damolaolomu

understanding is the process that converts information to revelation. understanding is what makes wisdom profitable to direct. if knowledge was gourmet, understanding is it’s dressing; if knowledge was pizza, understanding is the topping. it’s the engine that drives reproducibility and replication because whatever is understood can be repeated, obtaining consistent and identical results in the process. understanding is the midwife that helps birth revelation from the incubation of information. information, no matter how profound cannot profit you without the thorough work of understanding because you don’t really have it if you don’t understand it. understanding makes the savor of knowledge known in every place, it’s the midwife between assimilation and replication. it’s proof that you have substance, albeit not seen, and the token that gives credence to the fact that you can give that substance. understanding is what refines knowledge and it’s one of life’s true riches, a key indeed.

what’s the world? on a macro level, we can define the world as the universe-  tangible creation, from the planets to the yet untapped real estate in space, or the many vast lands and the depths of the seas. you’d still be on course if you defined it scientifically from a sub-system peripheral on earth, from the atmosphere and biosphere to the lithosphere and hydrosphere. if you took a philosophical approach and defined it as the entirety of existence and reality, you’re right. you could also define the world as the many domains on earth that are classified as fields of endeavor, disciplines, industries and individual interests that have been institutionalized for instance, the world of accounting, or the world of technology and on a micro level, the world can also be defined as systems and structures in our everyday context and that’s my perspective in this contemplation and as i articulate my points i’ll extrapolate to the different dimensions that can be used to elucidate the concept of world as we know it. i define terms in my reflections and contemplations in a concise way because they’re the foundational building blocks of our conversations. 

by revelation, i’ve realized that there’s an integral connection between understanding and dominion and this contemplation was born from an instruction and my desire to help you see that. it’s not an unpopular opinion that there’s a dominion mandate on every man, especially the regenerated one. it’s one of our principal assignments, to take charge, extend the frontiers of the kingdom, shine as light and the stars in the sky; to bring people to the light we encountered by bearing fruits and filling the face of the world with it while restoring the order of creation by exercising authority and manifesting as sons. there are other bespoke assignments embedded in the dominion mandate but what’s dominion itself? merriam-webster defines dominion as sovereignty and supreme authority with law as the context, and it defines dominion as a self-governing nation of the commonwealth of nations that acknowledges a monarch from the ruling class as chief of state from a governmental standpoint and this hits the closest to home with respect to the expression of a kingdom perspective of dominion.  

a quick google search on dominion will show you that dominion according to the standards of the  world is either defined and applied as control, the power to rule and the right to exert it or absolute authority over people and territories but this definitions don’t necessarily meet the cut when we’re defining dominion from the kingdom standpoint. dr myles munroe excellently defined dominion as ”mankind’s God-given authority to rule, govern, manage and exercise leadership over the earth on God’s behalf”. this is concise and it practically sums it up and if there’s anything to add, it’ll be to conceptualize the dominion mandate as God sending man as an emissary to the earth to do his bidding, to manifest his will in this realm as it is in heaven by repairing and refining systems, transforming people, discipling nations and ultimately extending the frontiers of his kingdom to the uttermost part of the earth. dominion in the kingdom is taking charge, stepping up, taking responsibility and doing it with the right perspective. 

now here’s the kicker, you cannot optimize a concept you don’t understand, you can’t correct or effect change in a system you’re not well versed in, and you definitely cannot exercise dominion in a realm without a sound understanding of the rules and systems of governance in the said realm. you might have to ponder on that for a while, but when this sinks in, you begin to see that the first port of call in the subject of dominion is understanding. understanding who you are, understanding your function in the world and understanding how this world was inherently designed to function. if dominion was a school, and every dimension of dominion was a class you had to take, a critical test to pass in the class of dominion in the world is understanding the principles, precepts, patterns, systems and structures that this realm was built on, both seen and unseen and the first course in that class would be centered on an introduction to the creator of the world because understanding how the world works begins with having a clear revelation of who it’s creator is.

examples communicate principles so i’ll outline a few to explicate my point. i write code and build programming interfaces, but for someone who’s totally ignorant on this subject, lines of code would look like jargon to them and they’d never be able to point out the errata if any existed in a solution presented as a body of processed data expressed in programming language because they don’t have a grasp of what the syntax is. as a programmer that builds interoperable systems for computer programs to talk to each other called application programming interfaces[APIs], i had to first understand what apis were as a concept, i had to know what integrated development environments were, then i had to choose a particular programming language, understand how it was created and designed to function before mastery or the possibilities of building systems in that space could even flash across my mind, and like the school of dominion illustration, that begins with the understanding of the mind of the creators of the programming language and every other system i’d be leveraging.  

now while that might have flown over a few heads, i’ll use another example, one that’s a little more pragmatic- sports. basketball for example is one of the few sports i enjoyed watching before the interest in combat sports won me over. now as a noob watching a basketball match live, you have zero to little knowledge about what’s going on, you see grown folks running around while passing and bouncing the ball, there’s a hoop on both ends of the court, and there are 5 players on each team per time on the court and that’s about it but for a seasoned watcher, there’s more to see and be conscious of. there’s a timer, there are rules, not all shots are the same in value in points, there are violations and penalties, strategies and tactics, timeouts exist and a whole lot of other stuff that goes on in that game that only the initiate can see or perceive while the game is on. this is the same match, two people and two distinct experiences. why? one understands how the game works and the other doesn’t and it began by first understanding the mind of the creator of the game of basketball. 

a doctor can read a test result and can give a verdict based on the data in that report because he knows the exact things likely wrong with the patient. in actuality these tests are methods employed to validate or refute hypothesis inferred based on the symptoms the patient presented and the said patient can read the same report and have absolutely no clue what the information on the report is pointing to. why? understanding. the doctor has been trained to understand how the human system was designed to function and to identify inconsistencies and what they intrinsically mean by understanding how the creator of the body designed it to function. an architect can design a building plan to translate the idea and desires of his client and bring it to life on paper because he understands how buildings should be constructed and in the same vein, the contractor who’d translate the building on paper to a physical one has to first understand the mind of the architect to do a job that will be pleasing to the architect and the owner of the building because he understands how building systems work. 

this frame of thought can be applied to every seeming esoteric expression of human creation, it’s only esoteric to those who don’t have an intrinsic understanding of how it was designed to function. these examples are pointers to the fact that if we’d come close to having dominion, i.e doing a job of translating the desires of the one who has put us on this earth to have dominion, we need understanding, and that on many different levels. primarily, we have to understand the mind of the creator of the world and that begins with a revelation of who he is. it’s important to note the choice of words here, revelation not information because these two words inherently mean different things. fundamentally, information is data, when it’s processed while revelation is processed information and that processor is understanding- the proof that you’ve comprehended what you tried to apprehend. have you seen adept veterinary doctors at work? how they can translate every whine, bark and or action(voluntary or not) of animals to a revelation of an inconsistency in function or those that have attained mastery in taming the wildest crop of them, you’re scared but they aren’t because they’ve taken their time to understand the nature of the animals which is essentially how they were designed to function. 

God, the creator of things both visible and invisible has a nature too, he has a will and a grand plan; he’s got purpose and intent; a personality and tendencies; a perspective and disposition and all of these things can be progressively understood. 

he is spirit – John 4:24

he is good –  Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19

he is love –  1 John 4:8

he has good thoughts – Jer 29:11

he is truth and therefore cannot lie – Psalms 92:15, Hebrews 6:18

he is powerful –  2 Chronicles 20:6

he is all knowing – Daniel 2:20-22

he gives gifts –   James 1:17, Ephesians 4:8

the list is inexhaustible and a sound understanding of his nature gives you a leeway into his mind, his method of operation, his intent and ultimately his will and i say all of this to say that we don’t live in an abstract world, neither are we here by happenstance. the world was designed meticulously by God and it was made for a reason, and he also designed us to be the overseers of this realm for a reason and therefore it’s also of utmost importance that we understand why. why us?  to answer this question, first principles thinking would approach it by first defining the thing – man. what is man? what’s the nature of man? and how was man designed to function? man is a race, a unique creation with the ability to desire, exert that desire, reproduce, expand and dominate. this is important because the characteristics of a thing are pointers to the why of a thing. man is a creature with a will that even the creator acknowledges. man is a being with a tripartite nature, a spirit, a soul and a body, each with different function. 

he describes us as;

kings – Rev 1:6

priests – Exodus 19:6

gods – Psalm 82:6, John 10:34

light – Matt 5:14

a city set on a hill – Matt 5:14

salt – Matt 5:13

sons – Romans 8:16

conquerors – Romans 8:37

while this no exegesis on creation, i’ve used all these touch points to really establish the importance of understanding how a thing works. there’s no dominion for a man who doesn’t understand who he is and how he was designed to function. i wrote this article to show you that you have to understand how a thing works before you can upgrade, optimize or leverage the said thing and you could examine this concept with many lenses, and try to prove this ideology in different domains, whether it be in innovation, business or governance and i bet you it’ll still hold true because there’s a way these sectors, industries and dare i say realms are designed to function. taking it a step further, imagine a presidential aspirant of a nation that has absolutely no idea how it was designed to run, he’s clueless about the political structure, the legislation and legislature, the financial, defense, healthcare systems and the many other subdomains that are essential bits and pieces of the much bigger ecosystem that is a nation. would you be willing to endorse a leader with that disposition? 

well that’s exactly what it’s like when we talk about taking over the world without a well-rounded understanding of how it works. in our different contexts and ecosystems, there’s no takeover, there’s no overhauling, there’s no upgrading of that system if you don’t understand it. this truth applies in every microcosm that is an establishment or an organization and society at large and that’s where capacity as a precept finds it’s way into the picture. in deference to a precept which is becoming a staple in my articles i.e the definition of terms, merriam-webster defines capacity as an individual’s mental or physical ability and the facility or power to produce, perform, or deploy oneself. it’s closely connected to competence. it’s why aptitude tests and examinations were developed and adopted, it’s why interviews exist – to ascertain capacity and competence; typically hinged on the benchmark of your understanding of how whatever you’re applying for works or if whatever core competency you claim to have really exists. proof of it’s existence are your results. 

there’s a huge correlation between capacity and dominion in that capacity is proof of competence, which is really an evidence and the reflection of understanding while dominion is the expression of that capacity. there’s a popular axiom that says you can’t give what you don’t have and in the same wise; you can’t exert dominion where there’s no inherent capacity for it. for every level of dominion, there’s a requisite amount of aptitude, knack, skill and core competency required to first attain and subsequently sustain it. when a prince is born into a royal family, from a young age, he’s groomed and trained for his future reign on the throne, he learns the ways of royalty from etiquette to perception, to leadership and discipline. in every way he’s prepared for kingship, he understands how to make decisions, he knows the power of association, he understands the laws of the kingdom, he’s taught history, geography, and essentially everything else required for kingship. all these and more are strategies deployed to develop and produce capacity.

in the same breath, consider athletes too, especially the cream of the crop, their lives revolve around competence because their results are usually pegged to their capacity. it determines what they eat, how they live, their associations and so on, you’d be surprised at the amount of discipline, dedication and sacrifices it takes to perform at such heights. their lives are structured around that one thing – capacity or ability. it’s constantly maintained, honed, optimized and refined because everything else is built on that cornerstone in a bid to attain mastery. mastery is proof of consistently refined competence and an expression of dominion but there’s no dominion without capacity. this also applies to everyone who’s considered a professional in their field of endeavor, from creatives to executives, craftsmen, industrialists, bureaucrats, diplomats and technocrats. it’s the same way in the world and every system in it, and i’d be using systems a lot from here on out, because every system is a microcosm of the world we live in. 

capacity isn’t just in strength or dexterity or the honing of gifts, there’s capacity in terms of knowledge and the consequent display of wisdom. in terms of knowledge, capacity looks like taking strong root downward, for a tree that’ll eventually grow, flourish, blossom, bud and fill the face of the world with the fruits of wisdom, after all the word says wisdom is justified by it’s children – fruits. knowledge from experience acquired from being in the arena – attempts, failures and successes, knowledge from reading and studying, effectively building a wide and deep bank of information that can be processed and refined; knowledge from perception and intuition. knowledge is the first step in the journey to wisdom which in itself is knowing what to do and proceeding to do it. understanding is a mediator, so there’s no understanding without knowledge and in the same breath, there’s no wisdom without understanding. knowledge is refined information on any subject and systems are one of these many subjects. 

in a financial system for example, capacity and knowledge would be express information on how money works, how it moves around, and how it’s multiplied. the knowledge of who’s in charge, the knowledge of regulatory systems and frameworks, knowing the place of institutions and so on are like arrows in a quiver and while this sounds simple on paper, it’s empirically proven that the average person has no idea how this world of money works yet they nurse the idea of having financial emancipation and some even take it a step further to wish for dominion. now take the financial ecosystem as a microcosm and pit it side by side with other systems like legislature, politics, education and see how dysfunctions are inevitable if and when the players in these different systems lack the requisite knowledge and capacity . if this paragraph did what it was supposed to do, then you should have begun to see the artwork i’m trying to paint with strokes of the importance of capacity. 

preparation is another critical subject when discussing capacity and dominion and that’s the beauty of process as a concept. picture a kid who’s asking his father for the keys to his sport car, as much as all that the father owns is pretty much for the kid’s taking, we can agree that the kid is nowhere near being ready or equipped for that desire to be granted. this analogy can be applied to dominion and capacity. recall my illustration of the son born a into a royal family, the wisdom in that process of grooming him from birth till he takes over the throne is preparation. this is a key principle to pay attention to when discussing dominion. preparation is the silent vetting and qualification for an eventual appointment, reward or promotion. the systems of the world honour this principle in different expressions like in education, sports, and other realms of human endeavor including private, corporate and governmental institutions. preparation and process are like peas in a pod and i’ve written an article on process that i encourage you to read so you fully understand this principle. 

when knowledge, understanding, wisdom, capacity and preparation are aggregated, it becomes a confluence called excellence. merriam-webster defines excellence as the quality of being excellent and then proceeds to define excellent as very good of its kind; eminently good; first class. i see excellence as a state, a posture and a position. excellence is being in a class of your own, it’s a realm that eclipses good and great. it’s a quality – the quality of being outstanding or being extremely good at something that it’s reckoned as remarkable, one that i believe is a definitive factor and requirement to express dominion. it’s pertinent that you see that none of these elements can be isolated from the equation, there’s no excellence in the absence of the aforementioned markers and consequently you can’t really have true dominion in the absence of excellence.

in isolation, each of these elements are principles and when honoured or honed to perfection, they carry a semblance of dominion because of the results they produce but with a well rounded perception, you should see that they are precepts; and if they’re accurately built upon each other, they reveal themselves as parts of a puzzle that make the whole. this reveals perspective as another foundational building block, a necessity for true dominion. i have a published article on perspective which i recommend and i’ll see if i can add a link to it here but i’ll touch on it briefly. i defined perspective as vista, a point of view that can be pictured as a pair of lenses, albeit invincible that determines to a large extent what you see. simply put, it’s how you see what’s visible. it defines how you analogize the data, information and insights you receive from external stimuli. perspective is inextricably linked to perception; it determines how you evaluate, assess and ultimately judge things; it’s the crux of how you form your opinions and views.

it’s a determining factor in every decision making process and it sort of explains how people act and react in the world. it defines how they see extremities and middle grounds with a range that cuts across morality, axiology, religion, ethnic backgrounds, politics and culture – the very ethos of every society. having established this, what’s it’s place in the subject of dominion, you might ask. well, if perspective is how you see and perceive; why you believe what you do and how you express that belief, your perspective on dominion is key and has to be accurate. most people see dominion as trampling upon people, subjugation, oppression and the imposing of their will over people, systems and structures and that couldn’t be further from the truth. what’s the wisdom in assumption and conjectures when truth exists if you’re willing to stretch for it? dominion truly begins when there’s a crystallized understanding of the scope of authority and an underlying grasp of the jurisdiction of the realm of reign.

dominion is stewardship, it’s a responsibility, it’s representation – kingdom representation and influence. dominion is authority, leadership and governance with a kingdom perspective. dominion is kingship under assignment and in purpose. it’s being in authority while staying under authority.  it’s the display of excellence, mastery, capacity and competence. dominion is a nature and it should be the effulgence of true essence. dominion is the expression of your why by living a life that stands out as an example, an invitation to those who see and desire it, it should be a deep that calls out to deep but none of these is even feasible if there’s no concrete understanding of this subject. if we’d have dominion in this realm like we are ordained to, the first principle that comes to play is understanding. we’d have to seek out and actively partner with the spirit of understanding.

understanding your creator, understanding vision, understanding your purpose, understanding your domain, understanding your assignment in that domain, understanding association and relationships, understanding man, understanding systems, understanding principles, understanding laws, understanding structures, understanding influence, understanding leadership, understanding stewardship and this list cannot be exhausted.  you want to be a ceo, understand how that works, you want to be a change agent, understand how that works, you want to be an innovator in a peculiar field, understand how it works. that’s the protocol, it won’t change, you can try other shortcuts, apply underhanded tactics, try using a backdoor and you’d have stories of unnecessary pain, burns, scars, losses and defeat. 

in a world where disruption is an euphemism and an anarchist’s aphorism that denotes taking over while throwing a middle finger to the system, intelligent disruption as i like to say it will ride on the back of good old understanding.

until next time, damola out!