Poser of the Day:
‘Is Putting oneself first a bad habit? If Yes, why? If No, why? If Yes and No, why’?
Introduction: Wow! What a question! Questions can be tricky, even perfunctory, but the way they are framed, like now, can be everything. I really love how the entry is couched.
2.0 First though, welcome to our Q & A session today. As you may already know, ASK THE BOSS is a platform for you to garbage in (via my inbox) a question or two bothering your life or emotions so that I garbage out (back to you -and members of the public) answer(s) that can help you. A decade on, ASK THE BOSS has continued to change lives in unimaginable ways. By His grace, there is no stopping us -not today, not tomorrow.
3.0 The entry in focus was sent in by Eket-born, Abuja -based Prince Usoro. It is a difficult question, made tougher by his battery of inescapable if’s. The prince allows no legroom for comfort. Notwithstanding, the question is pure class.
4.0 My Take is here. Everything being equal, putting yourself first always cannot be anything other than a bad habit. But, then, everything has never been, everything is not, and everything may never be equal. So, one has to take a second look at that question; this time with the eyes of a big man.
5.0 Now imbued with wisdom, which is the natural principal thing the getting of which precedes understanding, I am tempted to take you through another route. When Lord Total says we should love others as we do us, it means what it means; namely, that we can only treat others like human beings after we had learnt to see or treat ourselves so. You can expand that divine monograph on life by arguing (as in-flight cabinet crew always advise passengers to help themselves first before others in the event of any emergency) that you would only know how to put others first after having mastered the art of putting yourself first. That sounds creepy to me, but who has altruism helped in this country?
6.0 Going forward therefore, I need to ask you, my dear Prince, who or what is this about? And, Da, I will shoot straight here. See, if you want God’s reward, put others first. If you want instant earthly reward, put yourself first; damn all the nonsense and lousy righteousness they will mouth on your head!
7.0 Just in case you missed it, I’d say that again. Putting others first is the way to go but it can give you so much headache. Plus, the recompense MIGHT come only after your death (I say ‘might’, because it might not after all). Can you live with that, even in death?
8.0 In a thankless world such as ours, the choice of right or left is personal -strictly so. This call is one that only you can make for yourself while I make mine for me. This is the point I have been dying to make the whole day. Thank You, Jesus!
9.0 But, seriously, this is an important conversation that we must have. With honesty allowed to guide such engagements, we all very quickly come to the reality that everyone is putting themselves first. This is currently, a global phenomenon. Mediocrity, is all over the place, putting up itself and in most cases dwarfing excellence.
10.0 When we seek office for which we have no capacity, we in the process put ourselves first and society last. When we hinder helpers from doing their calling because we hate the helpee(s), we put ourselves complete with our envy and hateful nature first. When we bribe for admission, for grades and for employment -for ourselves or our wards- we put ourselves or family first. When we hoard food or goodness or information or love or money or opportunity or petroleum products, etc., we put ourselves selfishly first.
11.0 When we spread bitterness and falsehood and hate to demarket another or others, we put ourselves first. When we repay evil for good because we think ourselves the smartest, we put ourselves dangerously and briefly first. When we steal from the commonwealth, in the process impoverishing the very people we were to enrich, we put ourselves stupidly first. When our action or speech tilts more towards arrogance or Satan, we put our flesh first.
12.0 Alas, these things ought not to be so. To be sure, these things were not so -from the beginning. A good person puts others first. It is the model roadmap that our God left for us.
13.0 He so loved us that we became and remain permanent number one -forever. We didn’t have to do or to possess or to say anything or something (special) to qualify for such pride of place. That is the example we must imbibe and evince for eternity. So, shut up and sit down; go and do likewise.
Conclusion: Start putting others first. It all comes back to you. There is great gain in putting others first. By putting us first, Jesus became and remains Master and Saviour forever.
Take this home, even if you can’t: the person who put others first is not second or last. The person who put others first is greater than who they put first. We who were put first by Jesus Christ are not greater and shall never be greater than Him. This exactly is how these things work in this world.
God bless Nigeria!
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