That is a question that struck me one night before I went to bed. It struck me not because of its simplicity, but because it could be a question most people do not have an answer to, but a question people have asked themselves indirectly in one way or the other. A lot of times no matter where we find ourselves, we sometimes have this feeling of dissatisfaction. We feel there is something missing, there is something more that we perhaps should have but then, that is by the way.
In life we have different roles to play, I choose to call them layers. We are born we have parents, that is a layer, people see us as our parents' kids. There are things expected of us which we do as kids, some people spend practically all their lives as kids never to grow up, till probably the parents pass on. We grow up, we have careers after spending some time in school. We live our lives and we pass on. What happens after we pass on is between us and God. Here are random thoughts from me, thoughts from my depths.
Who am I?
We are born as kids, we live our lives as we are expected to.
Most times we do, sometimes we don't. That is a layer.
We go to school, we take up careers we think we best fit to do.
We play the part, act as students, yet another layer.
Sometime within this period, questions arise;
Purpose, reasons for being, who am I, how do I live,
We search for answers, answers to live a life that is nice.
We pick a purpose, attach a reason, pick a lifestyle and we live.
But lack satisfaction because with all that, we lack an identity.
So we attach religion, hoping God we give us the answers we seek.
Most times however, we ask the wrong questions,
We ask praying earnestly for the right answer.
And when that answer don't come we ask even more questions.
I am a doctor, an engineer, a consultant, a pilot.
I am a chef, a priest, a teacher, a professor.
I heal people so they call me doctor, but who am I to myself?
I am an engineer, I build and fix things, but who am I to myself?
I have children, so many children, I raise them, feed them, wipe their tears,
I give them all they need, but who do I see when I look in a mirror?
Who do I see when I toss and turn at night?
A chef, priest, teacher, doctor. Underneath it all, who are we?
We have teachers that steal, we have thieves that teach.
Criminals make wonderful fathers, yet we have outstanding men,
Good men in the society that have no idea what it means to be a father.
There are people, touts, ragga-muffins, street urchins, who will die for you,
Just because of the loaf of bread or the good deed, done for them by you.
But you devote your life to a loved one for years and they still walk away.
Funny how we trust pilots, doctors, taxi and bus drivers,
We trust them even though that may be the only encounter we have with them,
But we find it hard to trust the people we see daily in our lives.
Funny how we go to church every Sunday and never speak to the person next to us,
But we have no qualms about hitting up the guy or girl sitting next to us in the pub/club.
We find ourselves more comfortable with strangers, than with the people we know,
Not because the people we know are wrong or bad, but because most times,
We shield that knowledge about who we are, the center and the core of our being.
We hide because we really cannot face the truth about what/who we are.
Successful people commit suicide regularly, they have money, they have wealth, they have fame, but they are unhappy. We have friends that change and we wonder why, what happened? There have also been times when we have denied who we really are, either due to circumstances or due to the environment, because we were ashamed or shy of what people would think or say (I am guilty of this). I wonder what is the point then? If you can't stand out on a rooftop and identify with yourself then really, how does one live? There are a number of people who stood out for who they were in the bible, I pick just two; Joseph and Daniel. Simple men who because they did not bend or compromise for any reason where taken far above their peers. Who you are should cut across all the areas of your life, whether you be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher or a parent. Whether you are in church or in a pub, people should be able to say this is who this man is... And most importantly, it should tie in with the image you see of yourself when you look in a mirror... Even more important is this, it should tie in with the image God has of you.
David put it so well in the passage Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
For him even, there were times he fell... But that passage was the driving force behind him for his entire life and it was consistent in all areas. What is yours?
God is no respecter of persons. He loves us equally though.
No comments:
Post a Comment