The Church Walk of Shame

Word!!!!
Hello once again. By now I hope you have been enjoying yourself on the GI page. I am humbled at the chance to talk to you once again. Always remember the God that created you made you one of a kind. You are special. Never forget that.

 The church walk of shame. I need to explain that. Have you ever been in one of those services where the sermon is about sin, moral decay and the need for righteousness? Most of those sermons have a way they go. The consciences of the congregation are deeply pricked and all the wrongs you "committed" in the past days start playing like a tape in your head. You then begin to slowly realize that you need help as you are struggling with one, two or many sins.

 Next, the preacher does an altar call for all those Christians who want to be free from besetting sin. A team of pastors would most likely be close to the pulpit waiting to pray for you. And as you come out, boldly to accept your dirtiness, one of the pastors breaks out to meet you-just as the rest do-asks you what your addicton is , and proceeds to pray for you. And you pray and pray and pray until you feel God has forgiven you.

 Going back to your seat is what I call the church walk of shame. As you slowly walk back down the church aisle, the freedom you felt while praying become slowly overweighed by the faces of people that remained on their seats. Now your imagination starts to run wild as you see everyone looking at you with judging eyes. You begin to hear whispers in your mind. "Why did he come out?" "But, he's a leader in church" "He came out when the pastor mentioned fornication!" Needless to say, my imagination is very strong.

 The last time I attended one of such services, as I looked back at the faces of the people left in their seats I asked myself some questions. "Were they more holy than me?" "Did they lack the boldness to accept their shortcomings?" "Why did I come out and they stayed?" "What was different?" "Why?" I pondered over these questions over the course of the next day.

 At the end of the day, after studying and meditating I realized (or rather got the revelation) that a man comes out during such calls for two reasons. Firstly, there is a particular addiction he is struggling with. There is a certain bad habit he's trying to beat and he has been beaten down too many times, hence he feels helpless. Secondly, he feels he is too dirty to be called a Christian. He feels that he needs to publicly declare his weakness to be free of the guilt.

 So let's solve these two constraints. For the first one; you don't need to struggle with your addiction. Jesus said clearly without mincing words,"If your left hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you". Meaning, if it's stress that causes you to get angry and shout at people, reduce your workload. If it's your 10.1 inch tabletthat allows you access to pornography, leave it far away from you. Whatever it is you need to do to break free from temptation, do!!!

 For the guilt issue you need to understand Romans 8:1. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh". This means that if you are willing to try again, and you are looking forward to not sinning again (ie walking according to the Spirit) you are not condemned. God does not see you as a sinner but as his righteous child. Because righteousness is of the heart (see previous post). So you can boldy state and shout it out,"I AM NOT A SINNER!!!"

 So there it is. Enough of going out for multiple altar calls. Enough of asking for prayers. The battle to be won is in your hands and in your heart. Enough of church walks of shame. You can be sure I have walked my last. Next time, I'll be worshipping my God in the comfort of my pew. See you there!

 AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This post is for Christians struggling in the battle against sin. At least it is for those who feel they are losing. If you are not yet a Christian click here. Its a beautiful life believe me.

 I leave my readers with a quote from a Tenth Avenue North song: "The Struggle". "We are free to struggle but we are not struggling to be free". You are free already. So remain free.

The Church is for Hypocrites

Word!!!!
Good day guys! Its a lovely Saturday night here at the time of this post. The rains are over, and boy; were they heavy! Anyway, I would like to know how the weather is where you are so please, let me know. Its cold in Benin City, Nigeria. 

 Yes, I know the title is weird. Church folk are supposed to be holy, "righteous" and different; set apart from the world. Why on earth would this half-insane author think otherwise? (okay, I just mocked myself on your behalf; you're welcome) 

 Sure, you have some great Christian friends. There are those who care deeply for your well being, have a strong sense of right and wrong and are really awesomely passionate about their faith. These ones should definitely be in church, probably the front row. 

 Then there are the "others",the hypocrites as they say. I'm talking about all those who are Christians because they aren't Muslim or atheist. I'm talking about those folks who break every commandment/good deed in the Bible and still dance it out in church like there's no tomorrow. I'm talking about those guys with double standards and two faced lives. Yes, the hypocrites. 

  Truth is, the church should be filled with more of the latter. Think about it. If I care enough about Jesus to want to dress up every Sunday, where else should I be? Where else should I go? A viewing center? The cinemas? If I believe I should be a better Christian, then I should be in the place where there are "better Christians". 

 If you have not understood my point by now, I'm going to be real plain. God doesn't want perfect people. Come to think of it, who is perfect? The pastor, choir master or the usher? Each of them has a weakness that holds them once in a while. Even the great Apostle Paul had sin issues. So heck, if you feel you're better than the next guy, you need to do some self reappraisal. 

 God loves us. Me. He wants me to break free from my shortcomings. And yes, I really really wanna break free too. So, here's the deal. As long as I wholeheartedly choose to want to change, while the process of change is going on, God sees the willing heart. God wants the willing heart. And guess what, God justifies the willing heart. 

 So keep being willing. When sin knocks and you open, drive it out again and start over. God doesn't want perfect. He only wants willing. So please, remain willing. The church is for hypocrites. I definitely am one. 

 See you in church, fellow hypocrites. God loves us that way. 

 AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please comment below. I kinda love two way conversations. I would love to read your opinions. That is after all the point of posting this.

Two sides of a broken coin

Fiction
A big "heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" to my lovely readership. I would like to know how your day is going so please let me know by commenting below. Like I said, I am a sucker for meeting new people or getting to know old friends better, so do not deprive me of meeting an awesome person by exiting without commenting.

Long story short, I did a piece with a lady I admire deeply (in actual fact, she's freaking incredible. Plus the idea was hers) Please with an enormous mental ovation, welcome Nida Ede Eghafona to the godlyintellectual page.

I hope you enjoy this. You'd better. Once again, your comments are most dear to me 😀

"TWO SIDES OF A BROKEN COIN",by Nida Eghafona and Ochuko Ikogho.

Nida says: 

My eyes fell out of its sockets, tears flooded my soul, my heart melted as it slowly decimated with struggling flames of despair, of hurt , of pain. Pain so strong that the thought was strong enough to melt one into ashes. I had loved every inch of  David, every notable little inch, his pluses were as much mine as his flaws, his losses more for me than his gains, he gained me, he had me, he owned me and now, he's broken my heart.

Ochuko writes:

Breakups? Na. I dont have those anymore. Well, now that I think of it, I kind of know why. No lady measures up anymore, you know? No lady deserves my trust any more. While I was still young and exploring, with no thought towards any thing emotionally related, she comes waltzing into my life. No forewarning, no alarms no notifications. She just warmed her pretty self into my perfectly working, fairly mediocre life. Sure, I felt special. It was nice to get formally "noticed" again. But the pain afterwards...the pain now? Did any of the midnight calls and social media love leave any mark but regret? I ponder till date.

Nida says:

He held me spell bound, every waking moment graced my mind with thoughts of him. Every breaking dawn cast his shadows on the wall of my heart. He was mine and I was his or so I thought... I had never really known what love felt like till he came crawling slowly into my plain life, igniting fires, fanning embers, rising flames. He set me totally and completely ablaze! David led me, he showed me what it was like to thirst, to yearn, to need in such a way that it inflicted a sweet pain, and the euphoria that came with the pain from needing him was indescribable  almost in a masochistic kind of way. I found the love that broke boundaries, the Grecian kind of love. I found something so strong, that the likelihood of its ephemerality never ran through my innocent mind. I basked in those fickle moments, feeling invincible, strong and alive.

Ochuko writes:

Now I complain. Its easy for me to. When I find myself kneeling- threading the shredded portions of my now torn heart together- she's the bad one. Now I lay, ever wondering if the elusive healing of a heartbreak would ever grace me. In these times, its easy to blame her. But heck, it takes two to tango they say. It takes a heart breakee to make a heart breaker. I -unwittingly I might add- let her in. I let her thrive in the knowledge of owning me. I let her stay afloat on the boat of my love, while I rowed painstakingly towards a future I painted in the horizon for us. I built skyscrapers on quicksand. I let puppy brained emotions rule me. Sure, it was always so sweet to dream of a deeper connection with Lauren. And oh, how tall those dreams were. The taller they are, the harder they fall. Guess I proved that true. Pathetic me. Pathetic.

Nida says:

The cold breeze waves over my skin, washing it lightly, as sharp tongues of pain resurfaced, the monsters in my head all bursting out. I glanced at my books, words seem to fly endlessly across the paper, the ink blotched in my eyes and the letter filled pages turned blurred, turned blood.... My heartthrob left me with nothing but my flesh clinging frighteningly to my fragile bones and broken spirit. Love slowly eluded me, stoning my once glassy heart. Hate welled up in my heart with the feeling of bitter bile on my tongue and acid rushing through my veins. She lost! She lost, I was gone.

Ochuko writes:

They say if you're gonna have fun, have it when you're  young. If you're gonna try new things, try them now. Heck, this was supposed to be fun. It was. But could I have known that the pain could far surpass any gleeful memory? And talk about bad timing! I have 12 courses to write in three weeks. 3 weeks! I mean, how do I focus? How do I read?! And to think I tutored her! Now she's calmly revising. And see me, scholar! Struggling to remember those pages I skimmed through while being distracted by her soft fair skin brushing me. God! I need to recover. I should have listened. This was pure stupidity! Foolishness, Lord! 
Focus boy. Focus. You got a paper to write tomorrow. *exhales*

Nida says:

Beside Taiwo Hall, in the cold poorly illuminated  wayside. I  sat loosely on a cracked raised pedestrian walk, irked by the sound of my beating heart. I mouthed seemingly empty words for a familiar unfamiliar tune and then  looked up at the pregnant sky, heavily laden with clouds, itching to water the earth. I felt like these clouds. Heavy! 
And then I let it out, tear after tear accustoming the escaping drops of rain. I heaved oh! I heaved. The healing came slowly,creeping in filling the voids, the emptiness, the vacuity. And those pieces of me in a jigsaw carefully fell into place, fusing and healing. In this sordid moment, I closed my eyes and whispered to Him who first loved me. Jesus said his love was renewing, refreshing like the fresh morning dew. I tried to speak to him, no words came forth, just more and more tears rolling down my cheeks burning my eyes in wicked descent. So I cried to him for those were the only words that I knew how to speak and for him, that suffice. He eased the pain slowly from me, taking up the burden that my back once bore...and though my built up sky scrappers had come crashing down, I laid a new foundation. This time a solid one. That good warmth tardily returned as the pain had begun to fade and then I found that it this moment did he calm the torrent waves that my heart forged, did my Saviour wipe my tear laden eyes. In that moment  did I find a calming healing feeling; did I find peace.=) 

Ochuko writes:

Hey God. I heard you care. I read that you heal. I know you can somehow bring me freedom. I think I love her and I wanted to see this through. But look where that's left me-pained and broken. But I guess you understand. I know you hold my heart. 
This hurt, hurts. It hurts bad. I have to see her in class. How can I let her go? There must be a girl of my dreams, I know. There must be an Eve for every Adam I think. But how can I let another girl in? Who would fill the void? Who would be worth the wait? When do I get to meet her? Where would I run into her?
This would take a while. I know I will carry this around for long. But if you promise me to always be there, to hear my dumb rants and solemn cries when memory chooses to troll, then I'll leave this for you. You are after all my Father. This makes me your Prodigal Son. I guess I'm home again.

Welcome to Different



Hey guys! If you're reading this, I'll like to congratulate you for being part of a dream come true. I consider myself the laziest being on the planet when it comes to multi tasking so it is a great feat to finally own a blog.

Firstly, I'll let you know what this blog is not.

This is not a diary. It's not a cliche day-in-the-life rambling page where I crave your readership to rant about my days. I will not be telling you who annoyed me or the girl on my mind. This blog is purely for everything except my life.

This blog is not an evangelistic blog. In as much as I do wanna let you know the joy that Jesus brings, this is not a shove-it-down-your-throat message publication. I would rather you love my blog so much that you ask me the source of my inspiration. If I can't convince you of the awesomeness of being Christian, why bother trying???

Lastly, this blog is not a session for narcissism. "Intellectuals" consider themselves superior to others. I laugh at their narrow mindedness. I want everybody to read my blog. I don't care who you are, what you do, what you believe in or don't believe in. If you are gracious enough to discuss your opinion with me, you are my target audience.

And with that I close the curtains on my first post. After defining what this blog is not, I'll let you experience what it is and what it will be. Blogging is hard work. Five minutes of typing and I already have writers' block.😀

P. S. You need to comment. I started this to make new friends. If you read this and lazily-or worse still brazenly- surf away back to your daily routine, I'll trace you down and make you're sorry you ever set eyes on my piece. And no. I'm not kidding.😈
😇

This is gonna be fun! Yeah. Real fun.

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