One of my favourite stories in the Bible is the story of how God made the first humans, gave them all they needed and told them not to eat a particular fruit in the garden.
Well, The serpent convinced the woman, and the woman in turn convinced the man and the rest of the story continues. (Genesis 3:9-15)
Let us look at some matters arising from this creation story:
1. Always listen to both sides of the story before you pass judgment.
When God saw they had disobeyed him, he asked man what happened, it did not end there, God went ahead to find out from the woman her side of the story before He passed judgment. Most of us are always in a hurry to pass judgment on issues that come up to us. I employ you to take a minute to hear the other side of the story, you never know, there may be a reasonable explanation as to why things went the way they did. Don’t be in a haste to pass judgment, until you have heard both sides of the issue.
2. Short-term gain can cause long-term-eternal pain when you fail to practice self-discipline.
Self-discipline is the ability to do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. Two enemies of success are the “Path of Least Resistance” [taking the easy way out in almost every situation] and the “Expediency Factor” [seeking the fastest way out without considering long-term implications].
Look at all the problems we are going through because of one choice that our first parents made. With self-discipline, an average person can rise and progress as fast as his or her talent and intelligence can take him/her. However, without self-discipline, a person with all the blessings of God, background, and education will still mess up and seldom rise as Adam and Eve did.
Whatever you do and how you do it will come back to you in spades. Every single choice we make affects us, our families, and people around us. Today, let us endeavour to make choices that will put us on the side of angels and not beasts.
3. You will be remembered for two things, the problems you created and the ones you solved.
In Christendom, we always remember Adam and Eve for the problems they created and Jesus for the solution he brought. So, what are you going to be remembered for? Solutions or problems? It is your choice.
4. Stop the blame game and be solution-oriented.
Instead of nagging, shouting, and complaining about what is not going on right, endeavour to be solution-oriented. The question should be, “How can I solve this problem”, instead of looking for who to blame. Humans have difficulty accepting responsibility for the bad choices they make. The blame game played by Adam and Eve continues unabated.
A sign of wisdom and maturity is when you come to terms with your decisions and their consequences and accept responsibility for your actions. It is only then that you can effect a positive change, because once you accept responsibility you will look for causative factors responsible for the failure, and you will have gained new knowledge and hence reprogram yourself for future success.
