“WHEN LAST DID YOU GIVE TO YOUR PARENTS?”

A dear one walked up to me after one service and said, “Pastor, I brought a seed for you”. I would have collected it with joy and said a blessing but I had a prompt to ask him (I am sure it was the Holy Spirit), “When last did you give to your parents?”

He said it had been a while. He mentions that he only gives when they ask. I told him, “Send this to your parents”. It seems like a casual conversation but it was the start of a major turnaround for an issue where the parents had refused to bulge- marriage! Everything gathered speed from then. It was almost looking like magic.

(This is not a homily against seed sowing or giving to your pastors. Both are also scriptural. This is simply an admonition on the operation of wisdom to do what is right on all fronts)

One statement that my dear pastor made years back when I was a corp member is still a major principle that helps me in life and it can help you too: God has given me the measure of faith but He has also given me a measure of wisdom. I have learnt to use both my faith and my wisdom to make headway in life.

You can genuinely struggle even when you are deeply spiritual because wisdom is lacking in your operations in life. For instance, there is wisdom in managing relationships. There are people who are “spiritual” but they are terrible when it comes to relating with others.

For instance, the son of the prophet who died in debt and used his sons as collateral had a relationship with the Prophet Elisha that he did not maximise. Did you know that it was the relationship he did not maximise that the wife leveraged for a solution to that problem?

All that solved that debt issue was a relationship. Look at it:

• She ran to the prophet (Spiritual Family)

• She used vessels from her neighbours (Social Family)

• She was helped by her sons (Domestic Family)

There was simply no need for that prophet to have died in debt. There was no need. The solution was all around him.

Some of your prayers are already answered. The challenge is the absence of wisdom. Jesus needed bread to feed 5000 people. The raw material was in the hands of a little boy. What relationship are you despising while you keep sounding ‘deep’? Life is not that hard.  Our ignorance can complicate things.

There was a time my parents were having a construction project. When they got to a point of huge financial demand, he walked up to a dear brother of his and asked for help. His brother was super excited to help him. He said he did not want to intrude but he had really wanted to help. A good relationship is a great leverage.

Some of the issues you are having with your parents can be resolved today if you put them into your financial plans. They will shower prayers on you and you will realise that the problem was not the inter-tribal marriage; they probably just were not sure if you will not abandon your family. Be wise!

temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa.