Lessons from 2015

It’s a new year. Getting to know the really important things in our lives is paramount to making the right decisions that will help us in getting to where we want to be—the future. I have had a whole 365 days of life experience in this just concluded year and I’m really grateful for some of the lessons I had to learn. Some I had to learn the hard way, some I discovered while solving a problem, others while listening...but none while doing nothing. Every lesson I had learnt was in the place of activity (even sleep dreaming is an activity you can learn lessons from *smiles*).

I'd share some of the lessons with you in this post and other ones on other days.

Personal life

One of the important lessons I learnt this year was the fact that you should have a personal life—where you look out for yourself, where you assess the challenges you face/faced and how you deal/dealt with them, how your relationships affect you (and ultimately what you give to the relationships you have). It’s really not about keeping to yourself and keeping info of yourself to yourself. I agree you’ve got to be discrete but you also need to have a company of trusted friends that help you grow personally—your inner circle. It’s something that has kept me going in recent times. It’s also about how much time you’re devoting to building your soul. Remember that a man gives out of the abundance of his heart. (Garbage In, Garbage Out)

Live. Don’t compete.

It’s really good to be competitive—the best athletes in the world are super competitive, after all, there is just one gold to be won, so they run (work) as one that competes in the race (games). Again that’s wonderful. But have you ever thought of what you are competing with your colleagues for? I mean, people with the same abilities/capabilities compete with each other, don’t they? So what is it that you want to get that you don’t want your colleague/partner to get? Let’s face it, competition is selfish! And this our self-centred world has given it so much glory that it’s even become the norm for Christians to compete. I like to see life as a partnership. After all, God made the living creatures in pairs (partners) and even man was given a partner. If “all things partner up for our good,” why then do we need to compete? I agree that as long as there’s life, there will always be the ordinate and subordinate, but this only warrants that we enter into partnerships and not competitions—all for one, not one for all. Still be purposeful as you’d be in a competition, the add-on here is you now look out for your partners and help them as they help you. When you realize this, then you’re living—making other people achieve their goals.

Don’t judge.

Another thing: don’t judge. My pastor talked about mercy 3 Sundays ago (27/12/15). It was the perfect way for me to wrap up the year with what God had literally been teaching me from the beginning of the year. (I must mention at this point that I’m not a pastor, but I have a relationship with my Father and it happens that He teaches me a lot—a privilege I’m really grateful for. His name is God.) The summary of the message was mercy first before judgement. Just imagine what your life would be if God judged you for your every wrong doing? Imagine there was no Blood to speak for you? The world would be purged! I mean imagine a Hitler that's indomitable! God, instead, chose to have mercy on you and let you live (not judging). Why would you then have to judge others? You’re what you eat, not necessarily what you do. Your actions stem out of so many things of which misinformation and ignorance are among—I believe they give birth to mistakes. So, don’t judge. Instead, have mercy on that offender and pray for them.

Invest.

I’ve said a lot already that you can ponder on, but I’d add one last one for the day: invest in yourself. You’re the god of your own life and your actions and inactions determine the wealth that you have access to and can use. Don’t be fooled that the future is waiting for you. The world is, but the future is in your hands. Even after committing it to God, you still have to act! You can’t wait for the future either. I watch The Flash, and one of the concepts they’ve explored on the show is time-travel, how that whenever Barry breaks time barrier and travels back in time, any new actions (and inactions) affect the future and change the outcomes when he lives the day again. Same with life. The choices you make determine your future. So invest. On black Friday, I found myself buying courses that I’d be spending the early part of 2016 working on. I figured that the more amount of knowledge about those areas I could acquire, the more wealth I’d have to give. Another area of investment is the bible. This deserves a separate post so I won't write much on it here. The Word of God has to dwell richly in you so that you may observe to do all that’s in it. My pastor explained this 3 Sundays ago. You just have to know it, it shows you the mind of God, His way of thinking. I’ll write more on that later on. I am growing. We all are until we die. While we yet live, let’s build our minds. Living a story worth telling starts from making the right decisions to build yourself. The future is what we make it. Don’t wait for the future. Make it happen!

One a final note, if you entered the New Year without knowing Jesus, accept His invite now. He’s better than Donna (from Suits), Google Now, Siri and Cortana put together! Actually, He can’t be compared! He’s outclassed everything. All you have to do is say, “Jesus, come be my friend, saviour, and master. I surrender my will to You.”

Happy New Year, fellas!

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