“Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.” (Prov. 14:4 NLT)
For 14 years I was the Company Secretary of a boutique investment bank in Nigeria. By my position, I sat at Board meetings to take minutes among other remits. At a time the capital market was at its all time low and most turbulent, the chairman of the Board, a man I have tremendous respect and admiration for, made a remark that has resonated with me all these years. He remarked, “ Doing nothing is an option.”
Whilst the advice made logical sense in the light of the high risky and volatile capital market investment instruments, it would have been a poor sense of judgement for management to suspend further investments- without considering a change of strategy or probably going for gilt-edged instruments – risk free securities. Although, such instruments only minimize your loss especially in a high inflationary regime or at best preserve your capital.
Permit me to submit that in matters of destiny- which invariably applies to everything that has to do with your most colorful life- doing nothing is not an option. There may be waiting times in life but they are never wasting time. Waiting times are engagement times.
Everything in life responds to the law of sowing and reaping. If you do nothing, you reap nothing. Our text as quoted above amply illustrates this law of life. And as a student of finance, I understand that time has value. Therefore, in real terms, doing nothing does not only produce nothing, it depreciates your worth. Suffice it to say that doing nothing is to gradually and unconsciously recede.
Can you imagine a world of inactivity? Of course by now we’ll not have any world to live in. It would have gone extinct with all its inhabitants. God has designed it and engineered man to continuously engage in productive activities for the world to remain habitable, hospitable and evolving.
Most times, out of fear of failing or something going wrong, we decide to wait or hope or wish. Our thinking may be that nothing could go wrong or fail. But I submit that – that thinking is faulty. Something may go wrong or fail. This is because nature abhors vacuum. If you fail to weed and plant on your field, nature or “the enemy “ will sow tares for you.
My great mentor John Maxwell in his book Intentional Living said, “ We can wait, and hope, and wish, but if we do, we miss the stories our lives could be.”
The great legend, Myles Munroe put it mildly thus: “You never know what you can accomplish until you try.” Howbeit, I have issues with the word – try. Don’t try – just do it. Trying alone does not communicate true and hearty commitment. Those that try often fail and quit. But doing unleashes tremendous power for accomplishments. Doing is purely miraculous.
Hear this: Remaining who you are is not an option! Maintaining status quo may only make you a relic of a statue. Do something today that will lead to a glorious harvest tomorrow. Sow into your future with patience and reap untold harvest. Napoleon Hill said, “ The law of compensation isn’t always swift, but it is as certain as the setting of the sun.”
I leave you to meditate on this admonition of Apostle Paul to the Church in Galatia- “You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant.” (Gal. 6:7 CEV)
To your reward of doing,
✝️Tochukwu Kemakolam
Prime Minister