Echoes in Joy and in Ashes

"The Lion and the Lamb" by Shilu Ani Perfection. That's a good thing, a good virtue to pursue, but also an intimidating one. Plan. Revise. Rework. And do it all over again all in the quest for perfection. It is good, because it adds to the quality, raises the worth, sharpens the experience. Nevertheless, it is intimidating because it bestows on one the pressure of a high standard, one that at times can be burdensome. But whatever be the case, perhaps a more underlying issue has to do with the motivation for pursuing perfection. Not all pursuits are bad; but not all pursuits are noble. While not every pursuit of perfection need be worrying, there is one area where the obsession for perfection can become deadly and counterintuitive. Imagine sitting in a worship service: sacred, solemn, very well organized and meticulously curated. The right words spoken. Right on cue, each component of the service unfolds. A flawless and seamless hour of worship. This is quite ...

Well here is the deal, the year is about to end and in a few hours a new one is about to begin. Remember those moments when time seemed to crawl, now it flies. Lately I have been thinking about time and how it is a precious resource that we cannot waste, and yet how we willingly and happily sell it off. Perhaps, the most influential factor in this squandering of time is the singular thought "tomorrow" or the notion "there is time." In themselves, these are not untrue, but when there is a pressing task that needs to be dealt with, they are enemies disguised as good-willed friends. They offer us the false assurance that it is alright to postpone it just a little more. After all, what is tomorrow but just the next day; and yet we know this to be true, in most times, tomorrow never came.  So how many hours in a day? Let us go with the normal 24 without getting into the technicalities of the calculation of time. The question is do we really have 24 hours in o...

The other day while teaching a class I made a comment that went something like this: "As long as we are faithful and keep working at what we are supposed to be doing in the now, God in the right time will open the right door." I was trying to balance the notion of faith, believing in God and His sovereignty, and the accompanying need for work, being responsible and doing our part. My hypothesis was, as we continue to faithfully work at what we are required to do in the moment, God will honour our faithful working by eventually leading us where He wants us to be . I was speaking these words in a specific context, a batch of the younger generation in the final year of their bachelor's degree in theological education and training. However, I think this can extend to any of us as we pursue to live a life that exhibits the fear and reverence of God in the profession that we may choose to pursue from the plethora of careers available.  So what does it mean to have f...

Yes, there is a play of word in the title (thanks to John the Apostle). But have you observed lately how everything is going digital? To set things straight, I am not an anti-digital person but more of a fence sitter when it comes to going digital. However, I am not a fence sitter who abstains from the benefits of the digital world, I do engage in it (maybe at times too actively). But I think I am not an inhabitant of this world, because thanks to slow development, my current world is still yet to embrace the full digital world though there are signs that things are going the digital way. It is becoming more convenient to use cards or a payment app to do payment in the big stores and also in the small roadside store. Sending money to someone has become more convenient and the chance of being hoodwinked has also become easier. I do not visit the bank anymore to update my passbook with the little amount in the account; everything is almost at the fingertips. Yes, we are movin...

The last two years, 2020 and 2021, were swept away as the world was engulfed in a pandemic. While the last century saw the outbreak of two world wars, the pandemic in this century was a war of another kind. In the last century the heroes were those who went out to fight, in ours the directive for the larger majority was to stay at home as part of the fight. We have all gone through much as individuals, as families, as communities, and as nations. The virus has since mutated and continues to mutate and even as we begin a new year, we are left hanging under a cloud of uncertainty if things are really getting better. The years that have been, for all its ups and downs, will not be had again, but what about the year at hand, the year that will be? What if the year that will be becomes a repeat of the years that have been? Just a few days ago, a fresh set of directives were issued again in the light of fresh cases of transmissions. I daresay the year that will be, will also be q...

A couple of days ago, a friend asked me tips for becoming a better writer. Honestly, I was flattered by that request. I am not a trained writer in the sense that I have not undergone any formal training specialized in writing. I am not a professional writer, meaning writing is not my career. I am not a bold writer because despite the encouragements that came along the way, I have hesitated to actually put it up for a very long time (for a small read on how I began to write follow this link ). So when the request came, first I was flattered (in a good way) and second I was glad that my writing style was being appreciated. But, I still have much to learn and much to be careful with as I practice and continue writing. So what are some of the tips that I have learned for writing, basically in a non-academic setting such as the posts on this blog? Well, I owe these to teachers who have taught me and made comments in the margins on my assignment papers, works I have admired and s...

Some many months ago I saw a question about what one could do about their flaws. It made me curious and I gave a response that I thought was fair. Not a good move when you do not know the backstory, but I guess the I-want-to-give-you-my-advice-anyway-syndrome kicked in. I still do not know the finer details of the backstory but then a small conversation ensued and stories flowed. Well, months later here we are, revisiting that question, not exactly as it was posed but in a more general and broader sense. But still at the centre of this thought is this question: "what do we do with our flaws?" In one of the many bygone years, my colleagues and I were asked to take a personal examination exercise in which we were to discover our strengths. I did the test and was pleasantly surprised by the result that was given to me. But then a senior spoke up and burst the happy bubble I was in. He said some thing like this, "It is good to know our strengths, but what about o...

The subject of history has never been my forte and my classmates would wonder why economics was my choice over history as my fourth subject (it was this system where out of four subjects, you could assign one as your fourth, or an elective: if you passed it, well you get credit, and if you flunked, it made no difference to the final result). History with its many places and dates and not to mention who is who, and  of where and how many of who (the same name in a roll call list) you have was not my favourite place to be running around.  My late professor of world history however had his own way of telling us why learning history is significant. He would do so by asking the class a question, "Why was Napoleon defeated when he tried to invade Russia?" As we pondered what  the answer might be, he would reply "because he did not study his geography." Simply put, the mighty army of Napoleon (in a wrong calculation of time) is said to have been defeated by the...

And what you will read below is a write-up by a friend that featured in a local newsletter. These are nice thoughts on the idea of 'waiting' and hopefully it/they will resonate with you. Happy reading... IN THE WAITING Vikhietuonuo Rutsa Whether it's waiting in a line, waiting in traffic, waiting for food service, waiting to get a job or waiting for someone you've been expecting, we say waiting is the "hardest part" and this resonates deeply in my life. This time of the year made me retrospect how 2017 started for me and where I stand today. Surely in the process of waiting as my goals aligned one after the other, I had expected everything to fall into place but disappointment crept in. However with time, my perspective of 'WAITING' changed knowing one thing is certain- before God moves suddenly, we will wait. So the question is not if we'll wait, but rather how we'll wait. And I believe how we wait will determine how long we w...

There is a “level” kind of thinking where we prioritize, which in its own right gives guidance and has its significance. A list is made, one is held higher than the other—more important, less important. However, it is quite possible that when prioritized on a scale of importance there is an implied corresponding degree (higher or lower) on the emphasis for excellence with the levels.  For instance, a task on a higher level seems to demands “better” efforts than one on a lower level. In other words, the effort may range from “just” get it done to pay “special” attention.  The proposal is that, a difference in the degree of importance among the variety of tasks, does not necessarily imply a difference in the “nature” of effort (or for that matter attitude) in carrying out a particular task. No “sloppy jobs” just because the task was deemed low on the priority scale. This thought arises from an attempt to see things in relationship with each other – a centre around which ev...