(Genesis Chapters 13&19)
I sit there, looking at my daughters. Both just gave birth to babies. Boys. Fathered by me. The babies are just a week old, born on the same day. I am their grandfather- their mothers are my daughters. I am also their father…
Wrong Choices.
I remember when I was living with uncle, Abraham.
The Lord had blessed my uncle tremendously. He was a wealthy man.
Actually, we were both wealthy men...
We prospered and conquered territories.
Both of us were married, my wife and my uncle’s wife got along well, which was rare in an extended family like ours.
Rivalry is usually the main issue among women in such family settings...
Sarah had no children, but it did not seem to be a problem for her.
When my wife got pregnant, Sarah was there to help her go through the challenges of pregnancy...
She was there in the labor ward when my wife put to bed both times.
Such a gracious woman!
I wonder what she would say if she heard my wife died as a result of disobedience to Godly instructions?
I wonder what my uncle Abraham would say if he hears I fathered my daughters’ sons? Would he feel he failed in teaching me the Right Way?
I was a farmer, just like my uncle...
We cultivated vast acres of land, we grew and harvested produce that fed nations.
We exported our produce to the five continents.
I had gone on seminars all over the world to deliver papers on macro-agriculture...
I understood methods of farming that were divinely revealed to my uncle and me.
We dined with presidents, kings and emperors.
We gave countless countries blueprints on how to turn their economies around through agriculture...
Well, no external rivals, that is.
But with time, rivalry reared its ugly head amongst our staff...
We tried putting a stop to the problem, but the more we tried, the bigger it got.
My uncle called me for a meeting...
I think we should split up.
Even P-Square split up at some point!
You divide the assets and take half.
You decide how you want to share it and where we would be based...
Honestly, I wonder why I thought that was as a good idea.
I wonder why I jumped at it...?
Was it because I imagined I deserved more than 50% share?
Incidentally, the staff who were loyal to me thought so.
Could I have unconsciously accepted their position...?
A few years down the line, I relocated into Sodom...
How wrong they were!
We were in Sodom less than six months when it happened: a volcano erupted and I lost it all. Fire rained down and consumed all my assets...
I barely escaped from there with my daughters.
I remember Uncle Abraham used to tell me, “We work by faith, not by sight”.
I never really internalized that statement, else I would not be in this mess!
It is the naming ceremony of my sons.
My grandsons.
It is so embarrassing, we did not invite anybody.
I carry the son of my first daughter.
I name him Moab.
I return him to his mother, my first daughter...
A naming ceremony should be a day of joy. Ours is a day of shame. Just because of a Wrong Decision…
The Bible says, "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of DECISIONS"- Joel 3:14.
We are always taking decisions in our lives:
Should I marry Amina or Funke?
Should I buy a Benz or a BMW?
Should I stay in Nigeria or relocate to Canada?
The question is, when taking decisions, what do you consider/consult?
Your knowledge?
Your wisdom?
Your senses?
What?
He had always wanted to go into the hotel business.
He did all the projections, all the figures added up.
All his consultants told him to go ahead.
And he did.
Nobody saw COVID-19 coming.
He's regretting it today...
Many choices can't be undone.
The day you say "Yes" to David, you'll never know what being John's wife would be.
The day you decide to study Medicine, you will never experience the life of an lawyer...
"What is seen is temporary", scripture says. "But what is unseen is eternal"- 2nd Corinthians 4:18.
There is always more to what we know.
My dad used to say, "What you don't know is always more than what you do know"...
May we never take decisions based on sight, knowledge, feelings or our senses like Lot.
May our eyes of faith be open to take right decisions in our lives, decisions we would never regret in Jesus' Name.
Amen.
Shalom.
🙏