Month: February 2024

How Multiplying one talent into millions of talents is possible

Making one into millions is possible with the right mindset. You can multiply the little you have into millions. You can make it if you have the determination, and if you are patient, persevering, and assiduous.

We have direct access to God through Jesus Christ. (Please, stay with us and continue reading to learn the miracle of turning one into millions). We do not need any other rituals to perform to get access to God. God pours His spirit upon us (Joel 2:28-29) so that we can live in the spirit (Galatians 5:25). The Spirit then transforms our spirits and makes us spiritual and mighty. Words that come out of us are energized (or enabled) by the Holy Spirit, (Acts 2:4). And signs and wonders are actualized.

I use milk and water for illustration. Both are liquids. But milk is whitish (or creamy) while water is colorless and transparent. If the milk is poured into the water, the water changes color. The water does not change itself. The milk transforms the water to be like the milk in color and in taste. The more you pour the milk into the water, the more whitish or creamy the water becomes. Eventually, the water loses its color and taste and now looks and tastes milky.

In the same manner, the Spirit of God is poured into the human spirit to transform the human spirit. And just like the water becoming milky, so also as many as are led by the Spirit of God they become spiritual children of God. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans 8:14-16). Our spirit and God’s Spirit become one in union (1 Corinthians 6:17) as God pours his Spirit into our spirit (see the illustration with the water and milk). God’s power to perform miracles then indwells us.

Our union with God gives us direct access to God. So, 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “He that is joined (kollao – to join oneself to, to glue together) unto the Lord is one spirit with Him.”

This is not so in other religions. In the New Testament, in Christ Jesus, we have a better covenant and a better way to God. (Hebrews 8:6-9)

God’s Spirit indwelling the individual actuates God’s Spiritual power in us.

Do not vent your anger and frustration on people when people fail you.

Some people feel neglected by their relatives and friends. They don’t understand why their siblings or friends who have been blessed by God will neglect them and let them suffer in poverty. And so, they vent their anger on them.

Some Christians angrily complain to me that their churches do not give them aid when they need it. Though churches should consider helping the needy, the churches may not always be able to help everyone who needs aid. Churches have their own pressing needs and can only give what they can or what is available. They can’t give beyond their means.

Churches that can help must do so. Because the Bible tells Christians to love and help each other. That is how the Church started (Acts 2:44-47). However, we must also consider the financial ability of the churches.

I have heard some people curse their siblings because their siblings have not given them aid when they needed it. They assert that God expects those he blesses to also help others out of their financial difficulties.

It is wrong for us to hate relatives and friends for their failure to give us aid. Though God expects us to aid those who are in need, we can’t hate people who do not help us. It is God who gave them their wealth. And everyone has the right to do what he or she wants with his or her wealth. We have no right to be angry with people who do not share their wealth with others. They might also have helped some others before you came to them for aid. And so, they might not be financially able to give you the aid you requested from them when you asked.

Take your problem to Jesus. He knows what to do.

I do not curse people. Not even those who hate me, or those who wrong me. I obey the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus not to hate and not to curse.

You, too, can be successful if you do what others did to become successful.

It could take a long time for you to rise to the top if you are poor and have nothing to start with. But surely you can get to the top one day if you persevere. You can become successful if you have faith, seek God’s wisdom, and invest wisely. And you must be prepared for a long and difficult journey. Because it is a hard and rough road that you will be traveling on.

Psych yourself up for challenges that you will meet on your journey to wealth or success. It will prepare you to face the challenges before you meet them.

And don’t be like Cain who was angry with his brother Abel when God rejected his offering. If you do well, you will reach success.

“The LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.’” (Genesis 4:6-7; ESV)

God is telling us, by this passage in the Bible, as he told Cain, not to be angry when others are successful, and we are not. God wants us to do what is right, so that we, too, will be accepted or be successful.

Success is hard to reach, and good things are hard to get, especially if you are not financially endowed.

People who are controlled by anger become angry when they don’t get what they want. They vent their anger against everybody. Yet they will not do what they are expected to do to get what they want. Cain would not do what was right, yet he wanted God to accept his gift.

Our actions decide what we get. We reap what we sow. If we sow maize seeds, we shall harvest maize. We do not reap tomatoes by sowing contrary seeds. We must sow tomato seeds to reap tomatoes.

God told Cain his sacrifice was rejected because he did not follow the rules. The passage does not say that Cain provided rotten crops as some people claim. Cain took the best of his crops to offer the sacrifice to God. One does not offer rotten crops to the person one seeks favor from. His brother, Abel, on the other hand, presented animal sacrifice.

Both would present the best to please God. Cain did not present the right offering, that was why God rejected his offering. Abel, on the other hand, presented the right sacrifice and so God accepted Abel’s offering. Therefore, God told Cain who presented the wrong sacrifice, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.”

The rules must be followed for God to hear and answer our prayers. What Cain had to do was to obey the rules.

Before the comprehensive ritual sacrifice system was introduced years later, the only sacrifice we noticed in the Garden of Eden was animal sacrifice. God took away the fig leaves that Adam and Eve had used to cover themselves and replaced them with animal skins.

That meant animals died for their skins to be used to cover Adam and Eve. Now God would see the animals, instead of Adam and Eve as they were covered by the skins of the animals. It would, therefore, be right to intimate that animal sacrifice preceded all forms of sacrifices. It is also noteworthy that the animals died so their skins could be used to cover Adam and Eve. And the death of the animals was the means of atonement so that Adam and Eve would not die immediately. Their lives were substituted with the lives of the animals that die. Their deaths were postponed into the future when they would eventually die.

So, we can understand how animal sacrifice became the standard for atonement until the death of Jesus replaced that.

Therefore, when Abel used some of the first lambs as a sacrifice to God, he was performing atonement for himself. As God had done for his father and mother when God used animals to make atonement for Adam and Eve. And in that, Abel was honoring God.

God had not yet instituted sacrifices that included crops. The only sacrifice they might have known or had an idea of was animal sacrifice as the atonement. The Bible does not say if Adam and Eve continued with the atonement. But we come across the atonement and the reason for the atonement in Leviticus chapters 9 and 16 and in other books of the Old Testament. When God delivered the Children of Israel from Egyptian bondage God told them, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you;” He also asked them to keep the Passover as an annual memorial (Exodus 12).

So, where did Cain learn of any other kind of sacrifice? Other sacrifices were introduced later by God’s direction.

God answers our prayers because we obey him. God multiplies and increases our wealth for us as we trust, and obey him by keeping his commandments.

“And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”  (1 John 3:22; ESV)

Jesus said,

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7; ESV)

We receive from God what we ask because we keep his commandments. Not only because we have faith. Unbelief and sin prevent God from working miracles in our lives.

If we have faith in God, do what is right, plan well, and work assiduously God will also multiply our efforts and gains into millions of dollars, pounds, or cedis.

Age is not the problem. Abraham was 75 years old when God called him (Genesis 12:4). Moreover, before God called Abraham, his wife, Sarah, was a barren woman, (Genesis 11:29-30). With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26; Luke 18:27).

Twenty-five years later, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah 90, God visited Sarah and she had Isaac. When Abraham was 99 years old, God appeared to him and renewed the promise and covenant he had with Abraham, (Genesis 17). God told Abraham that he would give him and Sarah a son (Isaac). Abraham was stunned and asked, “How can I, 100 years old, have a son by Sarah who is 90 years old?” (Genesis 17:15-17). In Genesis 18, God renewed the promise. Sarah at 90 years old, and Abraham at 100 were both given a son (Genesis 18:14; Genesis 21:1-7).

Moses lived forty years in Midian with his wife and father-in-law, Jethro (also known as Reuel). He took care of the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. Though Jethro was a priest, he was not the priest of Yahweh, the God Abraham worshipped. Moses was 80 years old when God appeared to him and asked him to go back to Egypt and deliver the Children of Israel from bondage (Exodus 3 and 4).

Therefore, age is not your problem. Furthermore, whether you have money or not should not be a problem. What you have is what God is going to use to multiply wealth for you. God told Moses to stretch the rod in his hand (Exodus 14:16-30) for God was going to use the rod in Moses’ hand to part the sea for Moses and the Children of Israel.

God makes the impossible to be possible. What you have is what God is going to use in prospering you. (Jeremiah 32:27; Exodus 14:16-30)

Joseph was a prisoner when God caused him to be taken out of prison and promoted to second-in-command to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt.

God is the one who multiplies your talent into millions. That is, if you believe in God and put your faith into action and if God’s Spirit indwells you.

Faith in action makes things happen. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26; KJ2000)

God’s Spirit actuates and actualizes your vision when you put your faith into action.

Many people think they must have a lot of money to make wealth. But with God by you, you can rise to the top of the mountain even if you are not as strong as others. And no matter how poor you are.

Start with that one talent or unit you presently have, that you consider as too little or inadequate. God who makes possible what is impossible will multiply it for you to become wealthy. (Jeremiah 33:2-3)

You need faith (belief), perseverance, determination, tenacity, and passion for what you want to achieve. God will use these to actuate your vision and actualize it.

A man traveling gave money to his servants and asked them to occupy until the time he would return.

On his return, the first came and said, “Lord, you gave me five talents. I have made five more, and now I have ten.”

The master told him, “Well done, good servant. Because you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Come and share your master’s joy.”

The second came, saying, “Lord, you gave me two, and I have earned two more. And now I have four.” His master congratulated him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Come and share your master’s joy.”

The third who received one talent came and said, “Lord, I knew you. You are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not spread. I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the earth. Here is the one talent that you gave me.”

His lord answered and said to him, “You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not spread. You ought, therefore, to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received my own with interest. Take the talent from him, and give it unto him who has ten talents. And cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:14-30)

The man who had only one talent regarded it as insignificant. Remember that each, according to his ability, would double what he had. One added five to his five talents, and the second person added two to his two talents. Based on his ability the one who received one could also have doubled his, adding one to the one talent he had.

He was not expected to add five or more than he could. Just as the others did, he, too, could double the one talent, or one pound, or cedi that he had, by adding one. His master would do the rest by adding more – making him ruler of many things and sharing his joy with him. Those are the added blessings God gives as he multiplies the one talent you invest.

Let us do a simple calculation and see how faith, perseverance, determination, tenacity, and passion can help us to multiply one cedi, one pound, or dollar and make wealth out of the little we have.

As stated earlier, one must not necessarily have a large sum of money to become rich. You can start with the little that you have and build it up.

I didn’t have money when I had a vision of becoming successful. I used my hand to make money to pay for my secondary school education. I planted vegetables, burnt charcoal, dug trenches, and did different menial jobs to earn money. Because I did menial jobs, and the pay was small, it took me many years to get my secondary school education and eventually my tertiary education. And now I have my doctoral degree.

Faith, perseverance, determination, tenacity, and passion to succeed kept me striving. Some of my friends gave up when the going became tougher, and the hill became steeper for climbing.

Sometimes, I wanted to give up. But when I considered my position in life, the life I was living, and the pain of poverty, I decided to continue.

I did not have capital, so I had to work hard to make the money. While some people used short periods to get what they wanted, it took me a long time to make the money I needed.

It would take the one who had one talent, or one pound longer than those who had five or more. But tenacity will take him or her through the challenges. Just as perseverance and hard work on the part of the one who had two talents increased his wealth into four, so also perseverance and hard work will increase your one talent into two.

Without capital to start with, the journey to prosperity is long. In most instances, very long. That scares many people. And so many people stay poor.

You can multiply one talent into millions. Starting with 1+1 we get 2; 2×2=4; 4×2=8; 8×2=16; 16×2=32; 32×2=64; 64×2=128; 128×2=256; 256×2=512; 512×2=1024; 1024×2=2048; 2048×2=4,096; 4,096×2=8,192; 8192×2=16,384; 16,384×2 = 32,768; 32,768×2=65,536; 65,536×2=131,072.

By the seventeenth period, you would have a total of 131,072.

I was able to build my training facility thirty (30) years after I conceived the vision (because of peculiar circumstances). That was 360 months. More than 17 periods. If we assume a period to be two months, then that would take 180 periods to cover 30 years.

However, you may not take 30 years to reach your goal or success. If we assume that two months may represent a period, then we will have 34 months to cover the 17 periods. Two months short of three years. If we assume a period to be three months, then we have 51 months, making it 4 years and three (3) months to reach 131,072.

It took me 30 years to do what I had planned because of some strange reasons. It could have taken me less. So, 4 years and three (3) months should not be too much for you. However, to make up for decreasing returns and other shortfalls we give ourselves five (5) years for the entire project.

Starting from the bottom without a dime and working with your hands to make 131,072 in five years should not be too burdensome. If you consider that it could be more. Remember it took me thirty (30) years from the time I conceived the vision to when the center was built.

If you invest 131,072 properly, and work hard, in about another five years, you could become a successful entrepreneur. So, in all, it could take you a total of ten (10) years to be an entrepreneur with that one talent.

Making money is not easy. Besides, only a few people may understand your vision or sympathize with you. Therefore, depending entirely on gifts is not easy and not the quickest way to be successful. That’s why many people are still poor. They are waiting to receive large donations before they start building their businesses.

It took Moses 40 years, Abraham 25 years, and Joseph 13 years. It will not be the same for everyone. But those who believe and put their hands to the plow shall surely harvest.

When Paul converted, he did not have it easy in the first stages of his ministry. He took three years to carefully study the scriptures and comparing to be sure. When he came to Jerusalem, things didn’t work out as he expected.

The disciples helped him to sneak away and escape from the Jews who wanted to kill him. He went to his hometown, Tarsus. Fourteen years later there was an awakening in Antioch. Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch.

While in Antioch, Barnabas remembered Paul, who was then known as Saul. He went to Tarsus and brought Paul to Antioch and they stayed there a whole year teaching the new disciples, (Acts 11:19-26).

It took Paul 3+14 or 15 years, adding the one year in Antioch, (about 14-18 years) after Jesus called him to rise to the top in his ministry.

You, too, are destined to be successful. But you must be patient even when others don’t notice you, or if people don’t think you can be what you think you are destined to be.

Don’t lose hope. Believe in God. Climb the ladder to get to the top and secure your success.

You can multiply that one talent into millions.

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Conquering without being violent is also The Peacemaker Platform.

We discuss peacemaking, conflict resolution, principles of prosperity, and principles of spirituality.

Our motivator is Jesus Christ, The Prince of Peace.

Our beliefs and actions define our destiny

Our beliefs and actions define our destinies. We are constantly defining our destinies through our beliefs and actions. God created us with the potential to succeed. But we derail our destinies or alter them by our beliefs and actions.

Focus on the goal ahead of you, even when the journey becomes rougher and tougher. If you veer off to the left or the right, you will miss the mark. The goalpost will still be there. If you do not reach the goalpost it is not because the goalpost has shifted. It is because you have taken your sight off the goalpost. To reach the goalpost you must return to the path that leads to the post. Your action defines the outcome.

You can achieve whatever vision you have if you stay focused and do not allow distractions to veer you off the path. You may encounter challenges as you pursue your vision, but you must not give up. What you do eventually determines your future. Your actions determine what you get and how you succeed in life.

You may put your vision of what you want to be on the back burner if challenges make it difficult for you to continue. You are not abandoning it when you put your vision on the back burner. You can bring it forward and put it on the front burner at the appropriate time. I do that when I am faced with challenges that make it too complicated for me to proceed as I would. I do not abandon any vision I believe in. I always know that someday I will execute it, and make it happen. It may be on the back burner for the time being, and at the right time, when it is conducive, I bring it onto the front burner.

I am the one who defines or determines my destiny. Not people. I follow the course that God planned for me. And with God helping me I can make my vision happen. Though it delays because of challenges it will eventually happen.

If God gives you a vision, he will make the provision for it at the right time. You may not know the time, but God will surely make it come to fruition.

You are the one defining your destiny. You are the one making it happen. Not people. If you cannot believe in yourself and in the vision that God gave you, you may follow everybody’s suggestion and finally fail. So, you see, you are the one defining your destiny.

No matter how you feel about hurt or an offense, violence or vandalism are not the right methods to employ in registering your displeasure.

Whatever we do will come back to us, either positively or negatively. If what we do is positive, then the payback will be positive. If it is negative the payback will be negative. So, we are the ones defining how we will be in the future. We are the ones also determining the future of our communities. We are the ones determining how rich or poor our communities will be.

In areas that are prone to conflict and vandalism, the repercussions are negative. People fear to relocate or to accept transfers to conflict areas.

When people vent their spleen by resorting to vandalizing properties, they are expressing their rights in the wrong manner. In their angry reactions, they vandalize businesses and properties. Their actions send wrong or negative signals to the world that their communities and environments are not friendly.

There is no true peace and tranquility in areas that are prone to conflict. People live mostly in fear, and one does not know what may happen to one at any moment.

And so, by our attitudes, we define how our communities will progress or retrogress. If violence is associated with a community, businesspeople will dread investing in that community. No businessperson will be confident about investing in a community that does not guarantee the protection of investments.

People who indulge in such wild and unreasonable behaviors tend to be adamant and reject the advice of well-meaning people who advocate peaceful co-existence. They reject peaceful ways of resolving disagreements. They are controlled by their emotions and prefer violent ways of expressing themselves.

But as we observe communities that are prone to violence, we notice the destructions that are perpetuated. We notice how people are killed or injured, and how commercial activities decline in such communities. We notice retrogression in economies because of the stagnation of economic activities. Basic and critical services, including health, education, farming, etc., are affected.

Violent people use violence to settle scores, even when it is obvious that violence is a bane of economic activities. He who is slow to wrath has great understanding (Proverbs 14:29a).

By our attitudes, we are defining the future state of our communities. The violence and destruction we unleash on each other determine how others regard us. And we are constantly nurturing poverty in our communities as new businesses are not established. Existing ones are relocated to other communities that are peaceful because ours no longer provides a conducive atmosphere for business activities.

Destruction of properties and businesses retard economic progress. And so, by our violent and destructive actions, we are defining the state of welfare and economic health of our communities. The violence and vandalism that we unleash are destroying the well-being, happiness, and prosperity of our communities. Yet ego will not let us do what is right by eschewing violence.

As we go on rampage and destroy properties, we are defining the future for our communities. The children are the ones who will suffer when they take over the reins of affairs. If parents destroy the facilities and economic structures of the communities what then will be left for the children to use when they take control of the affairs of the communities?

If parents are unable to give their children the required financial support because they lack the means or the ability, should they not leave enabling environments so the children can manage their economic situations when they take over from their parents?

Sometimes, the vandalism extends to infrastructures in the community. If parents leave the infrastructures as they are, even if they are not able to enhance them, the children can at least have something to depend on in the future to use for production and the advancement of their economies.

Curfews may be imposed in communities because of the recurrence of violence and murders. In Ghana, the use of motorcycles was restricted in Bawku, in addition to the curfew imposed. It made life, which was already harsh for the people, more restricted and harsher. Law-abiding citizens who did not indulge in the negative behaviors were unfortunately also affected by the ban, making their already difficult situation more difficult.

Yet, despite these restrictions and the presence of security personnel, people who indulge in conflicts, violence, and vandalism continue to perpetuate them. Ironically, most of them live in poverty. And one would think that they would rather be thinking of upgrading their economies rather than destroying them by their negative acts. Most of them are not also able to provide tertiary education for their children. Therefore, many children in those communities will not have strong foundations to stand on and propel themselves up economically in the future. And poverty will persist in that area for as long as they do not stop their negative behaviors.

Let us stop vandalizing infrastructures in our communities, so our children will have some stepping stones to stand on and propel themselves in their economic ventures. However small these may be the children can use them as stepping stones to climb on and build their future.

My father could not send me to the senior high (which was known then as secondary school). However, he laid the foundation for me by making sure I completed the elementary school, which was known as the Middle School. The little education I had enabled me to gain employment, though menial in some instances. I was able to earn money, which I saved to further my education.

People who know me might think that my father provided my secondary and tertiary education. It is the little that he provided (the elementary school education) that served as my foundation. I used that to work and secure the means to climb the educational ladder. Now I have a doctoral degree.

I am grateful to my father for building the foundation on which I could stand to work and make progress in furthering my education.

Violence and vandalism are destructive. They do not create but pull down what exists. They retard progress.

We can always resolve misunderstandings through dialogue. Some people think dialogue is a slow method of resolving disputes. Though dialogue may be slow, it is the right method. No matter how slow it is, dialogue eventually provides resolution.

Conflict may be a quick way to end misunderstanding, but it destroys economies. Conflicts may also result in the deaths of loved ones and injuries.

Sometimes, members of political parties fight and injure each other during elections. This is senseless. Why should members of the same political party fight, and some die, in an exercise that seeks to elect a representative for their party? Are there ulterior motives (or gains) they are fighting for that we do not know?

Violence brings pain and loss, or deaths, in its aftermath. But when emotions rise perpetrators of violence do not consider that.

People clash with the Police when they know that the Police will eventually subdue them. Yet their emotions do not let them think properly.

In the Eastern Region of Ghana, the youth clashed with the Police about the youth’s intention to lynch a suspect. They caught a man they claimed killed a woman. They took the suspect to the Chief’s Palace. The Chief informed the Police to come and take the suspect to the Police Station. When the Police were taking the suspect to the station, the youth confronted the Police and demanded the suspect be handed over to them so they could lynch him.

Of course, the Police would not allow that. The youth then decided to take the law into their own hands. They started vandalizing properties.

The Police responded by firing warning shots. Some people were injured in the melee and one person who was taken to the hospital for treatment died. The Police arrested about 71 suspects but later processed 37 for court.

So, what did the youth achieve through their violence? If they had allowed the law to take its course, nobody would have died, no one would have been injured and no one would have been arrested. The actions of the youth determined the outcome.

God does not compel us to change our behaviors that are not good. He does not compel us to do what he wants us to do, although he wants us to do what is right. Why then do some people want to force fellow humans to do what they want?

We disagree with others, and we insist it is our right. Yet some can’t countenance others disagreeing with them even when they are also disagreeing with those people.

When we accuse others and indicate that we would take measures or actions against them we don’t regard that as a threat to them. But when they also indicate their intentions to act against us, we cry loudly that they threaten us.

It is a paradox that people who do not show mercy usually are quick to beg for mercy and expect to be granted mercy. Yet they refuse to listen to the pleas or cries of people who ask for forgiveness from them. But when they are at the mercy of the people they mistreated, they are quick to turn around and beg forgiveness from them. They ask for justice to be tempered with mercy.

In Ghana, a military officer was brutally beaten to death in Denkyira-Obuasi, in the Central Region. As his attackers beat him, the man pleaded with them to stop. He told them he was a military officer.

They could have taken him to the Police Station, or to the military camp, to verify. But they didn’t. They beat him until he died.

In court, the culprits were found guilty, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Their relatives were on television begging for mitigation. They asked the government to temper justice with mercy. The culprits who attacked and killed the military officer did not temper justice with mercy when he begged them to spare his life. If they had tempered justice with mercy, he would not have been beaten to death. If they had tempered justice with mercy, they would have taken him to the Police Station and handed him over for the law to take its course.

Their relatives were on television lamenting that sentencing them to life imprisonment meant they would not see their loved ones again. But in saying that, they did not consider the relatives of the military officer who was killed. They, too, would not see their loved one again, as he is dead, killed by the culprits.

So, you see, our actions define our destinies. We define our future by our actions. God wants us to be successful in life, and to live in harmony with each other. But we are altering God’s intended plan for our lives, and disrupting the peaceful co-existence that God intended for us.

And by such actions, we are redefining the destinies that God prefers for us.

We reap what we sow. God prefers we sow good seeds so that we can reap good rewards. However, God will not compel us to sow the seeds. He will not take the free will he gave us. We sow our seeds and define our destinies as against the destinies God preferred for us.

God allows us our free will and how we choose to use that. Though he wishes that all will live well and be saved, (1 Timothy 2:3-4) he does not compel us. We change the plans that God has for us by our wrong actions. And so, by our actions, we define our destinies and deviate from the plan that God wishes for us.

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Lies and the Impact of Lying

Falsehood is dishonesty. Falsehood is untruth, even if the person saying it may think he or she is saying the truth.

Some people lie intentionally. They lie deliberately to mislead.

Though falsehood is untruth, not all falsehoods are intentional. A person may be telling a lie and may not know he or she is lying.  However, that does not make such falsehoods true.

Lies have become normal for many people. Because of that sometimes it is not easy to identify the truths in our daily interactions with people.

Some people lie to boost their egos, and some lie just for plain fun. Some, too, are habitual liars. They lie to feel good.

Some people delight in tarnishing people’s reputations by lying against them.

It is painful when a spouse deliberately lies to outdo a partner. Some spouses lie deliberately to appear as victims when they are, in fact, culprits.

If you notice that your partner regards the relationship as a competition, then it is time to reevaluate your marriage and the relationship. Why does he or she want to outdo you? What is it that drives your spouse to want to win against you? Why would he or she regard your relationship in the marriage as a competition?

Usually, the wrong person is the unsavory one. They have unhealthy pertinacity to insulting behaviors and comments towards their partners. They will only yield if they win or are allowed to do what they have determined.

Unhealthy pertinacity ruins marriages or relationships. Yet obstinate persons do not listen to advice, not even from their relatives, mothers, siblings, uncles, friends, or pastors.

Most of them know that they are wrong, but their ego will not let them admit that they are wrong. They are jaunty in all their demeanors. They display self-confidence in their egocentric strides and exude malicious superiority feelings towards their spouses, or any other persons.

Lying has become a normal behavior for many people. Some people feel good when they tell a lie.

But some people may not know that they are lying even when it is obvious that what they are saying is a lie.

Lying is so common and regular that parents will brazenly tell their children that they are going to the next house, or somewhere not far away when they are going elsewhere. Most women in Ghana say that to their children when they don’t want their children to follow them to where they are going. They think such deceptions are not lying. But that is falsehood. And every falsehood is a lie. Every lie is untruth.

Why can’t they teach their children that ‘yes’ is ‘yes’ and ‘no’ is ‘no’? If you deceive anyone, no matter how small a lie you think it is, God sees it as a lie.

The use of mobile phones is also making people lie. John was driving and talking to Mark on the phone. John wanted to know if Mark had delivered a parcel he had asked Mark to deliver. Mark answered that he was at that moment near the house where he was to deliver the parcel, so John should not worry.

As soon as they ended their conversation, John noticed Mark driving ahead of him. John then wondered why Mark told him he was already near the delivery point. Mark lied when he told John that he was around the delivery point.

Some people make lying a pastime. They lie for enjoyment. They lie to amuse themselves.

Some also lie to hurt people. They feel good when they hurt people with their lies.

Pathological liars constantly lie to make themselves appear important. Some lie to hurt people or amuse themselves. They are uncomfortable when they miss telling a lie. To them, it is more convenient to lie than to tell the truth.

People who want to impress others may lie to lift their egos and raise their self-esteem. They are constantly trying to impress people and lift high their low self-esteem.

Narcissists lie to convince people or win people’s sympathies. They lie to manipulate people. They blame other people for their faults. They make it seem they are not being treated fairly by others when they are the ones who are not being fair to people.

Egoists are arrogantly conceited. They boast and deliberately lie to lift their egos.

When liars are exposed, instead of being sorry, they may become angry. The embarrassment makes them angry.

Lies damage our reputations. Nobody can trust you if you are a known liar. Even when you tell the truth, people don’t believe you. People think you are lying because you are known to be a pathological liar.

Chronic liars have the impulsive urge to lie even about small or insignificant matters. They have compulsive lying habits. They are uneasy when they do not lie. Therefore, they lie even about insignificant matters; whether big or small. They have become prolific liars and lie so frequently that lying has become their normal characteristic. And so, people cannot tell when they are telling the truth.

Pathological liars do not have a healthy relationship. Their behaviors disturb peace in their marriages.

Compulsive liars manipulate people’s feelings. They use lies as manipulative tools to control their partners. Their behaviors cause conflicts in their marriage relationships. Yet they blame their partners for the conflicts that their negative behaviors cause. They don’t admit their faults.

They talk about only one side of the coin – the side that puts them in a good or favorable light. They do not talk about the other side of the marriage coin. They know they will be exposed if they talk about the other side of their marriage coin. Proverbs 18:17 tells us,

“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” (ESV).

The first to plead his or her case appears right until the other person speaks and cross-examines him or her. The cross-examination reveals the other side of the matter.

Bad people lie and quarrel when people do not accept their lies.

Some spouses have destroyed their marriages with lies. Some spouses take advantage of the tolerance of their partners and systematically destroy their marriages with their lies.

I know a man who tolerated his wife for more than forty (40) years. The woman lied against her husband and accused him falsely. The husband tolerated his wife for more than forty (40) years, trying to make his wife understand that in marriage it takes two to make it work. The husband tried to make his wife understand that in marriage, it is ‘give and take’ that creates peace.

But the woman is the dominating type. She is the one who must be obeyed.

Their adult children know that their mother is the cause of the problem between their father and the mother. And they know that their mother has been lying against their father.

The woman’s relatives, her mother, aunts, uncles, and her friends, etc., know how wrongly she treats her husband. All who know the couple even wonder how the man can continue tolerating his wife when she hurls invectives at him.

She abandons her marital home and goes to the big city. Sometimes she is away for a year, two and a half years, six months, three years, etc.

Not all men can be as tolerant as that woman’s husband.

The man is now considering a divorce. In their old age, now that they should be together and comfort each other, his wife continues to indulge in her lies and unfriendly behaviors.

After tolerating her for more than forty (40) years, the husband now says, “Enough is enough.” His wife’s toxic behaviors, including insults, lies, etc., are now driving the husband to seek a divorce so he can live his remaining life in tranquility.

The woman thinks she must be obeyed at all times. She believes that she must always be in charge. She believes that she, not the man, must be in control of all matters. She has no patience for differing opinions from her husband, or anyone else. She regards differing opinions or suggestions from her husband as offensive. And she shouts back at her husband when he offers opinions. She refuses to let him speak and offer suggestions.

Her behavior angers their adult children. They tell her not to speak that way to her husband, their father because their father does not disrespect her.

Though she claims to be a Christian, she ignores the fact that the husband is the head of the wife and that she owes her husband respect (Ephesians 5:22-23). The Bible says the husband is the head of the wife and the wife must submit to the husband as the church submits to Jesus Christ.  While wives are to submit to their husbands, their husbands also are admonished to love and care for their wives as Christ loved and died for the Church. (Ephesians 5:24-25)

Since they became husband and wife, the husband has never maltreated his wife. It is rather the wife who reneged on the agreement they had before they married. But though the wife has mistreated her husband, called him names, and been unfair to him many times, the man has remained faithful as the Bible admonishes husbands to be to their wives.

The wife treats her husband like she is a despotic ruler. She believes her ethnicity (or tribe) is superior to that of her husband. And she has severally intimated that to her husband.

Their children have become more uncomfortable with their mother’s behavior toward their father. And they have clearly stated that to her.

She takes her husband’s tolerance to be weakness and a sign that she can continue treating him like scum.

She lies outrageously to make her husband appear a villain. However, everyone who knows them knows the truth.

It is unfortunate when good people are taken advantage of by mean and unscrupulous people.

It is a truism that some husbands, too, can be obnoxious. So, it is not only women who are obnoxious.

For more than forty (40) years, the woman has been wandering in the wilderness, and despite all the efforts she has made, and the help her husband gave her, she has yet to make progress. The money that she said she was leaving her husband in search of has eluded her.

Lies interfere with divine actions. Lies and negative behaviors interfere with the work of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:15-17,

“But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.” (ESV)

The Divine Spirit is Holy and works in environments that are clear of deception and lies.

When Abraham lied, God exposed him. When David committed adultery and later murder, God exposed him and even punished him.

God rejected Cain’s offering because Cain did not do what was right. God told Cain, “If you do well, (if you do what is right), you shall be accepted. And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7)

Perhaps God is telling the woman, as he told Cain, “If you do well ( if you do what is right) you shall be accepted, and progress shall be yours.”

Doing right or being true enables the Holy Spirit to actualize God’s presence and power in us.

Jesus said we must worship God in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

Christians must stand firm in the truth, live righteous lives, and be firm-footed in the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:14).

God does not hear sinners (John 9:31). The prayer of the person who turns away from God’s law is an abomination to God (Proverbs 28:9).

Our iniquities are the barriers between us and God. Our sins and lies conceal God’s face and make it difficult for God to listen to us when we pray to him. (Isaiah 59:1-3)

Lies are among the sins listed as preventing us from entering heaven (Revelation 21:8; Revelation 22;14-15.

God hates lying tongues. (Proverbs 6:16-19)

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