Daily Devotionals

The goal should not be to make money and do good by setting aside some money for “charity”. There are documented studies and research that has shown such interventions to be superficial. An example is the “big man” who gives a village ten bags of rice and claims he has solved world hunger. While we are grateful for his kindness, we need to identify such gestures as superficial. They are not the real changes we need. Setting aside money for charity can never replace the need for wisdom, insights, discipline and proper planning that is required to actually tackle social and economic problems of your world. We need to understand charity and philanthropy on a deeper level.

Eyebrows were raised when Elon Musk, the man occupying the number one slot on the Forbes Billionaires list described his businesses as philanthropy. Philanthropy means “love of humanity” in Greek. Elon Musk running several companies that make him the richest human in the world, is not the common understanding of what qualifies as philanthropy. Musk noted that Tesla is “accelerating sustainable energy. This is love… philanthropy. SpaceX is trying to ensure the long-term survival of humanity with a multi-planet species. This is love for humanity. Boring Co. is trying to solve traffic, which is hell for most people”

“If you care about the reality of goodness instead of the perception of it, philanthropy is extremely difficult”

Elon Musk

There is no betterment of society when our best brains focus on enriching their private pockets through any means necessary while paying lip service to stewardship and service. Your core business is to look for the toughest problems in your day and develop the might to solve those problems. You would discover that if you really want to do good in a way that is consistent and sustainable it has to be a business. We need to begin to understand philanthropy (love of humanity) this way.

I think it is up to us – you and me, to shift the conversation from money and material possessions towards ideas. We should debate ideas more often, not get caught up in gossip about people. This is a major failing of Nigerian society. We are glued towards discussing people and enjoy the chance to slander and mischaracterize them. This has fed a toxic culture of celebrity worship and now, every young mind wants to become a celebrity. Celebrities represent everything Nigerians hold dear: money, power and status. Everyone wants a piece of that action. However, progressive societies drive conversations around ideas and not money, materialism or people.

As the saying goes, “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.” You may have noticed that in the buildup to elections in Nigeria, the conversation is focused on the people running for political offices and not their ideology. The public discourse is centered about their personal character and conduct. This is a recipe for disaster and we have seen that play out for over two decades now. When the average Nigerian hears about right-leaning and left-leaning politicians in Europe or North America, they have no idea what that means.

Ideas rule the world and we must carefully curate the ideas that form the heart of our society. It is more difficult to talk about ideas and events, because this requires a certain amount of intelligence and reflection and information. A society that values money and materialism over everything else will always be enslaved by societies driven by ideas and ideals. You should be discussing ideas, frameworks for growth, progress and economic prosperity. You cannot steer your world towards a better future when the conversation is centered upon the hustle and making money.

If you live in Nigeria you would observe that money and material possessions are the center of most conversations. From the town square to the Ivory Tower. From the corridors of political power to the sacred pulpit. It is all the same. These are a people united by their drive to make money in order to buy themselves a better future. This logic is flawed because money does not guarantee a better future. A better future is created by people working hard collectively to tackle social and economic issues in their day. You must not play the money game. You must understand value creation and your contribution to your world.

The bank robber Willie Sutton did rather well at his odd profession: Over the course of his career, he stole around $2 million. One day, journalists asked why he robbed banks, and his response was simple, eloquent, and humorous: “Because that’s where the money is.” This is also similar to what we observe in society today. When the goal is to make as much money as possible, enterprising young minds will go all out to get it by any means possible. This “make money” drive has eroded the nation of values and ethics. If the goal is to make money and the work does not matter, you might as well steal, scam or even get the money through money ritual.

A common trap is the idea that we will change society when we have money. Or thinking that your success in life is measured by how much money you have. This money drive has eaten away at the fabric of society so much that we don’t notice it anymore. Money does not solve problems. It is arrogant to think that throwing money at problems will solve it. At the end of the day, wisdom, creativity and inventiveness is what solves problems. Ideas, not money rules the world. Money will always take a second place to ideas and value creation. You have to make up your mind that you are not playing the money game.

The ideology of “make money and do the good you can” must be condemned. It promotes the idea that you should make money anyhow you can and court divine favour by giving away some of the money. This mindset enables a lot of the societal evils that keeps the genuine watchman up at night. When we teach people that making money is all that matters. That you do not matter unless you have money, we are steering our world towards a very dangerous place. Today, people out there are ready to do anything they can to make money. They justify their methods and suppress their God-given conscience by giving money to the poor.

Let me illustrate with a quick example. While gambling, betting and prostitution are legal in a lot of places. These kinds of economic activities encourage ideas and behaviours that have no place in a progressive society. However, you now have people whose claim to entrepreneurial fame is building a betting business. And they are out there “doing good” and campaigning for political offices. I think the greatest good such people can do is to shut down the betting business. You might think I am being extreme, but this anyhow-ness has enabled the next generation to go all out. This is why yahoo-yahoo, ponzi schemes, and even money rituals are taking over society. Just make money and do good; ethics and morals be damned!

If you insist there is nothing wrong with “make money and do good” by giving to the poor. I would also insist that it is similar to excessive consumption of food and alcohol. It is not a crime, but it is not the way of a king. You can not expect anyone seriously thinking about functioning as the salt and light of the world to be driven by making money. You should be driven by solving problems in a way that is consistent and sustainable. We must reject a world where people are poor in values but possess paper money while failing to build any meaningful wealth.

One day, you will have to decide whether you want to make money or you want to serve. While you are not wrong for thinking they are not mutually exclusive, the core ideology behind your pursuits in life matters. There is a difference between watching the world and making money. There is a difference between thirsting for success and seeking the betterment of your world. A watchman trying to steer the world towards a better future and making money in the process is different from a businessman that sets aside some money for corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects.

Chinua Achebe in his book “The Trouble With Nigeria” criticized the ideologies of two very popular Nigerian leaders. He pointed out that their mindset was more likely to produce “aggressive millionaires”, rather than servant leaders the country needed. You take a look around and can identify this issue within the political space of most African countries. The leaders emerged from a culture of “make money and do good”. They never understood service or how to commandeer resources for the common good. You cannot set a goal of making money and somehow also maximize your impact and legacy.

Serving as the salt and light of the world is not about making money. It is about service. Your top priority is to deliver your ideas and solutions in a way that is consistent and sustainable. You can make money in the process; you should make money in the process. However, you are not a businessman engaging in corporate social responsibility activities. You are a watchman trying to do the good you know to do. An obsession with making money will derail you from your task. Over time, you stop optimizing for your world and begin to think about fattening your purse. This is real poverty.

It seems obvious that people living without the influence of Christ are drawn towards a lifestyle that tends towards lawlessness and destruction. They are destroyed by human passions fuelled by greed and lust. You need to realize that the world pulls us downwards towards mediocrity. They are lost and groping in the dark. There is a great difference between people that are influenced by godly virtues and those that are not. You must be conscious of these facts and realize that you have what it takes to light up your world.

I am sure you can easily identify a thousand and one things wrong with your world – your family, your fellowships, your community, or your nation. It is normal for disorder to increase in any natural system overtime. However, as Albert Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” We cannot expect the people that created the problems to also solve it. If they had the light required to solve the problem, they would have avoided the problem in the first place. They are only human and finding a higher level of consciousness isn’t always doable, especially when one is driven by human passions.

Therefore, it is up to you to shine the light of heaven upon your dark world. You should never be content to just complain or murmur about social and economic problems in your world. You can do something about it because you operate at a higher consciousness than the consciousness of the worldly people that created the problems initially. If your spirit is dominated by heaven, your soul will operate at a higher consciousness than the world around you. This is why you must consistently renew your mind by focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes. You must grow into a higher consciousness that tackles the breakdown of the world around you.

A watchman must be very conscious of their role in steering their world towards a better future. Operating as God’s agent, channeling the grace of God upon a dark, greedy and corrupt world. One of the great blessings you enjoy is the gift of being incorruptible. You refuse to conform to the world. You are strong enough not to be persuaded to do something that violates your conscience. There must be a conscious sense of purpose in service. The world continues to move towards corruption, but you operate and exert yourself to push in the opposite direction.

We see people standing out in this way everyday. The great Inventor George Washington Carver famously took responsibility for the prosperity of the farmers in his days. At great personal cost, he taught them how to increase the yield of their farms. And also gave them ideas on how to increase the utility of their crops after harvest. You observe people like that every day in every facet of life. It is more impressive when you consider the fact that they do this without appearing self-righteous or condescending in any way. They are simply standing up for the truth they know. They are committed towards doing the good they know to do.

Even if the world goes mad, you are expected to maintain your sanity. You operate as an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), and as such, you have to hold yourself to the highest levels of accountability and discipline. An ambassador must be accountable to the government they represent. Your first accountability is to God and not human beings. This does not mean you are not accountable to people, but it means you are not negatively influenced by them. You rather define and redefine what is possible. You uphold the faith and challenge the rest of us to higher standards and excellence.

Position yourself for growth and achievement. You must not only realise that you can position yourself for growth and achievement. You must also understand that you are solely responsible for how your life turns out. It does not matter wherever you are right now in your life. You can begin the climb upwards. Away from mediocrity and underachievement, towards a rich and satisfactory life. It is a very long climb for most of us and as such, it is best not to climb alone. The best way to position yourself for growth and achievement is to align yourself with others headed in the same direction.

Everyone needs a spiritual well from where they can draw inspiration and strength to keep going. The role of your community cannot be sidestepped. Your current community enables you to do certain things (negatively or positively). There are some things that are simply implausible for you to achieve because of your current affiliations in life. A lot of notable characters in the bible had to change their environment before their walk with God could take on new depth. Abraham had to walk away from the influence of his father’s house. Joseph and Moses had to live for decades away from their places of birth. You have to consciously select your environment and community.

When you get connected to an upwardly mobile community, you increase your chances of success. This is the principle that drives people to relocate themselves physically, virtually or ideologically. You have to find a place where your weak hands can be strengthened and your spirit reinvigorated. When you embrace the growth and responsibility required for you to contribute to your world. You would see that it comes with pain. The worst kinds of pain in the world are growth pains. When you decide that you want to work on things that matter, something bigger than yourself, you would need more than self motivation. You need a system that will increase your chances of success.

You should take care that no bitterness is allowed to take root and spring up in your heart. It simply causes trouble for your soul and it becomes a poison to your entire community. There is simply no justification for you to allow resentment, animosity or expressions of wickedness in any way. Your number one goal should be towards maximizing your productivity. Nothing must be allowed to get in the way of that. Whether dealing with greedy partners or an immature bunch, it makes no difference. You have to guard your heart and keep it away from “soulish poisoning”.

One important lesson I learned from several mentors over the years was to forgive people in advance. The idea is that like Jesus pointed out, it is impossible for there not to be any offences amongst people. However, one must be quick to forgive and also give allowance for each other’s shortcomings. So, we forgive people in our heart even before they offend us! No matter the offence. There is no basis for you to allow bitterness into your heart. It is counterproductive and operates as a poison. Killing all that is good, useful and beneficial, not only at the personal level, but at the community level as well.

Which brings us to “turning the other cheek”. Turning the other cheek means that you allow people to have their way. They can do whatever they want as long as you keep your peace of mind. You need to understand that the tranquility, joy and purity in your spirit is more important to you than trying to get even. This is true brokenness. In the real sense of it, if everybody enforces their rights, there will be no functional society for anyone to enjoy. If you have reservations about this, then you should grow your soul to understand the difference between bitterness, wickedness and true justice.

There are three things that will help you succeed in life. You need to renew your mind and develop a better mindset. With a renewed mind, you must seek the means to increase your productivity. However, with all these, you need to obtain the grace of God. You need to realize that renewing your mind is not all that is required. Thinking positive or thinking big in itself yields nothing without the proper work ethic. Nevertheless, above all, you need the grace of God. There is a spiritual blessing that brings you favour and goodwill amongst men. Something spiritual that makes things ordinarily outside your control to go your way.

I have long held in suspicion people who insist all they have accomplished is by the grace of God. However, as I have journeyed through life, I see the appeal of giving all glory to God. You simply cannot take all the credit or attribute everything to your mindset and above-average productivity (See 1 Corinthians 15:10). I realize that today’s Billionaires also understand this and many of them have an understanding that the wealth they have was entrusted to them by God (aka Providence) for the betterment of mankind. While you might insist they are not all Christians, we cannot deny that they enjoy a grace that is of God. A full discussion of this is outside the scope of today’s devotional.

The first step to attracting this grace of God is to understand that life is not about you. Keeping a watch on your world and having that desire to serve as salt and light of your world is a great step. You will never attract grace beyond the scope of your watch. If your concern and watch is limited to your immediate family members, you will obtain grace at that level. People who cry out to God to empower them to solve problems at a global scale obtain grace at the level they seek. Life should not be centred upon you and your immediate family only. Don’t fail to obtain God’s grace.