John ESENE

             God said to Cain in Gen. 4:6-7, “Why are you angry? Why that scowl on your face? If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling; but because you have done evil, sin is crouching at your door. It wants to rule you, but you must overcome it.” Here we realize that God does not want us to sin when we are angry but most times, we go on and commit sin like Cain even when we receive warning. Do not blame the goat or lizard for climbing your collapsed wall. Blame the collapsed wall rather.

    Most times, we try to make people angry unnecessarily. When we should place ourselves in their positions to ascertain how we will feel if we are in their shoes. By the Red Sea, when there was no way to escape from the wrath of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, the Israelites forgot so soon how God led them out of Egypt with a mighty hand. “We told you to leave us alone and let us go on being slaves of Egyptians. It would be better to be slaves than to die here in the desert” Ex. 14:12.  After all the good work Moses was doing for the Israelites, they made him angry unnecessarily.

           A man who killed his wife and two children on January 11, 2019 made the following confessional statement to the Police in Edo State.   “I don’t know what came over me and I was not drunk. Due to the nature of my job, my wife always accused me of having affairs with other women, but it is not true. Anytime she saw me with my female customers, she would start an argument with me, but I always assured her that there was nothing like that and that my concern was how to take care of the three children we had together. I always walked away whenever she provoked me; but on Sunday, I didn’t know what came over me. Instead of just leaving the house, I picked up my gun and shot through the door and the bullets pierced through the plywood door and hit my wife and the two boys. The girl narrowly escaped.”

      Our regrets oftentimes not in what we do but that we should have done; an irony of life likely to meet us! Anger has brought about the death of three people in a family. “Hot tempers cause arguments but patience brings peace.” Prov 15:18. Spouses must avoid keeping records of offences committed against them, lest they will over react and live to regret their actions. Be in the habit of praying for one another. Let a wife pampers her husband while the husband loves and protects his wife as they journey through the hills and valleys of marriage till death separate them.

     You say “I would have loved my family better next time or someday when I have the peace of mind!” But this is not true because if you can’t do it now, you will not do it later. You only reflect what is inside of you. So why not love your family now?

     On May 3, 2018 at Diamond Estate, a barrister allegedly stabbed her husband (a barrister also) to death and cut off his private part before stabbing herself because of a disagreement that ensued between them. No offence, no forgiveness. When you store wrong done to you, Mr. Anger will function endlessly in you till you revenge after which you will say, “It is the devil’s work”. And from then on, you will not have peace.

 

    Sol. 8:6 says, “Jealousy is as cruel as the grave.” Things can go wrong even with our best intentions. Most times we offend others especially, our relations without knowing. “How could Miriam of all people criticize Moses?” you may say. Miriam and Aaron said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t He also spoken through us?” The Lord heard what they said. (Moses was a humble man, more humble than anyone else on earth). Numbers 12:2-3.

And when God intervened, Moses pleaded on her behalf as he cried out to the Lord “O God, heal her!” Num. 12:13.

 

    When you forgive your enemy, it will be easy for you to ask God for forgiveness. “But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with his brother deserves to face trial. Whoever insults his brother deserves to be brought before the council, whoever humiliates his brother, calling him a fool, deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell.” Mtt 5:22.

 

     God is greater than the greatest; wiser than the wisest, better than the best, richer than the richest, happier than the happiest! The closer you are to excellence in your life, the more friends you will lose. People love you when you are average because it makes them comfortable. But when you pursue greatness it makes people uncomfortable. So, be prepared to lose some people on your journey to greatness!

Never take advantage of someone who likes you.

Never say you are busy to someone who needs you.

 Never cheat on the one who has trust in you.

Never forget those who always remember you.

 

       Dear readers do not allow the devil to overwhelm you with his weapons of anger and jealousy. So, reflect on your past meditatively with the intention of knowing your true self. Do not live to regret the past; accept the past as part of you, no matter how negative it may be. Then, repent and look forward to a better future-it must not cripple you. You can amend your life for that is how most people become saints. Remember St. Augustine? The saints did ordinary things in extra-ordinary way; they put the good intentions into actions despite all odds.

 

     Take a decision today to express all the good things in you, all the kindness in you and all the creative power in you. If you will regret anything you did not do, let it be the bad things you refused to do. Glory to God!