CONFRONT IT

When I finished my youth service corps, I was so zealous for the things of God. I had wanted to work in a Church or any Christian organization. I wanted to work, earn a salary to take care of myself and my potential family.  At that time, some years ago, the offer from the sector was nothing to write home about. I started a magazine and over a short period of time, my take home was about N25, 000. Some pastors saw the potentials in the magazine and approached me to work for them. The challenge was that, I would stop my magazine to do theirs but what they were offering me was not up to the N25,000  I was getting on a monthly basis from running my magazine. Yet, I needed to make more money.

The first job offer I got on a platter of gold was a banking Job. I did not apply. I could remember, I mentioned to the Managing Director of the bank who was then one of the subscribers to my magazine that I wanted to do something extra to earn more money. Some few weeks after, I was invited for a chat by the Human Resource Manager of the bank and there after I was given a contract employment for six months and I was placed on a flat salary of N25,000. By God’s grace, I was converted to a full staff after six months and my salary was over three times more plus other benefits.

Today, eleven years after, looking back and counting my blessings, I do not have any regret for the action I took then. Though, I stopped publishing the hard copy of the magazine due to the demands of my Job, but I never stopped writing. I have improved on my writing skills and I have a lot of experience to share. Instead of my magazine, I’m a blogger and I’m a columnist for M2 magazine and I head the Internal Communications unit of my bank. I feel good because I take from the world system to invest in the Kingdom of God.

Brand Lust

I had a discussion with my colleagues yesterday about this topic and we had fun. I simply asked them a question that gingered the discussion. My question was; “if you were a manufacturer of a specific product, would you rather prefer your customers to lust after your product or love it?” You can guess what their answer was. Love it! Is that what is obtainable in today’s business world, I asked again? They all said, no. The ideal thing is for your customers to fall in love with your product. You want customer loyalty, but in reality most producers make their products so seductive for their customers to lust after. The reason is that, products that generate lustful attraction are more expensive and more profitable in the short run. For example, fashionable clothes; designers, gold, sleek cars etc. are very expensive. Lustful brands in my opinion are for niche markets.

Lust is not the opposite of love but it’s an imitation of love. Lust enslaves but love liberates. What is the foundation of your brand, Lust or love? Both have the same parameters but the only difference is in the approach.  Love operates from the inside to the outside but lust manifest on the outside but shallow on the inside. What are the parameters? They are attitude; character and gifts. By definition, character in this sense refers to the packaging of the product; Attitude refers to the content, the style or flair of the brand while the gift(s) is the endowment.  A product is the reflections of the producer. Who you are will eventually manifest in your product or service. In other words, your character, attitudes and natural endowment as a producer must reflect in your product or service.

 A brand that is built on lust by default, concentrates more on gift (the form, shape, the sound, the feel or the looks to the naked eyes). They are subject to the dictate of trends. That’s why we keep having new models of the same product. They are more expensive to maintain. But the brand that is built on love, start with the character of the brand, the attitude before the gift. By gift or natural endowment a brand is built, by attitude, it is established and by character all its inner chambers are filled with profits. There is consistency and maintenance culture in love brands. A brand that is built on love is patient. It endures all things. It may make losses on the short run but in the long, it’s more profitable. Love brands are functional while lust brands are more of aesthetics.

JUST FOR YOU, SON

 

My dear son, I have been reading about love and forgiveness lately. Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, I have decided to write to you, so that you will have a fuller understanding especially of whom and what love is. Love is about expectations, acceptance and forgiveness and love does not work alone. It works with knowledge and the power to love. Love is not one sided, it’s about relationship. It is much easier to forgive others than to forgive oneself. A lot of people take it out on themselves without even realizing it. In fact they even go as far as justifying the hurts as you would found out. Don’t be surprised.

How else would one explain a lady who was molested by her dad in childhood stage, she later forgave and showed love to her dad in her adult age but today she is a prostitute? She does not believe in marriage any more. She is never ashamed to be a prostitute. She claims, she was born that way and besides God loves prostitutes. In fact, she is championing a course that prostitution should be legalized. It was never meant to be so, my son. Let me also tell you about a young man from a very rough family background and who probably at some point was sexually molested as a teenager, he has forgiven those who were not very nice to him while growing up but today, he is gay. Yes, he has showed love to others but not to himself.

God loves prostitutes. God loves gay people or lesbians. But God does not expect them to maintain these lifestyles once they embraced the love of God. Sometimes in life, we run faster than we think, that is why God allows some bumps on our way to slow us down and bring us to order. This letter to you could be a bump on your way to slow you down to consider the whole picture of God’s love. God’s love is first and foremost about you and not others. You are the one to love others and that is why God loves you. If you do not love yourself, how can you love your neighbor as yourself? Let me shock you for once, people do not respond to your love, they respond to who you are. God loves because God is Love.

Do not be deceived. If you are not love, you cannot give love. Love is not a task. Love is not a burden. You do not use love as bait for people to accept you. God has a very high standard for us. He expects us to be holy. But because God has already accepted us, it is easy for Him to forgive us even when we fall short of His expectations.

So my son, when you fall short of God’s expectation, repent immediately and sin no more. Do not take it out on yourself or be a stumbling block to others.

Yours sincerely
Dad.