What Is The Taste Of Your Truth?

 

I was thinking this morning..... Days ago, I walked into a heated conversation between two of my colleagues. I wasn't initially sure what the bone of contention was but as I listened to understand, one of them said 'I know you will not like what I am saying, because the truth is bitter.'

After calming both of them down, I left asking myself 'is the truth really bitter?' On the moral and ethical scale of life, Truth is good and Lie (Falsehood), bad. Just like Sweet is good and Bitter, bad. So, why would anyone infer that Truth is bitter? If we say truth is bitter, does it mean lie is sweet? What is the taste of lie, if truth is bitter? Who is giving Truth a bad name? So many questions running through my mind.

These questions kept popping in my head till yesterday as I prepared my morning 'concoction tea.' I had put a bag of my Twinings Lemon & Ginger tea in the cup and added a small cup of freshly blended garlic, ginger and lemon juice. When I tasted the combination, it was harsher than usual. I decided to add a little honey. To my surprise, despite the honey, my concoction still had the pungent and acidic taste of garlic and lemon. Then it dawned on me, it is not truth that is bitter but the receiving ground that is acerbic.

Truth is sweet irrespective of the taste of the receiving ground. However, the taste in the mouth of the receiver will vary. So, when next you are confronted with the truth and you feel this unease welling up within you, remember this write-up. Truth is not bitter, it is your heart that is acerbic.

Though Truth is bitter is a correct English phrase, it is a common aphorism meant to deceive, cajole, confuse, or outright play politics with people’s perception. Truth may challenge beliefs, hurt feelings or force one to face a harsh reality, it should not be cloaked with the garb of bitterness. Truth is always sweet, it is the human heart that is acerbic.

Relationships, within marriages, family, colleagues and society at large should find sweetness in truth. Should any truth start tasting sour or bitter, no need to doubt the taste of the truth, check your heart. If your heart is sweet, you will taste the sweetness of truth. John 8:32 - And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. What is the taste of your truth?

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

The Gift of Men

 

I was thinking this morning.... I started my first year in the University with three shirts and two trousers. It was a very rough start for a Warri boy leaving the comfort of family to live alone for the very first time. For the next 12 months, I tried every combination of meal plan just to survive. 0-1-0, 0-0-1, 1-0-1, Water-1-Pawpaw, 0-Pawpaw-Water, etc. Life was hard but my dream of becoming a graduate drove me on.

I started my second year unsure of where to stay or how I will survive because I hadn't received my scholarship at the time. One morning, I walked into class and was told that the new lecturer had requested to see me. I was troubled, wondering what I had done wrong. I summoned up courage and went into her office. Contrary to my fears, she was friendly and asked how I was doing. My Itsekiri name was what caught her attention and brought the favour my way.

She subsequently welcomed me into her family marking the begining of my soft, or should I say biscuit bone life on campus. I never had to look for accommodation, as I move into her BQ in Staff quarters nor had to think of what to eat, as I got a seat on the family dinner table. She and her husband gave me every possible assistance till I was done with my second degree. I literally became their third child.

While my experience was a classic vignette of campus life, not everyone received the kind of help I got. This help is what the motivational speaker, Wintley Phipps called the HPLP gene, with HPLP meaning Helping People Live their Potential, but I call it the Gift of Men (GoM).

Since I left school, God had blessed my journey with other GoM bringing me to where I am today. Most people at one time or another in life had received the Gift of Men (GoM) to see them through a phase of life. Some may have been life changing and others, subtle. The GoM is not what you solicit or beg for, they just show up and offer to help on a platter. Most successful people today enjoyed the Gift of Men. Someone that just took interest in them and offered to help at no cost.

As I reflected on how difficult it is to survive in Nigeria today, I realise that we all need the Gift of Men to go through this fire. Gift of Men are sent by God to make you, help you live your potential and fulfil destiny (Matthew 4:19). Are you a GoM? Please don't turn down the opportunity to change a life today.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

BRIDE UNDER REPAIR

 

I was thinking this morning...... Someone posted a photo of a caution sign on a bridge in Akure saying 'Bride Under Repair' instead of 'Bridge Under Repair,' and commented that if the Bride is under repair, then the Groom must be under construction. Savage response, right? While I initially scoffed in disbelief, a second thought made me sober.

Yesterday, I attended the inter-tribal wedding of the daughter of my Ibo neighbour and her yoruba groom. As the couple danced to the admiration of all, I considered how they will manage their political leanings in the face of the seriously fractured political environment in Nigeria. With our very diverse culture and upbringing, inter-tribal marriages demand additional work. It is on that basis that I posited that the most appropriate sign to put up here is 'Bride and Groom under construction.'

Many get into marriage believing they are finished products and have nothing more to learn. Only last week, news made the rounds of a lady in Onitsha that violently abused and brutalised her 11-year-old maid. When I saw the disturbing photos of the brutalised girl, I actually wondered if the madam was human. She will thereafter wake up, dress up and make up, acting like a wife and even a mother. Mtchew! There is only one thing for the husband to do, shut her down and put out the sign 'Wife Under Repair.'

Like buildings and other infrastructures, humans need regular maintenance and repair. Reseash revealed that the life expectancy of a modern building is 60 to 75 years but with can last much longer with repair and maintenance. Albi Cathedral in South Central France was built about 900 years ago but still standing because of regular repair and maintenance.

Truth is, even the best of us need regular repair and maintenance of our physical, mental and emotional being. Any man or woman that refuses to devote time and resources for repair or maintenance will eventually kaput. If you know your heart beats uncontrollably when Nigeria plays, please stay off and put out a sign 'Man under Repair.' There are ways to renew your body and mind (Romans 12:1-2). Take responsibility today.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

LESSONS FROM 1995

 

I was thinking this morning.... a few days ago, my former boss, whom we called Oga Adoki (third from left), sent me this group photo we took sometime in 1995/96 at our SPDC office, Edjeba Housing Complex, Warri. Just looking at the faces of everyone brought both smiles and tears to my face. Sad because two persons in the photo had transitioned to glory and smiles from fond memories of my previous life working in Warri.

The longer I looked at the photo, the more I observed interesting features. The first thought that jumped at me was how cheap fabric must have been in those days. Did you observe the size of my trousers? My goodness! Where did all the fabric come from? Even the ladies, the way they were dressed will make a young girl of today wonder if they had skin disease that they were covering. Long and short, we no dey manage material those days.

I looked again and observe that all the men in the photo had flat stomach. Where there no pots in those days that men could have swallowed? What are we eating that is making us have pot belly today? We were all looking fit for the role. Natural and healthy meals and being active made the difference.

I peered at the ladies again and observed something that may indicate how stingy they must have been. What were they doing with all their money that they couldn't afford bone straight hair? What kind of 'alaroro' are they doing by perming their hair? Ordinary N1m they couldn’t spend to buy bone straight and Brazilian hair. Na wa o.

But wait o, what is it with the flowered neck ties, shirt and dress we had on? Is it because the vegetation then were green, colourful and luscious? A youngster today will think we were flower boys and girls.

Irrespective of what you think of the photo and our looks, it was the appropriate 'costume' at the time. Life is a stage and we are actors. The script of life is in Scenes and that was Scene 1 of my Working Script. Be deliberate about whose script you are acting and whether you are giving it your best. Your success and victory in life is dependent on how you played your role on the stage with the script you have in your hands. Let God's word be your script (Matthew 6:34).

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey