Timeless & Timely
I remember the first time I went to the UK. I was so so happy about the trip. I got into the UK and everything was ok until it was time to eat. Then my first-timer-lack-of-experience came to the fore. Here was I in an all white neighbourhood and I was craving Nigerian food. I ate bread for 3 straight days until a friend took me to a nearby Nandos. Oh that was salvation.
I ensured this did not happen when I travelled to the US. I did all the research and had the address of a Nigerian restaurant in New York. Buka was the name of the place and I made my pilgrimage there upon arrival. While waiting for my meal, I noticed a library in the restaurant. Eager to read while waiting for my food, I stumbled on a book written in 1988 by Mrs Miriam Babangida, the late wife of our former Military President. Ehm! I was curious to see the content. The book “The Home Front: Nigerian Army Officers and Their Wives” was as good as the title. I read it with the intensity of a rabbinical protégé wondering what Mrs. Miriam Babangida had to say. Recall that Mrs IBB was one of our most stylish First Ladies.
What caught my attention in the book was the story she told about a lady who brought many suitors to her dad and the man refused to give his consent. This re-occurred a number of times when other suitors came calling. Then finally the man called his daughter aside and told her that when she brings a military man, he would gladly give his consent. The story simply was emphasizing how prestigious being a member of the armed forces was, back then. Remember this was in 1988.
Being in the military then was the career of choice. It was simple to know why. The military ruled and ran the country. The military was where anyone one who wanted to be somebody flocked to. In present day Nigeria the order is thus; politician, tech fellas, coders, VC / PE, oil and gas employee, employee of a multinational or a telecoms company, banker….you fill in the blanks. I’m talking about a general trend. Of course, there are people who set out to follow a career path whether it looks great or not.
In the 70s, I was told that the “in-thing” then was to get government employment. If you got into the employ of the Federal Government, then you were two steps from immortality. Being a university graduate then was one step to immortality. You were guaranteed the good life afterwards. The 80s and 90s saw a lot of movement to Europe from footballers to members of the academia, from the semi-skilled & vocational to those of the intelligentsia. Now Europe has tanked economically but that is not the story I’m here to tell.
What is in vogue today….being a comedian, an actor, a singer, tech guy, Twitter Warlord, Instagram Slayer. It’s instant popularity. We all know crooners who with one song (not an album), have gotten a brand new Range Rover, a nice house in Lekki and great endorsement deals from companies.
I have also seen the TV trend change from “sit coms” (Different Strokes, Some Mothers Do Have Them etc) to well-choreographed reality TV (The Voice, Shark Tank, American Idol et al). Series also are making the big hit (24, Turn, Boston Legal etc).
In the evangelical circles, the “in thing” is to be called an apostle and the mode of preaching is mainly about prosperity. In those days, to be a missionary was looked at as the best way to serve God. The word of faith seems to be in the cooler and so also other aspects of our faith. It seems we get a new “rev” on one aspect of the faith and we throw away the other aspects. We find the word of faith, we throw away prayers. We find prosperity, we throw away divine healing and health. Maybe we forget that they are all supposed to work in sync and in tandem.
People have come and gone….Adedibu, Tai Solarin, Papa Idahosa, Anini, MKO, Pablo Escobar, Yar’adua, Justice Eso, Hagin, Saraki etc. Good and bad folks but all have gone to the great beyond. Other principalities take over from where they stopped.
Our way of communication has changed drastically. I saw the 80s. So let’s start from there. Letters were the ways of communication. Also telegrams and fax. Late 90s saw the advent of the email. Then GSM came in by early 2000s. Text messaging was the order of the day. That was before Blackberry took over the communication space. BB dominated. Oh it did. Now it is mainly WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat and Instagram. Remember Pokemon Go ? It came and went in a flash. Interviews are now done via video conference and phones. It also just occurred to me that I get most of my news of the day via Twitter and not the main stream media. Changing changes.
Bear with me and follow my lead. What got me into this issue of changing changes? I’ve found that when I want to try and experiment reading a book by a new Christian author, I see myself reverting back to those authors I’ve known since I started the faith (Kenyon, Hagin, Zac Poonen, Charles Capps etc). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there are no new folks around with great revelation. There are but you and I can attest that they are few and hard to find. I also noticed that most of the songs that make sense are also the old songs. ( I recently got me-self some albums by Kent Henry, Bob Fitts, Don Moen etc).
It got me thinking, what has not changed since life began. My thoughts led me to things like, sand, water, the sun etc. Then from one rumbling of thought to the other, I finally remembered the Word of God. Yes, that also has not changed. It led me back to the fact that if you want to build something that would stand the test of time, then build it on the word of God.
Jesus is the same; yesterday, today and forever ¬ Hebrews 13:8
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the WORD OF OUR GOD shall stand for forever ¬Isaiah 40:8
Fashion evolve, trends will come and go but the Word of God will remain. It standeth sure. Infact it is the sure word of prophecy. No tittle will be removed from it. Sin is still sin and so also are righteousness, faith and good works. Marriage will not be defined by societal norms. Culture will not define how to work with God. Technological advancements will not replace God’s word. If you go against the word of God, you are bound to fail; for there is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord (Proverbs 21:30). Actually there are consequences for doing that especially when it is deliberate.
It is another clarion call to build our hope in nothing else than the word of God. All other grounds are sinking sands. God’s Word is both timeless and timely.
Regards,
Gabriel.
gabomin@yahoo.com, www.gabomin.org
You can check other uplifting articles on matters of the faith that I have written. They are Rules of Engagement On Social Media For The Christian Soul,The Gentile’s Prayer, Faith Cometh…, Selah Moments, Rooting The Book of Ruth, Timely & Timeless, Me & My Entertainment, The Athlete & I — A Critical Look, My Fellow Prisoners , Holy Paradox, Let’s Hear Jesus Out On This…, Colourful! , Me, Jephthah & Retold Stories, More Than Money…, The Boundaryless Life and The Giving Giver
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