Daily Devotionals

One of the biggest problems plaguing western Africa is an obsession with making money. They fail to recognize that the concept of making money is linked to productivity. They fail to see that your true wealth is the value you create. So, everybody wants to lay their hands on money without giving any thought to the productivity requirements of such riches. If you desire to become wealthy, you must understand that your productivity is your wealth. Money is just a system that allows us to transfer our wealth. Your money does not mean anything without the productivity to match it. Poverty is not a money problem, it is a productivity problem.

After the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced their plans to redesign the currency of their country, something very odd began to happen. Old banknotes, as old as twenty years old, began to resurface. Justifying the decision of the CBN to undertake the exercise. Among the challenges that influenced the decision, the CBN lamented “significant hoarding” of banknotes, claiming that N2.73 trillion out of the N3.23 trillion in circulation as of September 2022 was outside the vaults of commercial banks across the country. The reason banknotes are hoarded in Nigeria is due to greed. This greed is fueled by a lack of understanding about how wealth creation works. Hoarding banknotes stresses the monetary system. The government is forced to print more money, without any increase in productivity. The end result is a multiplication of poverty in the land.

Hoarding ten million worth of your country’s currency is not wealth. True wealth is owning an asset or part of an asset that generates ten million in value. The reason people hoard money is because they think it guarantees their future, but it doesn’t. There is no multimillionaire or billionaire that became rich by hoarding money. Money in itself has no value. It is a worthless piece of paper. The true value of money is when it is used to transfer productivity within an economy. You must decide today, right now, that you will not become a part of the problem. You will focus on increasing your productivity. The goal is to create wealth by owning things that generate economic value. Anything else is sentiment and will lead to poverty.

You cannot lead the change you want to see in your world if you are a part of the problem. The first step to changing your world is to identify the problems in your world. You must then turn your attention inwards to consider how you are contributing to the problem. You must set aside your holier-than-them attitude. You need to check and be sure you are not fueling the problem. Fortify yourself against the problem. These will make you stand out in your world. You are not ready to watch over your world and steer it towards a better future, if you are not standing out. You must stand out in your thoughts, your words and your actions.

The biggest mistake you can make is to hesitate to stand out. You represent a mode of thought, a culture that is more disciplined than anything this world has to offer. A corrupt world is driven by lust and greed (2 Peter 1:4). You want to transform it into a world driven by divine principles and selfless love. Christians make a big mistake when they try to imitate the culture around them with slight variations. There is a big problem when the holiness, selfless love, justice, integrity, and work ethic that should define a Christian is missing. This is a mistake, and it will not help you with your mission to change your world.

In the Bible, you notice a pattern of believers standing out. They never blend in. In great famine, Isaac continued to succeed. Joseph leveraged incredible wisdom and strength of character to continue to grow the economy of his nation in the midst of a global famine. The three Hebrew boys chose the burning furnace over compromising their faith, and they won. Romans 12:2 (ESV) says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Do not be afraid to think differently, talk differently and act differently. Your superior ways, moulded by your faith will always make you stand out. Your world will copy you.

As you devote your time and energy to completing your mission. You will notice how much the mission is changing you. Your mission will take you to new places you never dreamed of. It will require you to do things you never dreamed of. Clarity around your mission increases over time. And as you gain more clarity, you will see the need to change your approach to life. It takes humility for you to succeed in your quest to steer your world towards a better future. You must be open to receiving feedback on your efforts. The feedback will show you exactly how much you need to change.

When the Almighty God made it clear that Elisha would succeed Elijah as his prophet. Elisha understood that he had to grow into a prophet by serving Elijah. It is necessary to note that God did not stipulate a condition of service when he directed Elijah to anoint Elisha (1 Kings 19:15-16). So, Elisha evolved from his original roots as a farmer. He became the prophet’s apprentice and personal servant (2 Kings 3:11-12). After Elijah’s ascension, Elisha became a prophet in his own right. He became so important to his nation that on his deathbed, the King went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” (2 Kings 13:13-21). Every step of the way demanded he evolve into something else. That was the only way he could fulfil his destiny as a watchman tasked with watching his nation.

Your mission will take you to places you are not comfortable with. You will have to grow and evolve with the times. As long as you are committed to getting the job done. You will always need some initial training to be effective in your role as a watchman tasked with steering us towards where God wants us to go. When you start working, you will always notice the need for more discipline and work ethic. The strategies that produced fifty measures will not be sufficient to produce five hundred measures. You will become irrelevant if you ignore the need to change.

George Land concluded after extensive research into the nature of creativity that humans are born creative. Nothing suggests that creativity, like breathing, is not a fundamental human characteristic. You may be wondering why, if humans are naturally creative, so many adults are not considered creative. The answer is simple; many adults did not fan this gift from God into flames. They are not stoking the fire of creativity. You need to focus your creative energy enough for it to become potent and active. It is possible to operate at a higher level of creativity.

The journey to mastering your creative powers is going to take some time. It takes some patience. And a willingness to commit to the process. Creative exploits demand discipline, attention, will, and consequently, conscious work. You need to work out some things before you will be able to showcase the fruits of your productivity. You would need to develop specialised knowledge. Specialized knowledge helps you to leverage your wisdom in a tangible way. This will help you craft a “science” out of what you do. Your unique creations are the fruit of your decision to commit to this process.

You need something to help you focus your creative abilities. Creativity does not operate in a vacuum. It requires you to identify a problem you wish to solve. We create things in order to solve problems or create value in society. Once you have identified a theme around which you want to create value. You can get started for real. Step 1: Gather knowledge. You have to consume lots, and lots of knowledge around the things you want to do. Step 2: Take time to think and reflect on what you are reading. Mentally chew what you are reading. Digest it. Step 3: Give it time, ideas will flash your mind. Step 4: Evaluate your ideas by seeking feedback from the right sources. Once you complete this process a few times, you will ascend to a higher level of consciousness.

King Rehoboam’s decision in 1 Kings 12:1-17 is an excellent case study in the need to have advisors more experienced than yourself. Rehoboam’s foolish decision caused Israel to rebel against the house of David. Furthermore, this resulted in the formation of the northern kingdom known as Israel, with Jeroboam as King of Israel, and Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, reigning in the southern kingdom known as Judah. Despite the fact that this was the fulfillment of a prophecy. However, we can learn that Rehoboam made a major diplomatic and political blunder by following the advice of young men who were his colleagues and rejecting the advice of sages who lived with his father.

Experience is the best teacher. However, learning from one’s own experiences is costly. You should instead cultivate relationships with people who have more experience than you. Make use of their intellect. Use their experiences as a stepping stone to advance faster. In rejecting the advice of seasoned counsellors, Rehoboam may have been a victim of negative peer influence. This happens quite frequently. Young people would rather listen to their peers than to sound advice from seasoned mentors who God has provided for them. This is always a bad idea. You must recognize the need to draw upon the wisdom of the old.

There is a place for learning from people in your age group. But you should be thinking about your long-term goals through the lens of people who have accomplished the things you can only dream about right now. The Apostle Paul advised young people to learn from the elders. Consider Titus 2:3‭-‬5 (NLT), “Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.” Do not be obsessed with “peer to peer” mentoring. Seek out those who through faith and patience have already obtained the promise.

There are three factors that distinguish those who fail to complete their mission from those who succeed. A watchman must be able to clearly state their mission. Develop the necessary leadership skills. And possess the necessary discipline and work ethic to complete the task. It would appear that the first step is to have clarity about the mission. However, so much time and money are invested in undefined projects. While it is true that you do not need to fully comprehend the mission before beginning. However, when you know too little, you set yourself up for failure. It is difficult to carry out a mission that you do not understand.

If you have trouble stating the exact impact it will have, you should work on your mission statement more. Here are some questions to help you gain a better understanding of your mission. What exactly is the problem you are attempting to resolve? Can you describe your solution from beginning to end? What will your world be like when you implement your solution? How much effort would be required? What is your strategy for funding or attracting resources for this project? Again, you may not have all of the answers, but thinking about it helps.

Hebrews 6:12 (ESV) says, “so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” There is always a tendency to underestimate the amount of effort required to win. You are more likely to attribute other people’s success to luck or a special spiritual gift. This prevents you from believing that working harder will help you achieve better results. Creating a poor work ethic in your workplace. What you need to do is set high expectations for yourself. Look for elite performers who have successfully completed their mission at a high level. Do not be lazy; rather, emulate their discipline and work ethic. A clear mission combined with visionary leadership and a strong work ethic is a winning combination.

Your imitation is your limitation. Human beings are wired to imitate. You imitate every single day. You might not be conscious about this, but it is happening all the same. Your first steps in life were inspired by watching other people walk around you, and you desired that power in your life. If you were unaware of the possibilities of walking on two feet. You would happily crawl in an alternate world where humans do not walk. Your potential is limitless, but the people and circumstances you emulate limit you. Choose who you imitate carefully. As it is written, “And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 NLT).

You cannot control your ability to imitate and absorb ideas and mannerisms from around you. You can control where you imitate from. It is self-deceit to insist that you do not copy from anywhere. It is impossible to function in society without copying what others are doing. Our day-to-day living can be construed as copying what others are doing, with slight variation. You are shaped by the culture around you. Romans 12:2 warns against copying the behaviour and customs of a corrupted world. The quality of the society determines the possibilities that are available to you.

You will become the person you imitate. If you are learning, absorbing and imitating mediocre people, you are also going to sink into the depths of mediocrity alongside the rest of the pack. Finding out who you take your cues from is one of the best ways to predict how your life will turn out. Who are you trying to imitate? You become an animal if you imitate animals. You will become a genius if you imitate a genius. If there was a way to imitate God, you could become more like Him. Apostle Paul wrote, “And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.”

In the beginning, God blessed mankind, “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion…” In this context, fruitfulness refers to a person’s ability to do meaningful work. Fruitfulness is bible-speak for productivity. And the economy is nothing more than a reflection of the productivity of the people. As you can see, nothing is more important than the economy. These days, fruitfulness has been redefined in a religious sense. Particularly in religious circles. This has resulted in a decrease in productivity and an increase in poverty. The practical watchman must understand that God prioritizes productivity.

God is not indifferent to the economy. You should never separate your work from economic reality. Whatever your mission is, it has an impact on the economy. And being aware of this is critical. When God blessed mankind in the Book of Genesis, it was a spiritual blessing meant to produce a physical effect. It was not some abstract blessing that cannot be understood. This fruitfulness is not limited to religious pursuits. God wants you to be productive in your world. It is a big mistake to think that the productivity of people does not matter. It does. And if spiritual growth doesn’t correspond to a productivity boost, people become disillusioned.

You must recognize that nothing is more important than helping people find meaningful work. Your spiritual work in their life is meaningless unless they define their productivity. You cannot consider your mission accomplished just by helping them live right. People who live right must become more productive. When you think about it, you see that the absence of meaningful work creates a sinful lifestyle. It is difficult for an honest person working a decent job to go out of their way to sin. Indifference to your world’s economy is not scriptural. It does not give you power in the real world.

Never start a new year without finishing it in your mind. Never start a new quarter of the year without finishing it in your mind. You should start every new month with a clear sense of priorities. There should be some clarity around every milestone, and everything you need to kick into motion during that season of life. The Bible instructs us to study how God works and to imitate him in our daily lives. You should study and learn from how God declares his agenda at the beginning of each day of creation. Your daily actions should show that you are a person on a mission for God.

Times and seasons are important concepts to the watchman tasked with steering us towards a better future. Every new season builds upon the previous ones. You must be alert and awake to the requirements of the season. Making the most of every season is of topmost priority. A bad plan is better than no plan. Your bad plans will evolve over the course of the year. In the passing of time, you will see the flaws in your ways and course correct. But the watchman that starts the year without any planning is nothing more than a joker.

If you live your daily life as if you believe in your mission, it will reflect upon your calendar. Shane Parrish wrote, “Don’t tell me your priorities. Show me your calendar.” A glance at your calendar should tell us everything we need to know about you and your aspirations. Your calendar will show us how you are fighting poverty and illiteracy. We will see how your daily schedule is helping to raise selfless leaders. There would be intercessory prayer times. Meetings with relevant stakeholders. Lectures and sensitisation of the general public. And of course; business systems to design and improve.

Copy. Copy those who have already accomplished what you want. As it is written, “so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” You will save a lot of time and energy if you do this. The first step is to establish clarity around your mission. Then you look for others who have done something similar. Imitate (copy) them by learning everything you can about them. Humans like to think of themselves as original thinkers. The truth is that we copy more than we would like to admit. Copying is a productivity shortcut. You copy those who have already accomplished what you want.

It is necessary to copy and imitate because there are just too many possibilities and options available. You would exhaust yourself if you wanted to try out every possibility to see where they lead before committing to a path. Experience is the best teacher, but it is the worst way to learn. You want to learn from the experiences of others. Gathering the best of what others figured out on their journey. People that have the same hopes and aspirations as you now do. You will get started with your life’s work faster if you find someone to imitate.

You must be careful, and ensure you imitate those who have already achieved what you desire. Peer-to-peer mentoring has its place. However, you should have excellent examples of people who are not your peers to emulate. Most of the time, your colleagues are as confused as you are. And there’s no guarantee they’ve figured anything out. You want to model yourself after people who have already accomplished the goal. Obtain their biographies, interviews, or written works. Study as much as you possibly can. When you study them, you are looking for three things: their education, mentors, and teachers. And their plans. You should keep track of how their plans and execution changed over time. Copy.