LOVING WHAT WE HAVE
Special features and traits distinguishes persons, families and societies. Families are identified by their names, physical features and the traditions they have passed from generation to generation. Societies and races have hallmarks that distinguishes them from others. Mere seeing a man, you know if he’s Asian or African, you then have an insight into some of his peculiarities, judging from his background.
So many things have changed in the world we live in. Restating this will be to bore you, but you know the world rebrands every day. Along the rebranding system, people have learnt to hate what they have while making frantic efforts to be who they are not. From the looks, to our culture and sadly, to what obtains in the church, the list can go on.
Many people, especially women, do not like what they are and how God created them. They change their natural looks and one would mistake them for another person. From the hair, to eye lashes, to eyebrow, ear and nose rings, to the colour of every part of their face. They even go to the extent of increasing the size of different parts of the body in addition to exchanging some body parts with the artificial. Some even go to the extent of plastic surgery to achieve this. Many are suffering serious health problems on the path of being ‘beautiful’, recreating that which the excellent God had perfected, making up what is not deficient.
You are beautiful the way you are. Leave it, live it and love it. You are peculiar, no one is exactly like you. You are genetically special. And if you are redeemed, that makes it even better. You are beautiful inside out. Child of the Most High, daughter of Zion. Love how you look and be uniquely you. Don’t aim to be another person, be you!
Talking of culture, the age we are has been so acculturated that we sometimes loose and forget our identity. Our kids no longer know those local dishes that distinguishes us. We’ve exchanged them for indomie, chicken pies and pizzas, all those meals that leave our bodies worse than they met it. Our traditional dresses had also been exchanged with the ones that makes us look like the man from another continent. Many of our kids either can’t speak our local languages or struggle to even understand. How we greet and how we do things had all been thrown away. While not supporting practicing ungodly tradition, those ones that are godly and identify us should be preserved. The river that forgets its source will sure run dry.
The church is not spared from this trend. We have Bible doctrines and the precepts the scriptures had delivered to us as believers to keep. However, some wished things were as it is done at the other places. Remember, we must contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). We must keep the faith in its totality and strive to propagate the gospel. We must ensure our kids know the God of our fathers and also pledge their allegiance to this saving faith in Christ. The dedication of people of the other religion should spur us to do more. The gospel had been handed over to us, this is what we have, this is our heritage, this is what we have to keep. I pledge my allegiance to the faith of our fathers, to the Christian faith. I will love and keep all that has been delivered to me by my loving Lord. How about you?