Happy New
Month... but let’s go back a little bit....
Christmas was
awesome, not really because of the food and drinks and having family around,
but because of the little tiny moment of inspiration, God gave me that birthed
this article. It was such a tiny moment
that if I did not pay attention to, I would have missed it.
So... we
usually have a huge Christmas party every year at my parent’s place in our
hometown, Ibadan where we host friends and family. I like to think of it as a small family
reunion; I get to see uncles and aunties I have not seen during the year or for
many years. I get to see cousins that
have grown much taller or cousins that were once in diapers but now have
beards... little girls that have become young ladies etc.
This year was
no different.
Now stay with
me, I am getting to the tiny moment...
I was serving
the guests as usual and my little niece was running around with two other
little boys that were about her age or maybe a year older. They were having so much fun; laughing and
squealing with joy at their little “catch me if you can” game. Suddenly, she fell down. I was going to scold her and maybe spank her
(grown-ups are so quick to do that) and stop the game. Then it happened, in slow motion... the boys
quickly ran to her side, helped her get up and then started dusting off all the
grass and dust that had gathered on her clothes. I stood there and just stared in awe of what
was happening before me. (It was really a slow motion picture).
I smiled and
that moment brought tears to my eyes. It
was so cute and beautiful. These were
kids she had never met before and they were even boys (some guys should get
some lessons on how to be gentlemen from those kids). I walked away from the scene but I caught a
glimpse of this same scene reoccurring a few more times and the boys always
picked her up and dusted off the dirt before continuing their game. They even removed the grass on her hair; they
were very thorough.
Early last
year, I started a course on Child Psychology and it has made me very aware of
children and their behaviour. Maybe this
was what made me catch this tiny moment or maybe God really wanted me to learn
something from it. Whichever way, that
seemingly insignificant moment brought a scripture to mind “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not
enter the Kingdom of heaven.” Matt 18:3-4
Christianity
is slowly becoming a hostile religion because we have all decided to behave
like grown-ups. We are quick to judge
each other, point fingers, laugh at people who are down and raise our noses at
people who are not perfect in our own eyes.
We smile at each other in church but kill ourselves in our hearts.
What if we all
picked each other up when we fall instead of laughing, pointing fingers,
posting on Facebook, and tweeting about it. What if we extended our hand to help before using
them to tell the world about the hypocrisy and injustice that had
happened. Ok, let us even leave social
media. What about gossiping about church
members that make a mistake? Some people
even begin to avoid them so that they don’t get contaminated or even tagged a
sinner too. Where is the Love?
What if we all
love each other with pure love as little children do? Many times, the same people that judge and
criticize people like this are close friends that have eaten at the same table
with them.
The church has
become a masquerade ball; a place where people come in with masks. They hide their pain, their sin, their
suffering in order to keep up their image and remain a part of the so-called
church family. Many weak people in
church pretend to be strong; people in high positions that contend with sins
they cannot tell anyone about. Then they
find other avenues to express these sins and one mistake, one moment of
carelessness (moment mostly arranged by God to set them free), and we tear them
down with immediate effect.
What if we all
helped each other when we fall? Catch
each other when we trip. Hold weary
hands and raise feeble knees that stoop to fall, pick each other up, dust off
the mess on our clothes and continue on the journey to meet our father, rather
than trampling on each other.
I often wonder
what Jesus would have done if he were in our time right now, with all the
scandals happening in the church, the denials, betrayals etc, would He be quick
to sign in to twitter or Facebook and pour insults on the culprits? If a church member got pregnant out of
wedlock, would he backbite and avoid that person, love the person or would He
pray and find a way to help?
Beloved,
before you tweet anything, post on Facebook or talk about the flaws of anyone,
take a moment to ask yourself; how can I help?
And if you can’t reach the person personally, a little prayer would do
wonders.
Let us obey
the words of our master Jesus... be like little children.
So help us
God.
