GREED! A MONSTER THAT KILLS SMILING

BY ABED MONTSHIWA

"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."(Luke 12:15)

 

I know our society has a totally wrong perception about the term greed. When an individual works their way up and accumulates surplus he is tagged with the term. This has become so disturbing such that laziness is unintentionally nurtured amongst us. Instead of working hard we have our fingers pointing to those who have accumulated riches. If we are to make a positive impact in human development and our respective societies, we should be prepared to work very smart and with clear strategies towards specific targets.

At the same time, we should always know that the more we give, the more we get blessed! We should be on the look, to see who to bless and in what capacity. That will help us to run away from being greedy. To give is not a portion of the rich and is not a function of abundance, it’s an issue of the heart and obedience!

Three men set out to look for treasure. They left their families and headed into the wilderness where remnants of gold deposits were rumored. By the time they arrived at their destination, people had already cleared the remaining deposits. Demoralized with frustration, they decided to return back to their town. However, since the journey was so long, they decided to walk for some time, have a rest and repeat the process until they arrive. You can imagine how their journey back must have been an ugly maneuver.

They say days come in different forms and shapes, and this was such. As they approached a huge tree for rest, something excited them. It looked like a huge bag, as they got nearer, it looked like a sack, and when they finally got a handle on this package, the bag was written ‘New bank notes, $USD 3 million. Quickly they opened the bag, and behold, they were 3 million rich! Immediately they left, and along the way they felt tired and hungry and decided to have one of them run to get them some food while they wait in a secure location.

As soon as the man ran to a nearby restaurant, greed appealed to them. ‘You know if we can kill that guy, we will be 1.5 million rich’ suggested the greed- tormented one. ‘You are right! When he arrives, we will get him killed and share the package among us’. Hands were shaken to seal the deal. At that very time, the guy who went to buy some food conceived a plan from the invisible force called greed. ‘You know if you can poison those guys’ food you will get them killed and emerge 3 million rich!’, ‘and I will be the most powerful man in my town’ added our potential fortune owner. He immediately poisoned the food and set back to see how his friends will die as he gets rich.

The turn of events got even more catastrophic. Upon arrival, he was butchered by his friends beyond recognition, and they buried him to erase any possible evidence of his murder. Now, you can imagine what happened after that. You got it right! The 2 remaining man shared money equally and sat down to enjoy their meals! They died an agonizing death from food poisoning and the 3 million remained untouched. None of the men won, but greed, won! It’s a monster that kills smiling and promises the best of things. WATCH OUT!

INVESTMENTS AND TIME! WHAT A COMBINATION!!

BY

ABED MONTSHIWA

King Solomon! Talk about the King, one thing is true. People immediately want to know which part of him are you gonna talk about! Solomon the wise King, or Solomon, the King who had so much to deal with in his personal/ private life. My old man used to say, when a menu is on the table choose what you prefer and enjoy the moment, other than complaining of what you don’t like. For our objective’s sake, let’s make Solomon our menu, and I will pick what I like in this meal. It happens to be wisdom. Let’s get closer.

Ecclesiastes 9: 11- (I have seen something under the sun: The race is not to the swift or battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all) .

Solomon, certainly a very wise man in human history is opening our eyes. To him Olympic gold medal athletes are not born the world’s fastest runner, but taking time to train and learn the roles of the sport made them the world’s best. Nothing of that magnitude will take place by coincidence. If we are people of the future it’s high time we forget about “lucky”. We have to pay the price. The battle does not belong to “the Goliath” but to “the David”. Goliath was certainly a very strongman. He commanded great respect in Philistine and across. The bible description of this man is amazing. David, a mere shepherd was unrecognized. How on earth did David defeat Goliath? What’s the principle he used? As a shepherd, I am sure David encountered battles in the bush. Sometimes foxes wanted to engulf the sheep, hyenas played their tricks and worst still he had to protect his life from these dangerous carnivores. I am sure this was how David took advantage of time and chance to perfect his battling skills. Goliath spent most of his time moving around, boastful and proud. We now see what the 2 invested on. Friend, this is even true for your life. Well, I hear someone say “But some people are naturally talented”. The truth of the matter is that we are all talented in some way or another, but what separates us from the other talented is how you cultivate your talent.

Let this be a quick one! All that is important is for us to learn is to know that nothing just happens. I always see young people envying people who are on top of their game, but what they miss, which is actually core to grasp is that such individuals are working hard to achieve what is many’s dream! Ask Usain Bolt, he will tell you that you have to train vigorously to set the world record and break it! Time is now, and time is up! Let’s arise and shake the potential we have, lets never have rest until we are the best we can be!

NB: Material extracted from the publisher’s book (in its original context) he is currently writing.