Word of the week
Proverbs 20:10 NLT says, ‘The Lord detests double standards of every kind.’
So, what is a clique?
A clique is a group that selects their own friends and excludes others. You can find cliques everywhere. They usually start from way back, even from primary and secondary school days.
If you have a clique mindset, you will be polite to your boss but despise your driver or cleaner. It isn’t right to behave like this. God does not like double standards.
I consider myself blessed because of an attitude I saw in my parents.
They both came from humble backgrounds and went on to do well in life.
Despite their success, they had friends across all social strata. It was good for me to see this growing up. So, I personally dislike the clique mindset.
A clique is saying many things:
- We belong but you don’t belong.
- We are rich but you are poor.
- We are well connected, you know nobody.
- We are the ones that will make it.
- Finally, a clique is saying ‘you are not our type’.
It is wrong to have that mindset. We are only who we are by the grace of God.
A clique shows a lack of humility.
When Jesus was on earth, He had no cliques. He loved everyone, no one was too low or too high for Him to relate to.
When you exclude people from your circle because of a clique mindset, you are asking God to include them in His circle.
If you are a victim of a clique, if people have excluded you from their circle, don’t get upset. There is no need. Instead of being upset, pray that God should include you in His own circle.
Let us all have the mind of Christ and do away with cliques wherever we are.
Have a great week. God bless you.
Message of the week
Proverbs 12:18 KJV says, ‘There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword but the tongue of the wise is health.’
The NLT version says, ‘Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.’
Let me tell you a short story. I was in the city of Ibadan in 2019 and I was staying with a friend. One day, my friend told me she was out to see her father-in-law who was celebrating his 88th birthday that day. I asked her to say hello to him. After she left the house, I thought to myself, ‘Hang on, I should send some money to the elderly gentleman’. So, I called my friend to please give her father-in-law a small token on my behalf and I would give her the money back.
A few minutes after, my phone rang and it was the elderly gentleman. After identifying myself, he said to me, ‘I want to thank you ma for the money you sent to me.’ I was taken aback because in the Yoruba tribe of Western Nigeria, you only use the word ‘ma’ to address elderly ladies. Though I tried to redirect my friend’s dad-in-law, he refused to stop calling me ‘ma’.
After I dropped the phone, I pondered over the conversation and the Lord ministered to me that part of the secret of the longevity of the old man was the respect with which he addresses others.
We are talking genuine respect here not the fake one people give you because they have an ulterior motive. Genuinely honouring and respecting others is what we are talking about here.
One of the ways to know a person that is genuinely respectful is through their words and actions.
I may not know you but your words and actions will tell me who you are.
The disrespectful talk carelessly. Their words wound and maim others.
Lack of respect is a sign that something is wrong with someone.
Another downside to being disrespectful is that respectful people will move away from your circle.
Respectful people are usually decent, honourable and prosperous.
An example is Abraham, the father of faith. Check the Bible very well. You will not see a single occasion where he was rude and disrespectful to anybody. No wonder God called Abraham His friend.
You may not be perfect, but if you respect others, you will be alright in the end.
Respect makes you to dwell in peace with others.
Respect gives you power.
The Trinity is very powerful because they respect one another. There is mutual respect between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Respect costs you nothing but it will earn you many good things, longevity being one of them as shown in my friend’s father-in-law.
