THE LIMITS OF OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION

THE LIMITS OF OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION

The mere mentioning of the nouns obedience and submission naturally presupposes the existence of some instructions, rules and regulations of which compliance is needed. However, obedience is more related to the specific demands of a particular instruction or law (rules and regulations). Obedience is thus related to the doing of or the refraining from a particular act or conduct. Submission on the other hand has more to do with yielding to a particular sanction (suffering) meted out for disobeying a particular instruction or law. Thus while obedience demands conformity; submission demands surrendering. Submission then concerns disobedience conduct and the surrendering to its consequences. There is therefore some truth in a legal presumption that states that every person intends the natural consequences of that person’s action. Simply put, every person must bear in mind the consequences of any actions that person desires to execute, and must be ready to face those consequences if those actions are initiated or executed.

It is a great virtue to be an obedient or submissive person or both. Children are required to particularly obey their parents and all persons are also required to submit to authorities. However, these requirements have their exceptions. The exceptions have more to do with the nature of the person or authority in question, and the nature of instruction or law emanating from that person or authority. For instance, while both our obedience and submission to God must be absolute in all matters; only our submission to human authorities must be absolute. This means that obedience to human authorities is a qualified one (relative). In other words, certain instructions or laws from human authorities can and should be disobeyed but the disobedient person must submit to any sanction that follows that person’s disobedience conduct.

Therefore, the need to obey every instruction from authorities or laws in a country has its limits. John Macathur wrote in his book Found God’s Will as follows: ‘You may ask, “Am I supposed to obey every law in the land?” Yes, every law. If you do not agree with them, that doesn’t change the matter. Obey them…But what if they tell you to do something that violates God’s clear revelation and command? Then do not obey them! That is the only exception”. This means that any persons can and indeed should disobey any instruction or law that either forbids them to do what they have been told by direct command from God or commands them to do what God forbids. God’s Word is therefore superior to any instruction or law. Therefore, any human instructions or laws that are inconsistent with the Word of God must be disobeyed.

However, we must yield to any sanction that is connected to disobeying any human instructions or laws. The Three Hebrew boys disobeyed King Nebuchadnezzar when he decreed that all persons in his kingdom should fall down and worship a gold image he had set up. The gold image that was set up denotes anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus (God’s Word). Nevertheless, the Three Hebrew boys yielded to the king’s command to cast them into a burning furnace, but God delivered them. God delivered them because they honoured authority despite their rightful disobedience. We can thus conclude that obedience to human authorities is relative but submission to them is absolute! This is so because we must always honour authority, be it divine or human. Submission always breeds blessings.

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of Persecutions are Promotions. Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com. Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com

HOW TO BE FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

HOW TO BE FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth – John 1:14 (NIV).

                                                                   

Nana Kwame had a strong desire to become a lawyer when he was at the elementary school. His mother detested this idea because of her perceptions about lawyers but the father secretly admired it. Kwame took interest in reading wide and always when he got to the senior high school. Besides, he genuinely developed interest in listening to news daily and reading the dailies and many titles on current affairs. He purposely studied General Art courses at the high school and obtained excellent grades in Economics, Government, Geography, Social Studies and English Language. He subsequently, obtained a degree in Law and undertook his Professional Law course which qualified him to be called to the Bar. Thus Kwame realized his childhood dream of becoming a lawyer because he acquired legal knowledge and skill.  However, for Kwame to excel in the legal field, he has to constantly feed on relevant legal knowledge and sharpen his skills by using his knowledge to solve legal problems. There lies his significance!

The content of a thing determines its nature and purpose. Lawyers and Medical Doctors are, respectively, known as persons who can better appreciate legal and medical issues by virtue of their legal and medical contents. Similarly, the Clergy are perceived as people who can better relate to spiritual issues because of their biblical contents. We can therefore conclude that the knowledge of a person usually determines that person’s functions in life. The more knowledgeable a person in a particular field; the more influence that person is likely to wax in that field. Accordingly, knowledgeable persons are influential but the ignoramus is detested.

Knowledge makes a person. It is the most important asset of any persons who possess it.  Knowledge is the accumulation of words related to a particular discipline or subject. Robert T. Kiyosaki in his Retire Young Retire Rich opined, “…In my opinion, words are the most powerful tools available to human beings”. Sharing some lessons he had drawn from his rich father, Robert explains that words are tools for the brain and that any person who uses poor words has poor ideas and a poor life. Jesus authored this great truth when he told his disciples that “…The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” – John 6:63b (NKJV). The words of Jesus were his knowledge about God and His kingdom. His entire life was pivoted on God’s Word.

The words of Jesus are spirit and life. This means that there is a spirit behind the words of Jesus and that spirit gives life. The Holy Spirit is the spirit behind God’s Word. He is the executor or the implementing agent of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit thus gives life (effect) to God’s Word. He is the active force and power behind God’s Word. To be full of the Holy Spirit demands that you are filled with God’s Word completely. Therefore,  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” – Colossians 3:16(NKJV).

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of right your writing. Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com. Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com

HOW TO PLEASE GOD

HOW TO PLEASE GOD

When a man’s way please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him – Proverbs 16:7 (NKJV).

One of the amazing things on earth is the way of a man with a young unmarried woman (virgin). It is wonderful because this man will always do his best to please this woman in all his ways. If the man is a genuine person, he will seek to know more and more about the woman. Besides, he will do his best to please the woman in his communication with her, appearance and attitude towards issues of life. However, for them to have a fruitful relationship and marriage life, both the man and the woman must have one sense of purpose and seek the best interest of each other.

Every real husband knows how to please his wife to win her favour, especially when night approaches. Likewise, there are certain things that please God and win His favour. To win God’s favour constantly, Jesus sought to “do always those things that please Him” – John 8:29. Jesus thus eschewed sin and resolved to always live a holy life. Besides, he absolutely depended on God in all situations by seeking His opinion. He neither bothered about people’s testimony about him nor committed himself to them because he knew human beings. Jesus also set his heart to accomplish his divine mandate, no matter the costs. No wonder he is the greatest man in history.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” – Hebrews 11:6. God’s greatest problem with mankind is unbelief! True. It deeply hurts God when a person does not accept His personality, character and Word (authority and power). God is most pleased when we meaningfully believe that He is the way, the truth and the life, and that without Him we can do nothing! The reason why so many people are struggling in life is because they are trying to attain certain results without depending on God. They thus use worldly ways to achieve a particular satisfaction. But real satisfaction can only be found in things that are based on God’s Word.

Pleasing God requires the need to seek Him diligently. “Diligence”, it is said, is “(a person’s) precious possession”. Diligence is more than hard-work. It has rightly been defined as the persistent and hard-working effort in doing something. God rewards diligence seeking, not hard-work. It is therefore no surprising that many hard-working people have nothing to show. Such people usually doubt God’s faithfulness to His Word because they think they have done their best. But consistency (faithfulness) is more important to God than doing your best. Our faithfulness is usually tested in periods of uncertainty; bareness, destituteness or unfruitfulness; undue delay; inadequacy or insufficiency, fruitfulness or sufficiency; intense contentions, afflictions, persecutions, opposition or reproaches; trials of mocking and scourging; being in chains or imprisonment; and torments and wickedness. Are you passing your faithfulness test(s)?

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of If You Think of Your Opposition You Lose Your Position. Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com. Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com

PREFER PERFECTION TO GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE

PREFER PERFECTION TO GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE

“…Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God”- Gen. 6:9(NKJV)

The adjectives acceptable (average), good and perfect have one thing in common – degree of a standard. They thus denote levels of quality or excellence that are normally accepted or by which actual attainments are judged. Generally in the academia, Grades A, B, C, D, E and F respectively represent Excellent, Very Good, Good, Credit, Pass and Fail. However, the grading system of some professional schools categorized Grades A, B+ and B as Pass Grades and Grades C, D, E and F as Failure Grades. Thus while Grades C and D are Pass Grades at most secondary and tertiary institutions, they are Failure Grades in some professional institutions. Similarly, what we mostly consider as acceptable and good are below God’s firm standard; ask Cornelius.

Excuse is the chief of ungodly compromises. One of such excuses is the so-called adage ‘no person is perfect’. This deceptive adage is usually premised on the fact that we live in an imperfect world which is full of imperfect creatures. So doing good or what is acceptable are usually the general standards majority of the populace aim to attain. No wonder many people have exchanged or sacrificed integrity for mediocrity. But why should you settle for good or better although you can attain the best! Prefer perfection to good and acceptable in all instances.

Perfection is a choice! Noah and Job were perfect and blameless in their perverted generations because they chose to be so. They decisively chose to fear God, walked with Him, and shunned evil. As a result, God delivered only Noah and his household from the Great Flood that destroyed all living things which were on the face of the earth. Besides, Job was the greatest of all the people in the East. And he enjoyed twice of this blessing after staying faithful to God in the midst of an intense adversity.  God always prefers perfect to the acceptable and good although he may choose to work with the latter. The fact that God may choose to work with imperfect creatures is never a rule but a temporary exception. God’s aim in such exceptional cases is to empower the imperfect creatures to be perfect creatures if they choose to walk in the light of His Word. Despite God’s covenant with the 75-year old Abraham, He still required him to “walk before (Him) and be blameless (perfect)” when the latter was 99 years old. Abraham’s subsequent absolute obedience moved God to release His abundant blessings upon the latter.

Heaven belongs to only perfect people. And all such perfect persons are being or were prepared from this imperfect world. Jesus’s perfect character and personality were proved while he was in this world. He chose to walk in the light of God’s Word and unique plan for his life even in the midst of all contradictions and fiercest trials. Therefore, attaining perfection on earth is achievable. To achieve perfection on earth, we must a) genuinely choose to fear God and daily walk with Him like Jesus did; b) intentionally purpose not to conform to the standards of this world; and c) understand that diverse trials and tests are vital tools that make us “perfect and complete”.  Patience and perseverance are thus needed to endure such trials and tests. Perfection is God’s idea, character and personality. Rejecting it on earth is rejecting God forever!

            Richard Obeng Mensah, author of If You Think of Your Opposition You Lose Your Position. Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com

THE BEST GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS

THE BEST GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS

One of the things I admire about females is the way they adore celebration of birthdays, and of course weddings! However, unlike weddings, birthdays are formally celebrated yearly. It has been jokingly said that, “If you want to remember your wife’s birthday; forget it once!” Thus any real husband who always desire to maintain peace and harmony in his home will fix his wife’s birthday on his almanac. But irrespective of one’s belief, colour, ethnic origin, race, sex and station in life, no person can sidestep the waves of Christmas. Almost everyone celebrates it consciously or unconsciously. Christmas season always blow winds of beauty, calmness, fragrance, glory, peace, reflections, joy and unity across the globe. It is the most unique global festive season. The uniqueness of Christmas season calls for its special celebration. As a special celebration, special gifts need to be exchanged and presented. And the best of the gifts must be presented to the person in whose honour and joy Christmas is celebrated – Jesus!

Christmas is God’s idea. The centre of its special celebration is Jesus. Christmas helps us to appreciate one of the hackneyed attributes of God – Alpha and Omega. Christmas thus denotes the ending of one successful year and the beginning of another new special year. Christmas therefore reminds us that everything begins and ends with Jesus. He is the Author of life and ‘Landlord’ of time. As the ‘Landlord’ of time, Jesus deserves our appreciation in this special season. We must thus spend time in His presence.  And in His presence, there is fullness of joy and pleasures for evermore. Truly, “The best gift a person can give to another person is that person’s time”. We must also spend quality time with our families and neighbours. The Magi are credited as wise men because they chose to visit and present gifts such as gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus at His birth. The gold, frankincense and myrrh denote the acknowledgement of the kingship, priesthood and death of Jesus.

Evangelism is another great gift. Evangelism is taking the initiative to preach the good news about Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. It is the heart beat of God. Thus evangelism is dear to Jesus. The Magi shared the good news of Jesus’s birth with King Herod and his officials. King Herod is a symbol of authorities, governors, principalities, rulers and wicked people. As you visit and spend quality time with others in this Christmas season, let your conversation centre on the good news of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Christmas is one of the best seasons to seek and share Christ with others. We need to discover more of Him and share our findings and testimonies with others during Christmas.

Richard Obeng Mensah, co-author of 37 Benefits of Reading. The writer is an award-winning author of 7 books and over 250 articles on legal and non-legal themes.  He is also a certified life and leadership coach, a lawyer, a law lecturer and a blogger.  Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com   Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com © 24/12/2012.

THE THOUGHTS OF A GREAT PRESIDENT AND A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

THE THOUGHTS OF A GREAT PRESIDENT AND A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Sow a thought, and you reap an action; sow an action, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny – Charles Reade.

A person’s thought is central to that person’s actions, habits, character, and destiny. Consequently, a great or failed destiny flows from a person’s thought. Thus the thought of a president or a potential president is a good basis for electorates to know the kind of a president that person would be. While admitting that good thoughts alone do not guarantee prudent and wise exercise of a political power; it can never be glossed over. In this article, we will review certain thoughts of Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Jimmy Carter of the USA to make out how their thoughts contributed to their great leadership exploits.

Firstly, great presidents acknowledge the truth that greatness is not in duration but in depth. This means that one’s affective attitude (such as passion, courage, confidence and a commitment to principles) towards the achievement of that person’s God-given purpose is more important than the amount of time it takes to accomplish that purpose. Studies have shown that many people select leaders who fight for what is right, often under very difficult circumstances and who also care for the needs of their people. This means that great leaders selflessly fight for right causes with the aim of securing the good welfare of their people. To such leaders, holding a political office is a means to ending the right causes they fought for. Ex-president Nelson Mandela’s name is usually published alongside true greats like Mother Teresa, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jnr. and others because of his good thoughts. He once said, “When my ultimate aim was achieved, it was time to move on to a higher calling. Ironically, the day I was inaugurated into office as president, I knew my job was already done and therefore began preparing to leave. In that regard, you may say that my very first day in office was also my last day. In my mind, I had already begun packing out”. Unfortunately, this thought has eluded many so-called political leaders particularly in Africa. Consequently, they have believed the lie that spending many years in a political office is a guarantee that they will accomplish their purposes. On the contrary, they usually achieve the opposite!

Great presidential candidates on their part focus on their God-given visions, not criticisms. Although criticisms of all forms can be turned into political assets, a true potential president will primarily focus on her vision. This was so with candidate Jimmy Carter. Carter had good thoughts about criticisms when seeking the highest political office of USA. He acknowledged both the good and the bad twists of criticisms and determined to keep his eyes on his vision. At one breath, he saw some positivity in some criticisms marshaled against him: “I want to be tested in the most severe way. I want the American people to understand my character and weaknesses, the kind of person I am.” He was however quick to deduce the real motives of his destructive critics in the following words: “My critics don’t want to stop Carter. They want to stop the reforms I am committed to. They want to stop the people of this country from regaining control of their government. They want to preserve the status quo, to preserve politics as usual, to maintain at all costs their entrenched, unresponsive, bankrupt, irresponsible political power”. Therefore, a real presidential candidate sees criticisms as a test of one’s character and vision. Focusing on one’s vision in the midst of intense criticisms is central to greatness.

Secondly, great presidents continue to keep in mind that they are still human beings no matter the feats they attain or the great heights they reach. This trait enables them to acknowledge their weaknesses and yet be committed to their visions. Besides, it enables them to accept the truth that they cannot take the place of God in human affairs. That God, like governments, is the only person who can do for the people what they cannot do for themselves. Thus real presidents concentrate on what is humanly possible and trust God for the impossible things. Unfortunately, some so-called leaders bestow upon themselves titles such as “Messiah”, and “Saviour”. Nelson Mandela is among the few exception: ‘While it is nice to be appreciated, I shudder at the continuous reference to me as “living legend” or “Secular Saint” or any other such references and the near-worshipful adulation that invariably seems to creep in with it. That was one of the things that worried me – to be raised to the position of a semi-god – because then you are no longer a human being. I wanted to be known as Mandela, a man with weaknesses, some of which are fundamental, but a man who is committed’.

Great presidential candidates are not afraid of electoral ‘defeat’.  Common sense makes it obvious that only one person can be a president of any nation at a time. Regardless of their convictions and visions, real presidential candidates are more than willing to concede ‘defeat’ if they are not elected. They consider their “rejection” as a ‘de-feat’, never a defeat. ‘De-feat’ in the sense that they were not given the opportunity to attain some desired feats. In other words, electoral defeat only denotes a lost opportunity to magnify one’s influence. “I am running for president,” Carter said, “because I have a vision of a new America, a different America, a better America, and it is not shared by those who are trying so hard to stop my campaign…I see an America with a president who does not govern by vetoes and negativism, but with vigor and vision and positive, affirmative, aggressive leadership.” Despite his good thoughts for America, candidate Jimmy Carter was willing to accept the ‘de-feat’ of his vision for America: “…I feel like I’m doing the best I can, and if I get elected president, I’ll have a chance to magnify my own influence, maybe in a beneficial way. If I don’t get elected president, I’ll go back to Plains”. Mitt Romney is commended for conceding ‘defeat’ in one of the most aggressive electoral contests in living memory. For Kofi Annan, the “willingness of a loser to accept defeat gracefully, and the victor to show respect for the losing side, is one of the hallmarks of a stable democracy”.

A person’s thought is a replica of that person. This is because the thoughts of any person denote that person’s actions, habits, character and destiny! Messrs Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter are among the great presidents this world has ever witnessed. The secret to their great leadership heights is that they had good thoughts concerning the presidency of their respective nations. We must therefore scrutinize the thoughts of any person who is seeking to govern the affairs of Ghana. Remember, a person’s thought is imbedded in his actions, character and habits.

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of If You Think of Your Opposition You Lose Your Position .The writer is an award-winning author of 7 books and over 250 articles.  He is also a certified life and leadership coach, a lawyer, a legal academic and a blogger.  Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com   Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com © 27 November 2012.

VOTE FOR HONESTY

VOTE FOR HONESTY

Election is a formal decision making. The decision is based on choosing one person or group of persons instead of other(s). The people to choose from may all appear capable and daring.  It is also about choosing between two good or two evils, but usually not between the obvious good and obvious bad. It is said that the good has some bad stuff and the bad also has some good stuff. Ella Wheeler Wilcox, a poet, wrote, “There are two kinds of people on earth today, just two kinds of people, no more, I say. Not the good and the bad, for ’tis well understood. That the good are half-bad and the bad are half-good…Not the sinner and saint, for it’s well understood…the two kinds of people on earth I mean are the people who lift, and the people who lean”. This means that it is better to choose people who can honestly add positive value to your personality and society as a whole. Lean people are energy suckers and unproductive, avoid them! Choose honest people who are lifters. But if you were to choose between a lifter and an honest person, go for the latter.

Nature abhors leadership vacuum so the electorates must make a decision. Certainly, there is no wisdom choosing from two obvious devils. Choosing from the two obvious good is also very difficult. However, as already pointed out, the choice is usually between the two less obvious good. One great guide to the electorates in making this decision is the issue of honesty. “Honesty,” so goes a good saying, “is the best policy”. Honesty truly is the chief of policies. This means personalities or policies on their own are not valuable if they are devoid of honesty.

Honesty is the quality of being fair, morally upright, and truthful. And a real partisan politician or political party must possess this quality. Governing a nation or representing a constituent demands more than political manifestoes, policies and a team to execute them. It is more about being honest in words and deeds. Without honesty, a team will loot or mismanage resources or both; political manifestoes are mere slogans; and policies remain theories. For ex-president Jimmy Carter, the people in any nation deserve to have government as good, honest and moral as they are. It is said that more than eighteen months before he won the presidential nomination, Carter travelled the fifty states, preaching the need for moral revival in high places. The basic issue of 1976, in the view of the Democratic nominee, was the decay of morality and decline of honesty in government. He said, “The people of the country feel they’ve been betrayed. They don’t understand why something is going on in our nation’s government that is a matter of embarrassment and shame. The competence of government is not an accepted characteristic any more. No matter what a person hopes to do ultimately in life, no matter what his top hope or aspiration might be, he feels, generally, that Washington is an obstacle to the realization of that hope, rather than an asset to be tapped in the future, in the consummation of that hope”.

Ghanaians indeed “deserve to have government as good, honest and moral as they are”. The political system of Ghana should no more be made to be viewed as a breeding ground for greed, oppression, corruption, political unrest and dishonesty! An election is more than infrastructure, access to education, free quality education, agriculture, health-care, industrialization or employment. We must address the decay of morality and honesty in our government and society in general. We need moral revival in both high and low places. The political system of Ghana must be an asset, not an obstacle. Dear reader, vote for honesty. You can know them by their fruits, not policies!

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of If You Think of Your Opposition You Lose Your Position .The writer is an award-winning author of 7 books and over 250 articles.  He is also a certified life and leadership coach, a lawyer, a legal academic and a blogger.  Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com   Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com © 10 November 2012. Updated on 7 December 2020.