played out.
The first of the 7 indisputable laws of Potential Crystallization is what I call the Law of Exuberance.
The Law of Exuberance states, ‘There is an abundance of lively potentials and possibilities bubbling
within and around you.’
In the world of computer programming, the concept of open-source software intrigues me every
time.
Here’s how it works:
From time to time, brilliant programmers spend
countless hours perfecting a software that is designed to solve a problem.
According to the laws of demand and supply, money flows wherever solutions to problems are. Therefore, it follows logic that whenever there’s a software that can solve a specific problem, the creators should charge people money for the benefit of using the said software to solve their problems. And that is what normally plays out in the normal marketplace.
But it’s at this juncture that the concept of open-source software makes an unexpected
detour.
Rather than ask the users to pay money as the software
is utilized, these programmers do the exact opposite – they share the program’s
source code, blueprints, and documentation freely with anybody that is
interested in it. That’s tantamount to spending years of research creating a
drug that can cure cancer, only to show everybody how to create it themselves
in 10 minutes!
Indeed, this kind of unhindered giving is only
possible with a perfect understanding of the Law of Exuberance.
When the creators of these open-source software develop them, their dominant paradigm is not
the fear that someone will steal their idea and profit from it.
Rather, on the contrary, their dominant paradigm is
two-fold: First, they know that that there is an abundance of good ideas bubbling
within and around them, from which they can always go back to draw from;
secondly, they know that their software is not in the most perfect form yet,
and that it takes input from others to bring the program to its full
capabilities.
The immediate goal of these folks is not to make as
much money as possible, but rather, to play their role as solution providers!
Perhaps, it is no wonder that these open-source programmers either go on to
establish great IT companies, or more likely, get snapped up by
multi-million-dollar companies who provide the money, the platform and the resources
to keep on producing programs and software that attempt to solve even more
ambitious problems.
The truth is that the vast majority of us were raised
with a scarcity mentality.
We were taught that there is never going to be enough
resources for everybody.
We were taught that there was only one way to win – finding
a way to ensure that every other person lost.
We were taught to act as animals in the jungle – totally
lacking in understanding and reacting solely on impulse.
We forget Proverbs 11:24 which says, ‘There is one who scatters yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty’
The more you give, the more likely you are to receive.
The less you flow into others, the more likely you are
to stink with stagnation!
Unfortunately, living from a paradigm of scarcity is
like having logs of wood in place of eyes. You will be rendered totally
oblivious to the abundance that is already around and within you.
If you want to crystallize your potentials without any
tears, your default belief system must be one of abundance.
Your outlook towards life must be abundance.
You need to deliberately acknowledge abundance in
everything you do.
You need to deliberately acknowledge abundance in
everything you say.
You need to deliberately acknowledge abundance in your
thoughts and reasonings.
This is not a call to trick yourself into living a
lie.
On the contrary, this is a call to acknowledge the
real objective truth – that there is an
abundance of potentials and possibilities around you!
‘Unless you become aware of the spiritual realities, you can never profit from them’
– The Law of Cognizance
The year 1940 saw the Nazi German army at the height of its military superiority during World War II.
At the Battle of Dunkirk, the Allied armies, comprising mostly of British and French soldiers found themselves in a very precarious situation.
The German soldiers had ruthlessly taken advantage of an oversight in the French defensive line, while hitherto neutral nearby nations like the Netherlands and Belgium had also surrendered to the Germans.
This resulted in the Allied forces outmaneuvered and trapped by the German soldiers in all directions.
In addition, the Germans had planes that could fly over the trapped Allied armies and make short work of them with powerful bombs.
And to make matters worse for the Allied forces, retreat was impossible because they were bottled up in a water corridor that was about 97 kilometers deep and 24 kilometers long. There was no way the Allied armies were going to swim the long way home to escape their predicament.
Yet, over the course of 10 days, from May 26 – June 4,
1940, more than 300,000 Allied soldiers were able to escape from Dunkirk with
the aid of boats and ships sent from England.
It turned out that for some eerie reasons, the German army momentarily halted its advance towards the trapped soldiers.
For three whole days!
That was more than enough time for the Allied forces to organize their evacuation efforts.
To this day, there is no consensus on why the German army decided to slow down their offensive at Dunkirk for three whole days, when the logical thing to do would have been to continue charging towards the trapped Allied armies and totally crushing them.
In my opinion, the actions of the German army at the
Battle of Dunkirk in 1940 will continue to be a cause of bewilderment to
historians for one simple reason. Historians always analyze past events from a
solely physical paradigm.
On the other hand, the accounts of war told in the
Bible give a more complete picture of the variables that determine the results
of different battles fought.
For instance, 1 Chronicles 14:10-17 gives an account
of two battles fought between the Israeli army and that of the Philistines.
Before the first battle, King David of the Israeli
army inquired from God to see whether he should go ahead and engage the enemy.
God gave the king the green light and the result was a rout in favor of Israel.
Soon, another battle with the same enemy became
imminent and David inquired of God again – refusing to take spiritual dynamics
for granted.
This time, however, God’s instructions were slightly
different.
‘…and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.’ – 1 Chronicles 14:14-15
God asked David to stand under the shade of mulberry
trees and listen for the sounds of marching feet!
To the logical mind, that did not make any sense
whatsoever.
For starters, you don’t stand idle when the threat of war is real. You gather your resources and prepare your army for battle.
In addition, it is impossible to march on branches and leaves still attached to the trunk of a tree. Besides, to the natural mind, merely standing under a tree to listen for a sound that others cannot hear is hardly a military strategy, especially when you know that the enemy is going to be better prepared because of their thirst for revenge.
He knew that the factors that determine victory in battle were more than the number of soldiers, horses, and chariots that an army had. David had an understanding that failure on his part to stay aware of the spiritual variables of war could cost him and his army severe losses.
David’s choice to stay consistently aware of the
dynamics of the spiritual realm brought him and his army their desired results.
‘David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer. And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations.’ – 1 Chronicles 14:10-17
Interestingly, there were spiritual dynamics at play
during the Battle of Dunkirk that contemporary historians sometimes overlook
during their analyses.
Just before the British military leaders embarked on
sending boats and ships to evacuate the trapped Allied armies, the king of
England at the time, King George VI called for a National Day of Prayer where
he implored everyone under his jurisdiction to cry out to God for divine help. And
his people responded, as there are eyewitness accounts, as well as photographs
proving that the entire nation went on their knees, crying out to God for
deliverance.
Just like King David centuries before him, King George
VI understood that there were spiritual realities that were available to him
and his nation.
As the nation took advantage of their connection to God’s Strength, Wisdom and Power in the spiritual realm, interesting events were unfolding in the physical realm.
As mentioned earlier, first, the German authorities decided not to press their advantage at Dunkirk for three whole days.
Then, the weather at the battlefield became very cloudy, such that it was not possible for the Germans to use their bomber planes in making life unbearable for the trapped Allied armies.
Even more remarkable, the water corridor was very calm, such that the evacuation efforts of the Allied armies via ships and boats were much easier than it would have been had the waters been turbulent.
Understand this: Talent, planning, and strategy will only take you so far.If you fail to take cognizance of the influence of the spiritual realm on events in the physical realm, you will always fall short in the long run.
From numerous studies, as well as my personal experience, I have come to discover that success leaves clues every time. That’s simply the Creator’s mode of operation. It’s a Divine setup designed to give you an unfair advantage on this side of eternity. As a result, every iota of potential that is trapped within and around you can be conjured with remarkable predictability.
No wonder, the Great Teacher said these grand words that are both powerful and sad because of how true they have consistently been since time immemorial:
“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
In the short video below, I share the 7 Immutable Laws that govern the crystallization and manifestation of every potential trapped within and around you.
The 7 Immutable Laws of Potential Crystallization that I share in the video include:
The Law of Exuberance
The Law of Intangibility
The Law of Cognizance
The Law of Engagement
The Law of Shared Realms
The Law of Enunciation
The Law of Positive Feedback
At some point in the nearest future, I would expand these concepts into a short eBook. However, for now, I want you to familiarize yourself with these laws so that you can start unleashing every single drop of potential that God has dropped within and around you.
The
first form of fear is the fear of the
unknown, which usually arises as a result of the uncertainties that one may
have about venturing into the unseen realm.
The
second is the fear of change, which
rises as a result of the individual being comfortable with his status quo.
People experiencing this kind of fear kick against any form of change because
they have already adapted to their situations and do not wish to stretch beyond
their comfort zones.
The final form of fear we would discuss is what I like to call the fear of man. This kind of fear arises when a person refuses to engage in observing the unseen because of the high esteem that he has given to the ‘tested and trusted’ opinions of men. Over the course of this post, we have been able to increase our awareness of the vast riches and potential that exists in the unseen realm. It is often sad to see an individual refusing to indulge in observing the unseen because of a bunch of mediocre opinions.
The
Anatomy Of Fear
Many
forms of fear are false!
Fear simply means False Events Appearing Real. I know that may sound trite, but majority of our fears are founded on a totally inaccurate description of reality. Fear is established on apparent realities that do not hold water as soon as the facts are changed.
For years, people feared venturing into the ocean in search of new territories. Why? They wrongly assumed that the earth was flat and that if one ventured far enough, such person would fall off the edge into oblivion. There was no proof that the earth was flat, instead, nature pointed to the contrary. Eventually, bold men, such as Christopher Columbus and his crew, ventured into the sea, far beyond where other men had assumed the edge of the earth was. Christopher Columbus continued going forward until he discovered the hitherto unknown American continent.
The
facts were changed! Man no longer feared the edge of the earth, because there
was none. Instead, as a result of the facts being changed, the European
superpowers began the conquest and subsequent colonization of the American
continent.
Interestingly,
this was not the only time man’s fears were redefined when the facts were
changed.
Malaria used to be a death sentence, but Quinine and Artemisinin changed that.
Man
couldn’t fly anything heavier than lead without a balloon attached to it, but
an understanding of the workings of lift, thrust and aerodynamics changed that.
Wireless
communication used to be impractical, but an understanding of electromagnetic
waves has turned the entire world into a global village.
Till
the time when the world would come to an end, the facts would continue to
change and man will continue to push the borders of possibilities.
The
story of Christopher Columbus shows us why we need to be responsible with the
kind of inputs that we permit in our lives. Granted, the scientific discoveries
and technological advancements in Columbus’ day is nothing compared to what we
have today, and as a result, many of the accepted beliefs of his day were drawn
from anecdotes of men, rather than experimental experiences. However, at a
point, Christopher Columbus challenged the popularly held belief that the earth
was flat. As there was no way to test his new position, Columbus decided to
venture out that far into the sea, to see for himself what lay beyond the then
known world. He refused to accept the opinions of men as the final authority.
Instead, he mastered his fear, ventured into the unknown and came back with
news of a new continent that had been there all along.
You
need to be responsible with the kind of inputs that you permit into your life.
As I mentioned in the chapter about your Imagination, if you continue to
consume inappropriate inputs from books, songs, movies and the news media,
you’d keep on feeding your mind with the appropriate materials to keep your fear-full. Other inputs that may keep
you fearful include your personal prejudices which have been informed by your
cultural or religious beliefs, your family or educational backgrounds, as well
as certain traditions of men which have been generally accepted as the perfect
explanation of reality, despite being wrong – as in the case of Christopher
Columbus.
The truth is that until you are more responsible with the kind of inputs that you permit into your life, you’d find it increasingly difficult to eliminate fear; and if you are continually fearful, it is virtually impossible to observe the unseen.
– Promise Tewogbola
Why?
Good question.
You
see, when you consistently consume the wrong kinds of input, you’d find you
meditative process gradually gravitating towards the negative direction.
When you are constantly focused on the negative, worse-case scenarios in every issue, your meditation becomes full-blown worry. Now, the more you worry, the more you see more reasons to worry and if you keep at this long enough, your imagination takes up the baton from there. As you keep on worrying, your mechanical imagination starts playing your worries in 3D pictures, so that you are able to clearly see the worst-case scenarios you are worrying about.
You have to realize that the mind is very powerful. This is because, as you start seeing pictures of what you are worrying about, you’d also start seeing new information to worry about. When this happens, your mechanical imagination also catches up by playing you the most appropriate pictures to feed your newly-found worry. This cycle continues on and on until you’re able to find a way to get out of it.
This
is why we need to be very careful of the kind of inputs that we allow to be fed
into our minds. If we are not responsible in this area, our meditations would
become full-blown worry, and our imagination will start working against us,
instead of for us. When this happens, we delve into the realm of fear and we
are unable to access the wealth of possibilities in the unseen realm.
Take note of this: At the root of all forms of fear is the seed of inappropriate inputs.
– Promise Tewogbola
I
have good news for you, though.
It
is very possible to eliminate the fear that is preventing you from observing
the unseen realm.
It’s
also quite easy to do so too.
You see, understanding fear, not the absence of fear, is the key to overcoming it.
– Promise Tewogbola
Destroy Fear Through Elimination By Selection
One powerful way you can replace the wrong inputs with the right inputs is by being more selective in the kinds of music that you listen to.
You see, there is nothing like good or bad music. In fact, the kind or style of music that you listen to speaks more about your personality more than anything else. On the other hand, good or bad lyrics may be played alongside musical notes. Thus, you need to be very careful and highly selective with the kinds of music that you listen to. You need to be proactive and responsible with the kinds of music that you allow to filter through your ears. Music lyrics have a way of permeating through your subconscious mind and affect your moods in the long run.
I
can list so many anecdotes – personal and other peoples’ – about how this
works.
For
instance, another former colleague of mine was telling me the story of how she
tried to console herself with some kind of songs after a particularly messy
break up. She recalled crying helplessly when she listened to one song in
particular. According to her, the song reminded her of the ‘good’ times that
she had with her erstwhile boyfriend.
Now,
I don’t know the particular song that my colleague was listening to, but my
main concern is that the mere lyrics of that song evoked such a powerful
emotion within her that she started crying.
The
guy that broke her heart was not in the room. Perhaps, the two of them were not
even on speaking terms.
Yet,
a song was able to replay the emotional hurt that the break up caused and she
relived it again and again.
I’m
sure you can imagine what the effect that songs that applaud rape, incest,
adultery, murder, bitterness, envy, strife and other vices would be on your
observation of the unseen.
Of
course, you’d naturally have a skewed view of the realities of the unseen
realm. You’d walk in fear, because you’ve continually listened to that rap
verse on cold blooded murder. You’d walk in uncertainty about your future
because that your favorite soul song tells you that life is not worth living
anymore. You’d limit yourself and what you can achieve because you’ve exposed
yourself to that song tells you that the times are hard despite the fact that
millions are making their millions, even in the so-called hard times.
Look,
I’m not castigating you on your choice of music. As I’ve said before, there is
no good music or bad music. Rather, the kind of music you listen to speaks more
about your personality than your character. However, you need to be responsible
with the kind of lyrics that you listen to. Anytime you listen to a song, you
need to ask yourself this question: Is
this song planting seeds of fear and death that would hinder me from attaining
mastery in the art of observation?
Destroy Fear Through Elimination By Reduction
It
would be my guess that the media works by the mantra: Bad news is good news because it sells!
That
would have been funny if it was not sad.
Remember the story of Eve and the serpent in Genesis 3?
Verse
2 and 3 says, ‘And the woman said unto
the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden [the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil], God hath
said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither
shall ye touch it, lest ye die’
The truth is that we live in the information age where the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is right at the tip of your finger. And believe me sincerely, except you live a minimalist life in some remote place on the face of the earth, it is certain that you take your daily dose of information every day.
If
you neither read the papers nor listen to the 9 o’clock news, at least you have
your social media account!
We
live in a generation that is hooked to social media and if you do not read the
papers or watch the news, information will still stream in your direction by
virtue of your News feed that is renewed every moment!
By
the time we are done with this session, you’d have no choice than to agree with
me that over-exposure to the news – the way it is being presented today – would
you harm than good.
You
see, the media has a way of blowing things out of proportion!
If
you are the type that is accustomed to taking input from the news consistently,
you might just be laying down the foundation for fear in your life.
I was watching a video where Ryan Holiday, while talking about his book, Trust Me I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator, explained how the media operates like a racket – operated for the benefit of a few at the expense of everybody else. According to him, since the world’s paradigm of information and news has shifted from scarcity to abundance, accuracy of information is no longer important. This is because media companies believe that we live in an age where information can be theoretically corrected, so reporters don’t bother to pay attention to the accuracy of their stories. This means that even if a media outlet gets the information wrong the first time, they always have the chance to fix the previous story with another one without a loss of reputation. Furthermore, since there is a competition for reader’s attention with the advent of more media outlets in this generation, news has to be louder, more extreme and more ‘gossipy’ to break through the noise. Besides, since reporters, especially those on the net, are paid based on the amount of web traffic they can generate, there is the motivation to churn out extreme and exaggerated news.
Another friend of mine who studied Mass Communication in the university told me about the Bullet Theory. According to this theory, the media’s message is like a bullet that is consistently fired into the viewer’s head, with the viewer totally unable to do anything about it. Anytime I think about the Bullet Theory, I am reminded of the Message Bible’s translation of Romans 8:36, “We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.” In this day and age, we have a passive relationship with the media where we accept everything that the media gorges down our throats without giving it so much as a thought. My point is that the media has a way of blowing things out of proportion and if you are accustomed to taking inputs from the news consistently, you are laying down the foundations for fear in your life. Now, don’t get me wrong. There are definitely good things that you can get from the news at times. However, the media is designed to manipulate people and keep them coming back for more bad news – day in, day out. You cannot afford that shipload of negative input if you are serious about eliminating fear.
Culled from my upcoming book “You Too Can Be Free To Master the Art of Observation:Timeless Principles for Effortlessly Crystallizing Every Single Potential Trapped Within and Around You”.
I learned a powerful lesson in consciousness when I went to my favorite supermarket some months ago.
I needed a black dye, but I did not know whether or not it was available in the store because I had never needed it.
So, I asked one of the workers there and sure enough, the guy directed me to the aisle where the dye was.
Equipped with the knowledge, I walked towards an aisle that I had passed nearly a thousand times before and picked up my desired item.
While I now knew where to get a black dye anytime I need it in the future, there are still thousands and thousands of products on other aisles in the supermarket that I was totally oblivious to their existence.
Did my ignorance make them less real?
No. The products were still there, but since I did not have the knowledge and need for these products, I was unable to see or experience them – in spite of the fact that they were located in the same supermarket!
You see, everything you’d ever need to live a successful and fulfilled life has already been created. It already exists. Just like my dye was already on its aisle in my favorite supermarket. However, just like I was unable to access my dye till I got help, a lot of people will never be able to access everything that has been provided for them because they do not have a consciousness of where to get it!
Your consciousness is one of the most potent forces that govern the quality of your experiences on this side of eternity. However, by understanding how to harness the power of your consciousness, you would be able to unleash every single drop of potential that God has wrapped within the fibers of your essence.
Have a Consciousness of The Invisible
This is the deal: People have not yet gotten it into their craniums that there are two aspects to life. These are: The physical realm, which constitutes of all that we can interact with our 5 senses and logically explain. And the spiritual realm, which is the invisible causal realm of completed perfect forms which can only be sensed by our spirits.
You see, every individual is essentially made up of 3 parts: spirit, soul and body. However, ever since the Fall, every child given birth to had a dead spirit that was separated from the Life-Giving Essence of God. So, such a child could only interact with his environment with his five senses (body) and his will, emotions, intellect, and conscience (soul). However, when such a person accepts Christ as his Lord and Savior, the very Life-Giving Essence of God quickens the spirit of such man – making it alive and responsive to God!
Unfortunately, spending years on a worldview which is solely conscious of the physical world can take its toll on your consciousness and the quality of your life. It’s only when you have renewed your mind on the Word of God (Romans 12:2) that such mental shackles are shattered.
For instance, Ephesians 2:6 tells us that as believers in the finished work of Christ, God has “made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Note that the verb in that verse didn’t say ‘we will be made to sit’ or ‘He is making us sit’
Nope. The verse says God ‘has made us sit together in heavenly places.’
That’s past tense. A done deal!
But how can we be seated in ‘heavenly places’ if we are still very much alive in the physical realm?
Well, that’s because we live twice! In the spiritual realm, as well as, in the physical realm.
Yet, so many people don’t have the right consciousness and they live as though all there is to life is in the ‘here’ and ‘now’. A few more believe that their forays into the spiritual realm would only kickoff when they physically die.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Jesus said, “…he that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 3:16, 6:47).
Do you think Jesus was merely referring to life in heaven after one’s death?
No, it includes the perks too. He was referring to the manifestation of the realities of heaven, here on earth. That’s everlasting life!
No sickness, no pain, no lack, no want. That’s everlasting life!
A life of purpose, abundance, fulfillment. That’s also part of the package called everlasting life.
As it is in heaven, that’s how it is on earth!
That’s the kind of life that Jesus Himself lived here on earth and He wants you to lead the same.
Have a Consciousness of The Finished Work
Genesis 1:1 is a verse that everybody should be really familiar with. It says,
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”
The first time I really meditated on this verse, the verb ‘created’ literally jumped out to me.
Note how the verse did not say,
“In the beginning, God began to create the heaven and the earth.”
Rather, in that verse, we have the past tense form of the verb ‘create’
This implies that in the beginning, God had already completed the creation of everything that needed to be created in heaven and on earth. He had already met every need that would ever be needed on the earth. God had already provided answers for every question that would ever be asked on earth. God had already dished out more than enough wealth and provision for everybody in each generation that would ever tread upon the face of the earth.
In the beginning, it was already finished.
In the beginning, the deal was already completed.
Right there, in the beginning, all prayers had been answered and all needs met.
In that very first verse, everything that would be necessary for a successful life had been created for every single individual that would be born.
Yes, in the beginning, everything was already completed in the spiritual realm of abundant perfect forms!
That’s why God did not bother creating anything on the physical earth for the remainder of the creation story.
All He did was to speak into physical manifestation everything that He knew was already present in the spiritual realm.
‘According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue’
Note how the verb is in the past participle form. God created you for glory and virtue and that is why in His Divine Power, He has given us every single thing that we would need to enjoy a full and godly life.
There’s more than enough for everybody.
There is more than enough resources.
There’s more than enough power.
There is more than enough for every single individual that has tread, that is treading, and that will ever tread the surface of this earth.
You were not created to manage through life. No! You were created to enjoy abundance here on earth. But you’d never walk in this abundance if you do not have the consciousness of this abundance. You would never access this wealth available to you if you do not have the consciousness of the fact that there is more than enough to go around.
However, this wealth is a spiritual reality and if you lack the consciousness of the fact that everything is created twice, you would be cheating yourself out of the abundance that God has made available for you.
My Consciousness Story
I remember a time when I was in a desperate need for a job. I was reaching my breaking point because I was starting to get really overwhelmed by my current situation. You know, it’s funny how all the Bible knowledge you’ve accumulated over time seems to desert you in the time of your need.
Anyways, God being faithful started reminding me of this very fact that I am sharing with you – you need to be conscious that there is a spiritual realm, as well as the physical realm. I started gaining my consciousness of the fact that I had everlasting life within me.
This was when it occurred to me that I would be doing myself a great disservice if I lived without a consciousness of the invisible abundance available to me at any given time.
It was like someone switched on my brain! My worries dissolved like a pillar of salt in water.
Since I made that shift in consciousness, I started becoming very thankful for getting a job. If you had seen me during that period, you would have thought that I won the lottery. Such was my happiness and excitement because of my consciousness of the abundance present in the spiritual realm of perfect forms.
Within two months, I got a job.
As I mentioned earlier, your consciousness is one of the most potent forces that govern the quality of your experiences on this side of eternity. The moment you start becoming conscious of the fact that there is a spiritual realm of perfect forms, it’s only a matter of you walking up to the aisle you want and picking up the items you need – be it peace, health or wealth.
If you want to learn more about consciousness, here are some other posts that I have written on the topic
