Weekend Talk: Reset pitfalls
Every time we embark on a reset agenda of any kind, we are bound to encounter ruthless detractors or hecklers who will rubbish our goal with the view to weakening our effort and cause us to give up.
PhD
We call it “PhD” which, traditionally, stands for Doctor of Philosophy. But over the years in our local phraseology or jargon, PhD has diabolically been assigned to what is known as “pull him down.”
The idiom means “stop him from making progress” or “sabotage him.” In other words, if a saboteur decides to nip your vision in the bud and prevent you from achieving your goal, he would apply PhD on your sweat, using every trick in the book.
Initially, you would presume that “pull him down” were a trivial joke, but it is deep and malicious. In real life situations, the notion of “pull him down” is responsible for the disruption of visions and failure to implement well-thought-out strategies.
Broken walls
A typical example is the story of Nehemiah, a high-ranking influential Israelite leader, who returned to Judah from Persia to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem.
In those days and jurisdictions, if the walls surrounding a city was destroyed, it amounted to a serious form of humiliation and disgrace.
According to historians, “In ancient times, a city with broken walls was a catastrophic event because the walls were not merely structural, but the primary defence against total destruction, annihilation of its citizens, and loss of identity.”
That meant that a city without walls was vulnerable to robbers and the invasion of enemies.
Economically, a wall-less city amounted to serious economic ruin, and we in Ghana understand what economic ruin means to our general well-being.
Therefore, you would think a man like Nehemiah, with deep concern for the development of his city, who returned home with a reset agenda to rebuild the ruins, would receive massive support.
But, no! Instead, he faced intense opposition from local officials.
Saboteurs
From the Book of Nehemiah, we read about the evil schemes of detractors led by saboteurs like Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, who used ridicule, threats of violence, and political sabotage to try to halt the construction.
You wonder: were they sad to see their city wall in ruins that had tarnished their reputation as a nation whose God was the God of the universe?
Were they excited to see the rebuilding taking place that would cover their shame and protect them from their enemies?
No, they were not.
They could cut their noses to spite their faces!
That is the wickedness of flesh and blood, evil that is continuously lodged in the human heart.
Resemblance
The broken walls of Jerusalem resemble our situation, where various walls of our nation’s economy are ruined, where workplace productivity is low, where many families are disintegrated, and personal integrity is weak.
Therefore, the call to embark on a national, workplace, family, and personal agenda is so important that we must pursue it relentlessly.
True, if we decide to embark on reset pursuits, we are bound to face challenges.
Should we, therefore, abandon our reset agendas and succumb to saboteurs’ negative heckling? Certainly not!
If certainly not, then we need to do what Nehemiah did. He ignored the saboteurs, recruited genuine helpers, focused on the work instead of wasting time on nonessentials, and he worked hard.
He didn’t get corrupt by being greedy; he remained a man of integrity; he embarked on religious reforms and spiritual reawakening; and, above all, he prayed to God whom he served with a sincere heart.
Failure to connect with God in prayer can lead to failure, no matter how sincere we are.
After all, a reset agenda is not new.
We know about resets under different names such as economic transformation, monetary restructuring, financial reformation, fiscal discipline, industrial and economic revitalisation, cost-cutting measures, and a revolution.
Spiritual help
Whatever our own national or personal agenda might be, we need to seek God’s guidance and help as Nehemiah did.
If we desire to pursue a new life, we must invite Christ into our lives and live for him, so his Spirit will energise us towards success.
When our church embarked on repositioning the church for growth, that was a reset agenda.
We noticed that we couldn’t reposition the church for growth without prayer, calling on God for help, and working hard.
The prodigal son was happy to be welcomed back home by his father, but, just at the corner was his own brother who didn’t like the fact that their father had received him back home.
Even our spiritual resetting will face opposition from some church members who would look down on us and from our old acquaintances who would mock us.
Just be prayerful and focused, work hard and trust in God for help.
