Desire is a tool to godliness

The word desire simply translated means "a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen". I loosely translate it to mean that what you desire you don't have and not because you don't have the ability to have it but that the passion of that feeling of wanting to have that something has to be sustained. You have to keep at it.

I want to base this from a scripture that I love from Romans 7:14-25. I like what Paul puts forward as our daily struggle I believe. The innate desire to want to serve God faithfully and without fail but in full contrast to that desire dwells the appetites and wills of the flesh that naturally prison one to sin. What Paul is saying here is that not living a spiritual life is not due to lack of desire but that "evil is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands". In verse 22 he says "For I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self [with my new nature]. He admits that being born again has not gotten him immune to the lust of the flesh. This is one of the most intriguing books in the bible, Paul bears all to these guys because he seeks to bring them closer God.

What brings me to write about this is that we mostly measure and pass judgement on each other based on things that we don't want to do but pay less attention on the desire to want to do good. You see my actions may not always reflect my desire but what I do is easy because the nature that indwells me demands contrary to my desire. So my mechanism is more in tuned to that which comes naturally to do. So by implication it will take much more strength and ability to be able to do this because the power that I need to be able to do this has to come from the supernatural to be able to subdue these demands and eventually to turn the tables around.

You need to stop concentrating on what you don't want to do but figure out ways to fuel your desire. Once you understand that honing & harnessing your desire will bring you much closer to godliness. Desire is not a problem, working on it is. Don't just stop at the door of desire but the company you keep must reflect your yearning & wanting to be freed from slavery. Remember that God will always grant you your heart's desires Psalms 37:4 but you must delight in Him. So this means that delighting in Him is actually working on your desire. Psalms 20:4 reads "May He grant you according to your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans". So God does not have a problem with what you desire because it is not naturally inherent in your sinful nature but lust, greed and all those appetites that automatically war against your desire to seek & search for righteousness; He loathes.

It is my wish that we can all come to a point where desire to do good overcomes that which comes habitually to do. I want us to learn to see beyond the actions that we do, to see if the desire is there. If we find that there is a desire in there; then put all our energies into making sure that, that desire is realized. Paul in verse 24 & 25 closes with a question & an answer which is Jesus our Lord and Savior. It is this virtue that keeps this desire alive; understanding that God knows the difficulty of living in this body. He holds no grudges for our shortcomings, in fact he continues to search & examines the desires of our hearts and that by His grace we are given a chance to make amends daily. Jeremiah says "it is because of His mercies that we are not consumed".

 Lastly Paul says "Therefore, my dear one, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out(cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).". Keep working on your desire because it will surely lead to godliness.

Workshopped by L Madubela

Beyond the fall of the statues

Wow! What interesting times we live in, in SA. There is always something to wake to in our country & we manage to lap up all of these things enthusiastically. The #Rhodes must fall campaign by the UCT students started another form of debate which is now getting everyone talking and expressing their feelings in all sorts of manner out there. In February we had our eyes set on SONA (state of the nation address) and the drama that came with it. We've heard reports that the public protector, Julius Malema & others are spies and many others that have happened in the space of just 3 months & 15 days.

Focusing on the statues you'll see that this has got everyone talking and has really sparked some sense of unity among SAns even though we differ on the fundamental meaning of these statues. It would be utterly wrong of us to narrowly respond on this issue of statues as just being about statues only. I do believe that there is more to this in that there is an unheard cry rising from the inner soul of SAns seeking for a common goal or cause to fight for. My fear though is that tend to react to these things and when we react to them we address only the symptoms & not the root cause.

In fact in some instances the response can be patronizing & annoying because it simplifies the issues at hand. Look at the Marikana tragedy and how the employers & government said these were just acts of criminality but we ended up with more than 30 people dead at the hands of the government of the people. We just recently played down the statement made by King Zwelithini and now KZN is in anarchy because of what he said. There have always been a cry of unemployed youth in this country and now when we see them channelling their anger however misguided it maybe; they are hurting from something deeper than what they are projecting. The truth is ladies & gentlemen; there is an energy & vigour that lies dormant in the soul of the South African community. What we see as criminality, the militancy in our youth, the rising frustrations on issues of transformation and the attacks on the statues & monuments of this country signifies that there is something brewing in the core of this country. What disadvantages us the most is that we have a leadership that is unable to neither discern nor decipher the moment or the times in which we are in. In fact the discrepancy in leadership is such that we cannot take the courage to lead when we are required to lead. We lead by reaction and even when we do that we simply address the problem at hand with no clue at all as to how we can guide that energy & vigour to our own agenda beyond the present. 

Our people are not simply going out there to destroy & cause anarchy but I hear them crying out for something more. They are yearning for something that will unify us and make us all focus in the one vision that will be the South African vision. If you look back in our recent history you'll see that when we have a common goal, agenda or vision; we rally around that until we see it to the end. The lack of that common goal puts us in this position. I myself long for the vision and the idea of South Africa that will be driven by all and for us all. The Americans call it the "American Dream" and however divided they may be especially with their own issues of racism coming to the fore, they still very much believe in the American dream. This as I understand took a lot of years to build & entrench but in all their fumbling they still believe in the American dream. It's their compass and remains very central in their politics. It is my belief that what is brewing in the South African community is an energy & vigour that needs to be driven towards a cause that is nation building in nature. A cause that will stand beyond the fall of the statues, a dream that will outlive the ruling party. Meaning; even when the ANC is not in power but the cause remains relevant. This should cut across all nationalities, colour lines should not matter but the "South African Dream" must rise above all of these. 

The Freedom Charter in my view encompasses what I would call the South African Dream & it embodies it very well more than the NDP (National Development Plan) but its own handicap is that it is linked to the ANC. That then cripples it but its very core and its foundation shows that we had a leadership that sort to drive an agenda for this country & not like the one where the agenda is hijacked from the people. All we hear from our leaders is that let's debate these things and let us be orderly when we address issues. Look if we think that this is simply about statues, foreigners, service delivery, Nkandla, Cosatu divisions & any other burning issues of the now; we are mistaken. We need a common agenda, a centred focus point we need a SAD (South African Dream). We need leaders who can rally us to that point. The ideal SA is within all of us; it only needs to be inspired & nurtured to be realized. It is often said that we did not heal from the wounds of apartheid & I concur with that 100% but healing will come when we point that pain to a positively uniting factor. Uniting is not a problem for us. A common goal is. 

Work-shopped by Lungelo Madubela

Success is in Removing the Default Menu/Button.

Its been a while since I've sat and written something down. The idea of putting something down is always with me but I constantly shelve it for next time and that has got to change. I must say that 2015 is slowly chipping away but the amount of drama, fun & energy it brings with is absolutely amazing just by judging the early events that we've seen thus far. I however don't want to delve into the happenings of our current environment but rather the deep conflicts of our being and the things that stand in way of achieving our desired goals.

I want to talk about removing the default menu/button which I regard to be anything that is designed to keep you within what you normally regard as your limit. I am choosing to use a word that is synonymous with computers as they come with preset programs that are used as guides to the user. These programs are nice to have but if you only follow their promptings you'll learn nothing from these devices. To be able to learn more you should be able to ignore the default menu at times & venture into new spheres all on your own. In fact we have a lot of testimonies these days because our very own kids are the champions of working outside the default menus or buttons. My son can operate any device without going through the default menus or settings.

 The most daunting thing about the reliance on these menus is that when you seem to lose your sense of venture & zeal; you quickly fall back to the default settings and that can scupper ones progress for good. The same is the reality of life that those who desire to succeed must remove any "default menus/buttons" in their lives so that they can forge a new path for themselves. There are a lot of these in our lives. The environment that you've grown up in can be your default menu in that what you know can become your limitation and your fall back position. The fact that you've grown up in a family where there is not a single entrepreneur does not mean that you can't be one. You may be from a family of teachers or a background of non-graduates; but you can chose to rise above all of those limits.

You see fear is one of the reasons for seeking to stick with the known or familiar surroundings. The unknown is frightening & carries with it a lot of risk whilst the known is safe but terribly stagnating. I myself have been a victim of my own default menus/buttons and continue to hinder me in my other ventures. I have since identified these and am currently working on them. If you look across history you'll see that those who make a difference or succeed in life are those who decided to defy what is familiar to them and may sometimes be seen as being rebellious. Success is not always mined on the strength of what is proven & tested because there is no greatness in that. True greatness & success comes without the strings of known territories but it is with vision, passion & focus that the unknown is conquered.

What you know is valuable but don't let it stand in the way of what you could become because that might be invaluable to us all. Abraham is one of the true pioneers of the unknown territories and he conquered all of the in each step he took to venture into the unknown. Faith in ones abilities is essential but more than that you have to trust that God is looking out for you at all times. If you fall it's fine but it's not the end of the road.  It is in falling that we learn to rise up again.

Work-shopped by Lungelo Madubela