Guest Blogger: “EARLY DAYS”

When I was little, I and my family lived in an Army barracks (Apapa Signal training School) because my dad was an officer in the Army. In the Army, there are two categories of military personnel; the senior officers (those who attended the Defense Academy which is like a University) and the other ranks (those that didn’t go to the Defense Academy but attended the Nigerian Military School which is like a secondary school) and accordingly, the senior officers had their own barracks which was neat, well designed and usually quiet while that of the other ranks was good but not as good as that of the officers’ barracks.

One day, when I was about 7 or 8 years old (I think), I decided to take a walk to the other ranks barracks and when I got there, I saw children (boys and girls) wearing only their underwear (pant) running up and down, playing on the street!!! It looked like fun!!! I saw some women selling fried plantain and fried yam, some selling Akara and bread, it was soo busy…Wow!!! All these activities weren’t done in the officers’ barracks!!! Too much restrictions and rules!!!(I thought to myself).

Anyway, what caught my attention were the children playing on the street… a game they were playing. These children were playing with tyres!!! They were “rolling the tyre” up and down the road!!! Laughing, jumping, screaming, one using his tyre to hit the others’ tyre!!! Wow!! Soo much fun I said!!!

I immediately ran home, got a tyre from the backyard of our flat and brought it out to the street of the officer’s barrack and started to “roll it” and wow!!! It was super fun!! Soon my friends saw me and went to get their own tyres and joined me!!! After having an amazing- bliss of tyre rolling activity for about 1 hour or so (no we were not tired ooo!!!) a senior officer (A Lieutenant Colonel or Major I think) came out and said “What are you children doing!!!” All of you come here!!”

We rushed down to the front of his flat… Who started this? He asked… and all my back stabbing friends immediately said “it was Yemi Sir!” He looked at me with soo much anger and disgust on his face…He said “Don’t you know the son of whom you are!!!” “Your fathers are not other ranked officers!! They are senior officers!!!” Why are you all bringing shame to your fathers’ names? “Only children of other rank officers do what you are doing…Don’t let me see you doing this ever again!!!” we said “YES SIR!!!” He finally said “If you want to play, go play football or ride your bicycles” He gave all my friends two knocks on their heads and gave me three because I was the initiator…hehehe wicked man!! And it was painful!!!

John 1:12 says “But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name (AMP). Like me in that story, who left the Officers’ barracks and went to the other ranks barracks, some Christians leave where they ought to be… where God has placed them, planted them and go into the world!! They say to themselves “omo…too many restrictions dey for Christianity abeggg…see people having better fun here na!!!”

They get carried away with the “fun” and “pleasures” of the world and take in a few (or most of) these worldly attributes!!! Funny thing is while doing these ungodly activities they still claim to be Christians and to be in right standing with God!!! They even go as far as displaying these activities in the midst of other Christians and in the house of God (like I did, rolling the tyre in the Officers’ barracks).

For some Christians who don’t know any better, joining the new of trend of ungodly activities brought into the church is the “raining” thing to do… It is cool! It is fun! It is fresh! I don’t see anything wrong in this!!…I mean if the Pastor’s wife, the head usher, some of the choir members are doing it…then it is not a sin na…that’s what they say to convince themselves and those people trying to correct them not knowing they are already leaving the path God had set for them.

People, you can’t claim to be children of God and your actions say otherwise… you say your ways are right with God and that grace covers all sins so you continue to dwell in that sin and you think that is right?…. Don’t get me wrong, we would sin from time to time..the only perfect man was Jesus and the bible says in Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity” so it is not like we would sin, but to dwell in that sin and think you are “A. OK” with God is a pathway to overflowing calamity!!! God is not angry at a man who sins (no matter how often) and repents but a man who refuses to repent of those sins and continues to dwell in them.

So, today and for the rest of your life, let this saying “Know the son of whom you are” constantly play in your mind, letting it influence the decisions you take, the choices you make, the words you speak, the relationships you have with other people and the friends you keep… in fact let this saying influence your life as a whole!!!