The means justifies the end

Image courtesy of www.theguardian.com

Not too long ago, Lupita Nyongo achieved a feat that is unlikely to be matched by any other Kenyan, she won an Oscar for her sterling portrayal as Patsey in 12 years a slave. It was a defining moment for the actress that put her on the map as well as the 254. For weeks on end, her name was on everyone’s lips, as she became the darling of the nation.

Lupita's life was transformed. Away from all the glitz and glamour that comes with a successful film, movies, whether good or bad have something else in common. They all involve hard work with long hours at the set, numerous cut-scenes, and bloopers galore featuring countless forgotten lines which sometimes are viewed after the credits have rolled.

The behind the scenes footage offers remarkable insights to the efforts taken in coming up with a splendid motion picture. Often, viewers preoccupy themselves with the movie rather than what goes on behind the scenes. It is the same way people perceive success. The focus is on the final product or state, the wealth, the job title or the happy marriage, the awards but few cherish the means by which it took those successful people there. It as if many believe those successful were teleported to where they are forgetting the path they took wasn't a walk in the park.

The Oscar winners will always make reference to the hard work the team put in. They appreciate the hard work they put in, the obstacles they had to overcome in reaching there. When they stand on the podium, receiving the plaudits they take a trip down memory lane and  take pride in the epic journey that got them there no matter how tough it was.

Wouldn’t it be great if we viewed life that way? Rather than yearn for the final result or complain how people have got it better, savour the adventure or challenges that come your way in anticipation of the beautiful story of triumph to be narrated  thereafter. Prosperity gospels have reduced God to just a giver. They give believers the idea that success is the evidence of God’s love, adversity and suffering is the devil's. I believe that God permits us to go through difficult moments just like He did to Job so that we can turn to him , experience his faithfulness and have a testimony of his provident nature after the dust has settled.

I doubt God wants our lives to be a like a 100m dash. Do it all in an instant and have the Kodak moments soon after.  People live at a frenetic pace, eager to hit the milestones as quickly as possible. Get the job, get the house, get the car, get the spouse, and get the children. Get, get, and get within the quickest time possible.

It leads to downplaying the significance of God's blessings like life, a loving family, health, friends. It takes away that happiness and only gives pressure. It robs one of identifying God’s unique purpose for them  leading to  costly mistakes concerning their career, choice of spouse, and their lifestyle just to fit others definition of success.

My thinking is that God desired that we live life as a steeplechase. I don’t say this because I am Kenyan and would like to join Ezekiel Kemboi, in that celebratory jig at the end but because life is not too different from that long race. It is a race of endurance that demands you to constantly work hard even if fatigue seems to be setting in and the finish line seems so far away.

It is a race of pace-setters, people who start early at a blistering pace but don’t always finish first or finish well. Then they are those who start off poorly but just hang in there, and produce that final kick that has them basking in success and everybody forgets their poor start.

Don’t forget the hurdles and the water jumps. In life, moments of adversity, affliction are always around the corner. David had his when he faced Goliath or was being chased by Saul. Paul had plenty more as he was stoned, shipwrecked and bitten by a viper. Peter was imprisoned. The thing about this hurdles is that they were meant to be jumped over, they are not dead ends and with God’s help, strength these men overcame  and so do many other men and women today who have overcome physical disability, rejections, doubt, financial difficulties and much more to finish well.

The hurdles and the water serve as reminders of God’s faithfulness in desperate times. They illustrate how God stays close by when all around people distance themselves from you. They depict God’s strength when your tank is running on empty. God reveals himself during these moments for you to have faith so that when the next hurdle comes you can clear it because of what he has done before.

It’s not uncommon for people to gripe and whine during those lean times. It’s natural to want them to end as soon as possible. At these times we usually grapple with doubt trying to figure out why. Why the difficulty, pain, or strife ? When will it all go away?  It may seem that God is silent or distant. It may seem the suffering is unmerited and never ending. No matter how difficult the situation is I look around and really don’t see much difference between us and Sodom and Gomorrah. I don’t see much between us and people of Noah’s time. I say this because as much as people complain about lean times, I look back at these people of Sodom and wonder if God destroyed them, why are we alive? Are we not worse? God really should have destroyed us by now but the reason I live and so many others do is because of Jesus. The reason I am alive griping through this tough times is because there is a God who came down to earth and died for my sin so that I can live, if he hadn't, I really wouldn't be here.

For that I am thankful because I realize I have no right to be here in the first place, Jesus granted me that chance. That gives me peace of mind during the difficult times. That makes me understand that to experience gain you must know loss, to be happy you must first be sad and to succeed you must first know failure.

It’s a strange way of seeing things, of appreciating the difficult means to justify a glorious end. It isn't always about hitting the targets at lightning speed but going through periods of lack, dryness, or lean times. 

That doesn't mean I am cursed but that God trusts me to let me go through adversity because He knows that I can overcome. I take that and with the Holy Spirit within me, respond with relish. Maybe it's the loss of a loved one, a failed relationship, an addiction, limited resources, a jail sentence that stalls your progress, overcoming is still possible.Like those many success stories, I would love to look back at a journey that was not all smooth sailing but one filled with obstacles surmounted thanks to God's faithfulness.

It is just a race of hurdles, and water jumps. God is all powerful, so then if he placed me in that race, can he not give me the power I need to soar over those hurdles and finish it? Surely he can, so I will bid my time, work hard and trust him to enable me to clear the hurdles, after which, like Lupita, Kemboi or Yego, look back at that journey, beaming with pride saying, " God, thank you for getting me through this!"

The original saying, the end justifies the means is more prevalent, especially in our Nation. People resort to hook and crook to get ahead, cheating in exams, skewed tenders and bribes are the norm, sadly. With God, it is usually the means that justifies the end. It is when a good course of action is taken even when all around people are pressing you to ignore it or give up. It is moments like this which require faith, faith that will be manifested in persistent action that few will make sense of. The result is that it will yield a beautiful end that will bring God glory and make you look back saying, " It was worth it."

Free from the Friend-zone!!!

Photo credit : Brainstorm.com

Our world is vast and beautiful, with over thousands of places to see, we are spoilt for choice. It comes as no surprise that travelling is a hobby for many with dozens of travel adventures being the norm on Instagram.  Yet, in almost equal measure, there exist places we shudder to set foot in. They are no-go zones, places that shouldn’t be visited even if it is just down memory lane. One trumps them all, many men attest to that fact. Take a bow, the friend-zone.

Many a man or lady has suffered the ignominy of being banished to the dreaded friend-zone. CNN had it wrong, this is the true hotbed of terror!!!  It is sad that no-one issues a travel advisory against this place.

Unlike a verdict issued by an impartial jury, confinement to the friend-zone catches many by surprise. It is a fate few are willing to accept. Most swear that they don’t deserve to be there. They will examine themselves, weigh the pros and cons(mostly pros) of their personality and wonder how the object of their affection could not see the big, larger than life picture in them.

It beggars belief that someone else, whom you think is wrong in so many ways, is instead lavished with the same affection you so desperately crave. It gets worse. The aforementioned recipients of that love will then go on to yank the heart of your desired lover as you watch helplessly from the friend-zone. They will then crush it to pieces without a care in the world and leave your dream lover high and dry. You would think that such a chastening experience would mark the end of your jail time. You poor thing, astonishingly they will chase after their tormentors in chief, keen to give them a second chance to break their heart once more.  Not to worry though, you also get a second chance, a second chance to gaze at those gloomy walls of the friend-zone, at which point will start to look like your permanent dwelling place. You might as well get a sofa, 'utahama lini?' doesn't apply to you, you are in the friend-zone for the long haul!

How unfair, to be locked up in a place you scarcely deserve. I used to think I had it bad then I realized that Jesus has it worse. He has been friend-zoned big time. The Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace,comforter, present hope, provider, ..the numerous titles and  qualities give Mr Right a new meaning, he is the God perfect . He is the undisputed lover of our souls. He paid everything for the Ruracio by living the sinless life that we could never hope to live. He paid the dowry 3,4, 100,..a billion times over by giving himself on the cross in our stead that we may have life. That's just a rough estimate. You’d think we would show him gratitude and love him back in return, but no, friend-zone.

He is given only a fraction of our affection, while He watches from the friend-zone as we give undeserved affection to our money, careers,  status, sex or anything else we idolize. He has to watch from the sidelines of the friend-zone as we give into the temptations of our evil desires, the world and the devil and see us getting our hearts shattered countless times. He longs to give us lasting gifts, but all we yearn for is temporary moments of pleasure that never provide lasting satisfaction.

Jesus has lavished us with various gifts of grace like health, daily provision, a  career, a loving family, clothes, talents. Do we call him through prayer or walk with him, seeking his will before our own as our way of saying thanks? Do we go with him on a date by ensuring we have daily quiet time devoid of distractions? How much time do we give him anyway? Some deem 1 hour every Sunday as sufficient from the 168 hours of the week, only to spend 35 hours on series, movies and games.

Unfortunately, the King of kings doesn’t get any red carpet treatment. That is reserved for politicians, our bosses, our business partners, our friends, some of who, will to ditch us at the slightest sign of a downturn in our fortunes. Not Jesus, who is with us all the time, even at our worst when we slide into addictions, wickedness and all manner of evil. He never leaves us(Hebrews 13:5) and will patiently wait for us to confess, repent and come to him.

Many men don’t take too kindly to being friend-zoned, I know I haven’t.  I have been guilty of friend-zoning Jesus. I have been guilty of confining him to the sidelines of a prison he scarcely deserves, instead of the throne of my heart. This sorry state of affairs cannot persist . He deserves more. He has earned the right to disrupt my life, my dreams, ambitions because he gave me life in the first place. He deserves my trust because He knows everything (John 21:17), his guidance is more than Google can ever offer.  My heart should no better than to chase after other ‘gods’ that don’t have my best intentions in mind whereas his will,  is perfect, pleasing and good.

Lord, I’m sorry for being blind to the abundant love you have for me. That you gave your life for me should be enough for me to give my life to you. If I were you, I would have friend-zoned me, but yet you keep coming back? In spite of my sins and iniquities, you keep coming back when others would have left long time ago.

I take the keys and open those doors. Out of the friend-zone you go, into my heart and my life you will be, lover of my soul.