“The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’” Luke 18:9-14.
“Who do you think you are? Why not fight with your equals? Stop your indifference. Your privileged position is temporary. Where do you want me to go? Why chase me from my family land? This is my land. Dad left it to me and my children. Why raze my house down”, Annet Namazzi, a single mother of three shouted pointing fingers at the men that had razed down her small house chasing her from the land her father bequeathed to her.
She is not alone. It is Mrs. Obama who said that “power reveals the true character of a person”. She was right. Many people when given power suddenly becomes so indifferent and arrogant.
There are times one is so helpless. It is like being tied hands down, by someone with a loaded gun, and playing a ‘roulette’ pointing at you. Such an action exposes you completely to their mercy. It is even worse when they act on the instructions of someone else to ‘scare hell out of you’.
All you can do is to ask for mercy, beg them to spare your life, with the hope that your tormentors can change and stop the torture.
You might have also observed that many people tend to behave indifferently when they win a lottery. All of a sudden other people don’t matter. Such people speak with an inflated ego as if they are superhumans. Life!
While still working in a bank several years ago, we visited a colleague at their home in Kampala. This was an enlightened family living a middle-class life. The two of us colleagues arrived at 12pm sharp on time as invited. But the do’s and donts at this home were military grades. When you are guest you see and keep quiet, but somethings are just world record. Apparently, there were express instructions never to serve food unless the man of the house was around. He came back at 5 pm!
‘Travelers see a lot.” That old wisdom holds true. We saw. Being junior officials of our lady host, we humbled ourselves and waited. She kept saying, I am trying to call him! She became so frustrated that she served meals to the children since they could not wait any longer.
She kept telling us, “my husband is coming and would love him to join us for lunch.” But the young daughter told us the secret. “We cannot eat before daddy comes back. That is what he instructed.”
So at 5 pm, the big man of the house returned. And he was so mad that the children had been served before his arrival. Can you imagine how some families are prisons of sorts? What would happen if such a man was given state machinery say to head law enforcement?
Let’s always consider others before we take action. May you learn to be humble. May God give you the wisdom to respect others’ rights so that they may protect yours too for the success of us all.
You succeed by being humble. No one knows it all. A person who listens and takes advice has more chances of success than one who thinks they know it all.
Have a lovely Sunday.
