"As I write, I do not intend to appear as an angel on white apparel devoid of dents and human desires; nor do I intend to present self as a perfectionist swaggering down the lanes of arrogance. For every day as I walked down the streets in sheer innocence, I could hear the soft inviting calls of Delilah. But God alone has strength me not to answer." - Muoka C.G.
Interestingly, so many things have been left rather unsaid; and these things have arisen like the dreaded armies of the dead to haunt the defenceless youths of this generation. The unspeakable truth was swept under the carpet of ignorance, and a problem hidden, is a problem in incubation; awaiting explosion just like a time bomb.
The day it roars and rears its ugly head; with a stern look on its face, and with flames of fire within the orbits of its eyes. Then that is Armageddon. To run to safety, and protect one's self from the bloodthirsty grips of its sharp canine, might be a futile task after an ugly bite.
Concentration is the uterus of great achievements, for nothing can ever be achieved in the midst of distraction; just as two waterfalls do not hear each other. Nothing good and stable comes from confusion and distraction.
In this 21st century, the era of rapid advancement in every facet of human endeavour. It has come to limelight, being as obvious as the unconcealable protruding belly of a pregnant woman; that a lot of challenging opportunities have been presented to the distracted youths of today. And to whom much is given, much is expected.
Pathetically, many of the youths are overwhelmed by the vast arrays of opportunities. Not that they can't handle these things, but as distractions and confusion troops in, they begin to take unnecessary things serious and the serious issues are relegated and seen as archaic (old school). The route to greatness is then left to suffer the restrictions of procrastination before being able to regain relevance with the intervention of God.
In truth, most of the elder statesmen and women who are cherished and emulated by the youths of today, have often come out of their cribs of comfort to state categorically that indeed the situations of things today were quite different from the way it was in the '60s and '70s. They acknowledged the fact that the world has embraced an astronomical height of advancement within a few decades.
When they sit and watch, they feel challenged and threatened as their weapons of strength are being faced out and new ideas and innovation takes over. Although they are elated by the positive growths, they were also depressed by the negative consequences that accompanied the emergence of the computer age.
In those good old days, there were little or no social media and so people never envied another as there was no room for the expression of fake lifestyles. The internet was a toddler, and the library was a well respected old man.
Marriage was cherished, and indecency/immorality was a taboo. The government was excessively willing to educate the youths abroad, and obtaining a scholarship was as easy as spelling N.I.G.E.R.I.A. Profane music and movies were prohibited, and the economy was as strong as a lion.
Fraud and corruption was not the order of the day as citizens willingly ran to the priests to confess their mistaken intention to commit a crime. The government was for the people and the people were for the government. In fact, the emergence of a utopian society was almost a reality, and God was busy smiling in heaven.
These men and women of great repute, who now occupy various prestigious offices in our nation today were also very honest to state that possibly, if all the distractions we have today was present in their good old days, probably, most of them may not have become what they are today. Some of them would have fallen into the cold arms of distraction.
The timid war against social media addiction and the skyrocketing of moral decadence amongst the youths were enough to swallow the weaklings of this generation. Thus, the great men and women of repute sought to restore both the good old days and the dignity of mankind.
They believed that preaching the gospel could free the captives of the mighty, but their reactive steps were likened to dredging the river Niger with a plastic spoon. As the cankerworms of corruption have eaten deep into the DNA of the youths.
In the midst of all the distractions, the room for concentration collapsed, and the youth could not sit and think clearly. The fights of the youth for a bright future was already sabotaged and hijacked, and life appeared hazy and meaningless. They asked questions about how the men and women of great repute stood tall in the rain, they were told that they worked hard. But they felt it was a herculean task. "We want the fast and speedy tracks," they screamed in fear.
On the way through the fast and speedy tracks, the youth was attacked by the fierce sharp sands of the desert windstorm, which blinded his eyes and destroyed his vision; and then his compass of direction and map of the mission was lost. He became a dangerous youth and walked through the path of perdition, heading straight to hades the realms of the dead.
The youth became stranded and was forced to bend and dance in no direction like the fruitless trees of the windy desert. And as he danced in weakness, children gathered to laugh and mock him. It then appears as if all hope was lost. His father and mother looked at him and tears of shame came forth, and then immediately the clouds darkened.
The youths were tossed in any direction like the coins of the greedy gambler. The youths became the fancy toy of the naughty politicians and were made to appear like a featherless and naked chicken that was removed of all its feathers and left naked in the cold by the owner. And still, when the owner brings the bad corns, it shamelessly runs to pick up the corns in agony.
Failure is encountered and some youth give up and commit suicide. Some become so hard-hearted and embrace all sorts of destructive ideologies. They believed in all sorts of foreign gods and bragged with vanity. They become insatiable for evil, and their end was often horrible. This is because naturally, whatever a man seeks for, he finds. If a man seeks for evil, the evil he would surely find.
The youth is expected to embrace a certain level of mindset (attitude) to be able to overcome the predations of the hungry lions of this generation. Why commit suicide? When our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
According to Nelson Mandela, "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."
The extremes of youthful stupidity are caused by the fact that most of the youths live to impress their peers, they live under imaginative pressure, always thinking about what their peers think of them, whilst forgetting to think of loving themselves.
According to Wayne Dyer, "Most people seek happiness outside themselves, and that is a fundamental mistake. Happiness is something you are, and it comes from the way you think."
The youth forgot that the people who matter (your family and loved ones) do not mind if you fail and the people who mind (the peers) if you fail, do not actually matter. While the peers cajole you, your family pray and encourage you.
The youth forgot that life doesn't require faultlessness or being the best in every competition, even though it expects us to always give our best in all situations. Since every human is interdependent and none is independent, thus if all hands can be on deck, the problems of life are half solved; and is totally solved if we involve God.
Life is strictly unpredictable and thus no condition is ever permanent. The stages of life are unstoppable, and ageing is a strict example. The youth must realize that youthfulness is just but awhile, and then it vanishes like a fart in the wind. The thrust into old age is a nightmare to those who bastardized the essence of youthfulness.
The alchemists of the old did everything to create an elixir of life that would be anti-ageing when taken, but yet it was impossible to stop old age. Thus this explains that in life what is meant to be must be, provided we do the needful and accept things we cannot change. We would not be taken unawares.
Although life may appear partial as some are born with a silver spoon, while others are born in abject poverty. This creates a difference in social status. However, anyone's status can change at any time, and anyone can be anything, provided the needed amount of energy is channelled into the purpose being pursued.
Some want to be great, but they end up writing a prayer request and dropping it in the church prayer request box. Then they go home and sleep. And when God looks at such people, He gives them more sleep. This may sound hilarious but that's the consequences of prayer without work.
The youth must be confident, he must be wary of the choices he makes. He must know when to speak and when to be quiet, when to appear and when to disappear. He must be extremely sensitive and not drunk; so as to know when the people around him make choices that affect him negatively. The choices of his life are the stories of his life.
According to Archbishop Duncan Williams, on his message to the youths, he stated that "Delilah was anything that causes you to compromise your assignment, its anything that makes you feel high to the point where you give up your knowledge of God, you give up the reason for your being, your purity, sanctification, and dwell in pitiable compromise."
"You sacrifice your dreams, you let it go and you don't care what happens to the reason for your being, and you don't care about the people for which God lifted you and raised you. Delilah can be nicotine, cocaine, sex, robbery, pornography, masturbation etc." All these things distract the youths of today.
Delilah is the hallmark of distraction. Placing your head on her laps just like Sampson did, is just like willingly jumping into a bottomless pit. (Just imagine that.) Most youths are yet to understand that they weren't born for themselves; they were born as a Messiah for their people. They are on an assignment and are born to be selfless and not selfish. The lack of concentration amongst the youths of today can be attributed to the vast expertise of the Delilah in the society of today.
The secret of your strength is what makes you unique. The day you lose it, you become just not only like the aimless madmen of the streets, but you also would be a disgrace to God and ancestors. The secret to success is concentration. And to be able to achieve that, one must be able to stand firm against the distractions of today.
As a youth, if you are able to stand up and defeat the distractions and Delilah of today, where people see stumbling blocks, you would see a stepping stone.
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This is an eye opener.Youth is more distracted than ever
ReplyDeleteIn many matters, I agree with you. But there are still more good youth. Yes, it’s more difficult for them to navigate this information stream. Progress has another dark side.
ReplyDelete