VANTAGE POINT

Demanding the Uneven

            ‘Sad is the day for any man when he becomes absolutely satisfied with the life that he is living and the deeds he is doing; until there  ceases to be forever beating at the door of his soul a desire to do something larger which he seeks and knows he was meant and intended to do.’’ – Phillip Brooks.

Man was created for a purpose infinitely greater and wider than the scope of his imagination. Specially designed and crafted by the master-potter himself, in his very likeness, every human is fully capable of living an extraordinary life. If God declares us gods, who are we to desire to be ordinary men? Who are we to doubt Him?

‘I said: ‘you are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High.’’ – Ps 82:6

A god is one who possesses divine characteristics. God has deposited his attributes within us. In essence, we have no excuse to be less than extraordinary.

‘The only person who can stop you from becoming what you intend to become is you’’.

-          Dr John Maxwell.

You do not want to wake up on your 70^th birthday with regrets wishing you could start over. It begins now.

The artist, who composed the popular song, ‘Coat of many colors’, Dolly Parton once said:

‘Find out who you are and do it on purpose’’.

We really cannot afford to live by chance, to rest on our oars and allow circumstances dictate the course of our lives. We’ve got to live more deliberately, more intentionally. Every thought, word and deed carefully crafted purposefully to create a beautiful and relevant tapestry.

The problems around us are crying out to be solved. The economic situation of the world, the seemingly endless wars and terrorist  strikes, the moral depravity of the society, the hopelessness invading the lives of several people all need to be dealt with.

The world needs you to rise up to your life’s mission. We honestly cannot do that by doing the same things we’ve been doing.

Many people have decided it is too much to exert themselves in order to succeed. A lot of us have given up on Nigeria. Regardless of that, now more than ever, we are direly needed to shine forth the light of God, to put our brains to work and act promptly. I think our problem is rooted in the fact that a lot of us are scared and believe it’s useless to sacrifice anything anymore for this nation. However, no genuine sacrifice goes to waste.

You cannot be committed to comfort and at the same time be committed to Christ. You cannot be committed to making a difference, to being extraordinary if you’re not ready to lose some skin.

‘The desire to survive keeps us at a mediocre level of living. It eats away at our conviction until we find it too easy to compromise and next to impossible to confront.’’ (John Maxwell. ‘Be all you can be. Chapter 12: I don’t have to survive).

To make a difference, we have to constantly confront, constantly demand, constantly challenge. You don’t get to a place of advantage by being lackadaisical. It does not come delivered on a platter of gold.

You need inspiration; passion, discipline, humility, assertiveness, motivation and sacrifice. Confront your fears and seeming inadequacies. Believe and dare to achieve. Demand the Unusual. Demand the Extraordinary. Demand the Uneven.

FAWOLE, Tolulope