It was a custom for the youth fellowship unit I belonged to under my church to occasionally invite guest speakers to have a discussion topic with fellowship members. This was about ten years ago, when we had the fellowship of young Christian adults (foyca) under the United Missionary Church of Africa (UMCA).
The most impactful of such activities was the one where Architect Oyedepo was invited to give the youths a talk. Sincerely, I cannot recall the topic discussed, but one of the youths asked for some take-away counsel, and he went thus:
"NOT EVERYTHING THAT PASSES BEFORE YOUR EYES IS FOR GRABS"**
Architect Oyedepo is one of the most elderly persons in my church, and his gray hair is a giveaway to his advancement in life. The above counsel really struck a cord in my heart and, for years, has kept resounding in my mind and influencing my decisions as regards finance or the procurement of properties.
I learned a couple of lessons, and the first I deduced from the above word of advice is:
- CONTENTMENT: Humanity is constantly faced with unlimited wants and needs, and resources are usually limited to satisfy them. It is thus important to know and accept that we cannot have all our wants and needs met. We are encouraged to live within the context of the comfort of available resources while we make the extra efforts to achieve or attain more. Contentment is not limited to material wants or needs; the need for contentment may come even in the pursuit of positions or promotions, contracts, human relationships, etc.
- DISCIPLINE: Human nature wants to acquire despite knowing there are limits to the available resources. The words of marble help us to discipline our spending culture such that we are able to differentiate wants from needs. In the face of an abundance of resources, we must be disciplined to acquire what is relevant and do away with what is not. Discipline helps curb the greedy human nature to keep amassing material needs.
This advice made me realize that many things will come our way, and human nature desires to own as much as possible. Despite the many things that flood us, we cannot have them all. The world was never built around any singular individual. What is scarce for someone or a part of the society may be in abundance in another. We are thus required to sieve everything that comes our way, choose the relevant things, and discard or temporarize the non-essential items.
I have not perfectly lived by the above principle, as the human mind has constantly battled with the need to satisfy its wants. However, it has been a guiding principle for me to be content, cautious in settling for any item or material, and objectively weigh the priorities of wants and needs.
Architect Oyedepo is well over eighty years of age and as fit as he was 10 years ago. I have never been to his house, but I heard he is comfortable enough. Perhaps his words of advice must have come from a wealth of experiences and revelations.
Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.