in computer systems and programming, there’s a phenomenon of interoperable systems built on computer programs that act as a mediator between clients and servers or in non-technical parlance, consumers and providers. these systems are called application programming interfaces[apis] and they act as the middle ground between backend server activity and the user interface. they perform the desires of the client[users] and retrieve resources and responses from a server[a bank of resources].  

in the same way, principles are the apis of the world, they are the intermediaries between desires and results. laws as we fondly call them can be explained as established principles, derived from proven concepts. for example, gravity is a force that was built into the ethos of the cosmos, it necessitates that whatever goes up must come down, that’s a principle, proven so well that it’s been established as a law. it’s the same with motion, and thermodynamics or any other principle that has been discovered, conceptualized and subsequently expressed through science.

i’ve come to terms with the fact that the world was designed to respond to the correct application of principles; it has no prejudice for who you are, what you believe, your character or whatever self-righteous disposition or sense of worthiness you hold onto, it’s subject to principles. God the creator also honors this concept as proven in the holy scriptures and his character, he respects and subjects himself to the principles and the statutes with which he established creation.

a major expression of wisdom is the fruit of the honor for these principles and every tangible and lasting fruit of success obtained in this realm can be tied to the accurate practice of established principles whether it be in wealth, influence or growth. this contemplation first came to me as a impression and as i meditated intentionally it expanded and i thought i’d express this reflection as it develops in my consciousness.

while this is no excuse to not have moral guardrails or ignore axiological truths that make for good living, i see that even the worst crop of humans with skewed values can get more results and fruits to show for their wisdom than even we the children of light because while we’re largely sentimental and like to display esotericism like it’s a substitute for being effulgent creatures, they pay attention to and have a dogged respect for principles and practice it as such. 

while my views are clear and my belief systems are clearly expressed in my writings, the lord has begun to open my eyes to the folly of ignoring principles and the individuals who have paid the price to understand and put them to practice with fruits to show for it because they don’t share our values or belief systems. it’s one of the reasons why the world sometimes laughs at us, we don’t seem to be changing the world like the heathen do, and it can be tied to the ignorance of and apathy to honoring principles. 

people in the world doggedly apply these principles and enjoy both the results and the fruits that abound from it because principles are indifferent to prejudice or your perspective. there’s no nepotism with principles, they’re indifferent to your whims and misgivings. you honour them, they produce and like a mirror, they reflect your folly when you choose to ignore them. our advantage as sons and children of light as i’ve come to understand is that light. light that gives us access to the keys that unlock these principles, light as understanding so we can produce fruits called wisdom.

in light, we operate from a realm of progressive understanding of how they were designed to be applied. most of the people who we’d call the ‘heathen’ practice these laws in isolation from the creator and credit the wisdom to themselves. if you really pay attention, you can credit a major part of the tangible results in the world today across spheres and stratas to the application of one or multiple principles, even when it’s done in ignorance and the absence of consciousness. 

a great example would be the principle of faith. while most people won’t readily admit it, man is a creature made to operate by faith. dr myles munroe said and i quote “ purpose produces design and design predicts potential”.  if man was made to give God pleasure; and without faith it’s impossible to please him, this points to the fact that we were created with the capacity to have faith and live by it, because design points to potential. 

by design faith in God, but the world hinges theirs on logic, might and strength, science, gifts, systems, knowledge, experience and so on and while that’s a deviation from the original design, they still operate by this principle. how? well, i can express this logically from two perspectives. trust and belief. listen, whatever you trust, you have faith in and this happens in the presence or absence of consciousness; you might have to think on that one. 

trust is a faith business and that’s the object of this analogy. you need faith to trust anything, or anyone. faith is the substance of an outcome believed for and hope is tied to believing in the possibility of the manifestation of a certain expectation that you trusted for. you can’t trust without faith, you can’t have faith without believing and you sure can’t believe without hope; so you either trust or doubt, they’re mutually exclusive and they are both conscious choices.  this gets clearer when you understand that faith is belief. 

while bible faith always begins with the knowledge of God, faith in the world begins with knowledge of the said thing, no matter how faux or distorted it is. here’s an excerpt from another article of mine – you can explain faith to an accounting expert as a discounted cash flow; it’s seeing things from the lens of what they’d be in the now. while DCF as a concept is hinged on the value of potential income or revenue; faith is hinged on the knowledge of God, his word, his nature and his character.

now while the world might not have faith in God, they have faith nonetheless, in other things, like resources, power, association, knowledge, influence, or anything they hold on to with dear life. they trust, and by extension believe and that my friend is faith. i’ve said all of this to express two things. the first is that there’s no getting around principles; no matter how misaligned you are, you have to live by them, and that the fact that you’re ignorant to this reality doesn’t negate the effectiveness of the practice of principles. 

continuing in the spirit of this contemplation, i’ll point out a couple principles, prove that they were God designed, touch on how they were designed to function and show you that the heathen practice them in apathy to God to get results. my aim with this article is to first show you that principles run the world, then point out the folly in us as believers being high minded because we’re sons of God yet ignoring his set principles and watching the heathen practice them, get results while defying our father; yet we watch, like servants. 

a principle that will be an object of the elucidation of this perspective is that of imagination. imagination in simple terms, is a creative ability. merriam-webster defines it as the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality and this is a well rounded pragmatic definition. imagination according to the bible can be defined with this phrase – as far as your eyes can see. i define it as seeing the end from the beginning and crafting a perspective that is defined by that reality that you have conceived.

whatever you can’t picture, you can’t have and in the same vein, whatever is not in your frame of thoughts remain outside the shores of your possibility. the greatest inventors in history operated by this principle and leveraged it to birth already existing realities albeit intangible. i say this because whatever you can imagine actually exists as a possibility that’s waiting for manifestation and if you align yourself you can partner with that reality for it’s tangible manifestation.

examples communicate principles so i’ll use a few illustrations. what do you think martin luther king jr. meant when he said “i have a dream” ?. simply put, he was saying i have a mental picture, the imagination of a reality so tangible that you couldn’t convince me otherwise. he saw a future that others without that imagination couldn’t see, a picture that superimposed his physical reality or context. you see, imagination, when done right, is a necessary component for vision, which is another principle i’ll get to later.  

imagination births conviction, something you can live and if need be, die for. in the scriptures, we learn of a man who through dealings with God became a father of generations who proclaim the name of Jesus by faith today. we read that he heard a spirit – God, obeyed, received promises and walked with him. God was going to give him descendants that can be likened to the stars in the sky and a trans-generational inheritance. to help him conceptualize this promise, God told him to look as far as his eyes can see. in other words, what i’m trying to give you cannot be compared to anything in your current context, you have to picture it, because it exists, albeit not in the physical realm.

today in the secular world, we see this principle practiced in different ways, shapes and form. the architect uses this principle to conceptualize a building project and builds it on paper before any building block is laid on the ground. the painter or visual artist uses this principle to recreate what he pictures in his mind, the inventor sees the invention in his mind before he holds it in his hand. i could go on but i want to establish quickly that there’s nothing made that wasn’t made by God. everything tangible and intangible was made by him and principles are present in that number. 

if that sinks in, you can understand that because principles were made by God, and because creation itself is subject to God, creation as an entity subjects itself to those that honour them. humans therefore leverage these principles even if they don’t honour the creator of the principles. most people that board flights around the world today have no idea of who the wright brothers were, yet they take advantage of the concept they birthed. most people who use pharmaceutical products don’t know who the chemists that laboured to produce these solutions were and in the same breath; principles and God. 

another principle that elucidates this perspective of God, principles and results is that of time and chance or opportunity.  the bible says that the race isn’t to the swift or the strong. in simple terms this law points to the fact that, you’re never really the most qualified or most deserving across board. it points to the reality of a hand at play that makes those that emerge or rise have the chance to. malcolm gladwell’s book on outliers point to this principle, he argued that extraordinary success is rarely the result of hard work, talent and skill alone but the culmination of many factors like timing, circumstances or events, culture and the fruit of this principle is what the world has come to describe as luck. 

this principle found expression in the story of david, arguably the greatest hebrew king. the story points to the fact that he was chosen by God – election, he was a talented musician – gift, skilled – hardwork, was a shepherd who’d fought beasts in the wild – preparation, he found himself in the camp of the army running errands and heard the boasting of the enemy, got the opportunity to express his desire to fight the enemy to the king and was favoured by God and permitted by the king to do so. these many factors aligned together for that feat to be achieved and the absence of any of these factors would have produced a different story. 

in the secular world, many people explain away this principle as the luck factor, or being at the right place at the right time. i’ll use another illustration, mark zuckerberg wasn’t the only computer science geek in 2004, who happened to have attended harvard, but he met his friend eduardo, hacked into school portals, which gave him a notoriety that the winklevoss brothers heard about that necessitated a meeting that eventually crystallized the facebook idea that he ran with, he wasn’t the only one who found himself in palo alto, he wasn’t the only guy who spoke to peter thiel about an idea, he wasn’t the only hardworking cracked programmer or hacker as he’d tag himself but time and chance happened. now isolate any of those factors that interplayed and tell me if there’s still a facebook today. 

next up is the principle of process. in the aftermath of the flood, God bound himself with a promise that set forth a principle that’s known today as the law of seed, time and harvest, and the earth and  everything in it is subject to this law. this law expresses itself everywhere, from agriculture, to character and deeds or the idea of karma, to the spiritual laws of giving which itself is another principle. my focus in this principle is the time. seed, time, harvest. time points to process; one that starts when the seed is put in the ground and ends when the fruits are ripe for harvest. 

this phenomenon doesn’t just apply to plants, it applies to everything that starts as a seed, from ideas to concepts and insights, to building and establishment, to procreation and everything really because everything starts as a seed. a forest starts with a seed, a skyscraper starts with one building block, the human race started with one man, it’s a principle that was wound into the fabrics of the cosmos. between the first seed of corn a farmer plants and a farm full of maize ready to be harvested is process. process looks like death, life, growth, preparation, capacity building and patience and it’s typically under the hood. 

“one of the most important building blocks in becoming is process. it’s involved in the creation, birth, reiteration and even the decline or destruction of anything that was made. done right, you have something that lasts, when it’s botched, you have an eventual disaster at best. it’s involved in going from bad to good and good to great. the power of process can define outcomes, it can transform potential to legacy and whilst that’s great, it can turn potential to disgrace and rot too. silent yet loud, sometimes ignored but time reveals it’s importance. process is the midwife that helps you birth what you’ve incubated. a constant force, yet dynamic. sometimes fast and at times painfully slow.”

that was an excerpt from an article i wrote on the subject of process. i believe there’s nothing birthed that didn’t go through a process and this applies in both worlds – spiritual and physical. this principle applies in both worlds whether in birthing promises or building structures and products. when humanity fell from grace, God pronounced a verdict of death, and creation has been dying a gradual but eventual death since then, that’s process; when he came in the flesh to restore, he gave life and that life canceled out that death but there’s still a process for the growth and full manifestation of that life in tangible creation.

businesses measure their progress in the secular world with benchmarks and timelines like year-on-year, year-to-date, or quarters and this is a reflection of the law of process. how? you might ask, well, every fiscal year or quarter, each business outlines their growth indices for the year; targets, projections and what have you, they apply measures, tactics, strategies based on data but they still have to wait till the end of the fiscal year or quarter to see if these strategies actually work, that’s process, the time factor, a God designed principle that man leverages. 

everything that has a gestation period points to this principle, from pregnancies in humans and animals to horticulture; dreams, visions, ideas, concepts must all submit to this principle to find true and lasting expression. every f1 driver in the world started with go-karts and scaled the heights from division to division, that points to process; nearly every nba player likely started as a junior in high school, proceeded to college and then the bright lights of the nba, that’s process; even in the kingdom we go from glory to glory; process. 

next up is the principle of value, value generally refers to perceived worth, importance or usefulness of a thing, but the context can morph it to mean something else. in this contemplation, my perspective for value points to productivity and diligence which in itself is a principle.  value is intrinsically linked to resourcefulness; the ability to make things happen, proffer solutions, create products, offer services are all expressions of the subject of value. the bible says and i’m paraphrasing, that the diligent man will stand before kings, it also says that the gift of a man makes room for him. 

gift here can be talent, skill or proficiency; anything you can truly be adept at is a way to get you to the palace. this principle found expression in men in the bible, from jacob to joseph and daniel. the principle of value made them almost indispensable; protocols were broken for them, rules were bent for them, they ushered in dispensations and revealed a greater dimension of wisdom by this principle. the man of value is almost always preferred to others because humans are inherently wired to want to satisfy their needs and they’d do anything for the one who’s able to consistently satisfy that need. 

in the secular world, whether in business, sports, entertainment, governance, or any realm that is a microcosm of society, we see it play out. those that possess value as a currency remain at the forefront of important, dispensation defining conversations and make decisions for the larger crop of society who most times have no idea that these conversations are even being had, whether in board rooms, legislature and legislation, or multilateral governing bodies. wealth, as finances, influence, relationships or associations all flourish on this benchmark of value. biblical based principle diligently applied in society by those who wouldn’t acknowledge the God of the principles. 

there’s a ton of other principles that elucidate this frame of thought that i’ll urge you to look into, like vision, frequently conceptualized pragmatically as goal orientation; giving, although the world calls it charity or philanthropy; diligence, resilience and productivity that the world calls grinding or hustling; relationships, alignment and positioning that the world calls networking; stewardship that the world calls treasury or wealth management. i could go on but i think my point is entrenched that these are bible-based, spiritual first principles that have been intellectualized and brought down to a lower level of pragmatic wisdom. and proof that these principles work are the fruits we see in the religious and secular worlds regardless of the imbalance on the scales. 

i believe that the disconnect or chasm between the success and pseudo dominion of the heathen is not the act of defiance to God in itself, it’s the dogged respect and honour for these principles even in their ignorance of and disjointed knowledge of God. in the faith, we tend to be sentimental in our interpretation of what it means to be light and salt; joint heirs with christ and children of God. the bible soys and i’m paraphrasing again, that the heir that has the disposition of a child isn’t different from a servant even though he’s lord of all; it also says that man in honour that is unaware is like a beast of the field. 

these two scriptures coupled with a third that says that the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light in their day all point to the fact that if we as children of God remain sentimental, lacking understanding, continue to ignore God’s established precepts and patterns we’d keep living as second class citizens in a realm and kingdom where we’re princes. we have to understand that as much as God is love, he is just; he’s no respecter of persons, he’s a God that permits tares to grow with wheat for a time and it’s really up to us to raise up the banner of his name with our fruits because he’s given us all that pertains to life and godliness.

purpose defines function, if he made us to have dominion, to take charge, to rule and reign, then capacity is inherent and it’s going to be up to us to take advantage of these possibilities and produce fruits that point to stewardship. the world should come to ask us how, we shouldn’t be tilting towards it because of the results they have to show. mediocrity, sensationalism, fanaticism are not fruits or expressions of dominion or sonship, they point to ignorance, a ton of it. the world isn’t smarter or wiser, they just practice principles, doggedly, albeit in decadence of character; from music, to fashion and every expression of creativity and culture, to sports, entertainment, business and governance.

in closing, i’m saying that we have a responsibility as God’s workmanship to transform and disciple nations. change agents don’t moan and complain, or live as victims; they do what their name implies, make change. but what’s a change agent without understanding? a liability. if we’d have dominion like we were sent here to, we need to get to places of understanding; higher levels of it, and that with a well curated perspective. this subject of principles is a crux; a definitive pillar in the crafting of that perspective.  

the subject of dominion only applies to those who have been translated by faith into the kingdom of light. if you read this and you haven’t, or you have in the past but strayed and things are not the way they used to be.

here’s a quick prayer to get that fixed

Lord Jesus, I believe that you’re the son of God that came into the world to die for me that I might be reconciled to God. I acknowledge my state as a sinner, I receive you as my Lord and personal savior and acknowledge you as the Lord of all in my life. I declare that the power of sin and death is broken over me and that i’ve translated from darkness into the glorious kingdom of God.  

that’s all it takes.  welcome to the family of God 🙂

until next time, damola out!

references 

And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

— Luke 16:8

And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

— John 8:29

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

— Hebrews 11:5

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

— Matthew 5:45

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.

— Ecclesiastes 10:5-7

As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

— Romans 4:17

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

— John 1:3

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

— Genesis 1:1

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

— Ecclesiastes 9:11

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

— Genesis 8:22

Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

— Proverbs 22:29

A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.

— Proverbs 18:16

Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

— Galatians 4:1

Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

— Psalm 49:20

another way of elucidating this concept or subject would be to express it as knowing God for yourself. i have come to understand that there’s a great chasm between knowing God and knowing about God. by inference there’s a knowledge of God that comes by books, stories and legends of old, but there’s also a knowledge of God, and that by experience. this is a personal knowledge of God; your God, not the next man’s, because our lives are a reflection of the God that we know; a reflection that superimposes culture, perspectives, character and the many other fruits that reveal this truth.

in a bid to contextualize this point, picture this; God the father, God the son, God the spirit; same God. God as king, God as judge; same God. God as redeemer, God as salvation, God as provider; same God. God as life, God as truth, God as love; same God. God as peace and God as righteousness; same God. God as wisdom, God as power; same God. God of vengeance and then of mercy; same God. a God who’s lord of all, yet humble enough to respect your will; same God.

there’s a God of the valley and a God of the mountains; there’s the God in the waters and a God in the fire, a God that reveals himself as the consuming fire and as the wind; with thunderings and earthquakes or a still small voice, a God of justice, yet merciful and kind. same God; different expressions. each expression has the capacity to reveal him to you and these revelations come by experience. when i speak of an experiential knowledge of God, i speak of a revelation of God through intimacy and fellowship; instruction and guidance; consecration and sacrifice; adoration and worship.

it is written that the people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits; it’s also written that if you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small. on a surface level, we can infer from the presentation of these truths that there’s a connection between the knowledge of God and strength, and that there are levels in this school of strength. we can also deduce that there is a certain day called the day of adversity and that the only insulation provided for this day is the knowledge of God.

in the first text, the word know is from the hebrew word yâda’ and it means to learn to know, to perceive, see, discern, discriminate and distinguish, to know by experience, to acknowledge, recognize, confess, be acquainted with, know carnally, have revelation of, be instructed, to be known and all of these definitions or use cases give context and credence to the fact that the knowledge of God is not mental ascent, neither is it assumption or faux revelation, this knowledge rides on the wings of your will and desire.

faith as a concept is hinged on the knowledge of one, whether it be God, science, data or resources and this list is not exhaustive. faith is both trust in something that you know, and hope that, that which you trust is able to deliver when you need it to. if this is true, then it reveals the role and position of knowledge as a crux in the precipitation of hope, trust and faith. there’s no real faith without a degree of knowledge in who or what you trust in; without knowledge, that equation is incomplete.

believers today say how could the isrealities in the days of moses still doubt God even after the many miracles and wonders they saw God do in their midst and i say it’s because they didn’t know the God of the miracles and wonders, because miracles, signs and wonders are just that – signs, and signs never point to themselves, they point to something and in this case, God. the God they couldn’t see because of the veil over their faces. these guys didn’t have a revelation of God apart from his works and usually, his works are invitations to a realm of the knowledge of his ways.

the difference between the isrealities and moses was the knowledge of God. moses had a profound revelation of God as a person and his ways through intimacy, fellowship and continuous beholding, and this revelation was the crux of the disparity in perspective. God never intended for it to be so, he wanted to reveal himself to them too but these guys told moses to hear God for them and then translate God’s instructions to them but they were ignorant to the fact that hearing God requires intimacy and intimacy is a recipe for this subject of the knowledge of God.

i speak quite a lot on the power of wisdom and understanding but these begin with the fear of the lord and that comes by a knowledge of who he really is. as believers, a lot of things are hinged on our knowledge of God, from understanding the word of God to the revelation of keys and mysteries, the discovery of ourselves, our individual purposes and the hope of our calling, to the effective communication of our faith and the manifestation of God through us as sons. all these and more ride on the efficacy of our knowledge of God.

if he says as he is so are we in this world, how do we know who we are if we don’t know him? how can we know the works of God, if we don’t know Jesus whom he hath sent? and how can we know Jesus without a knowledge of the one that sent him? and if the word says of hope, faith and love, the greatest is love, how do you love who you don’t know? he was in the world and the world was made by him but this world made by him knew him not, he came to his own and his own received him not. why? because they knew him not.

these and more are the many questions that flooded my mind as this contemplation developed from an impression on how everything wrong in the world can be traced to a deficit or corruption in the knowledge of God. i mean, even the subject of eternal life is the knowledge of God and Jesus the son. in the same breath, we only have access to all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him – God, that called us to glory and virtue.

knowledge begins by revelation, which effectively is progressive information, and an unveiling by inquiry and investigation. the bible says that the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge, this fear is a reverence, piety, fear and terror for one who’s greater; it’s an acknowledgment of might and strength that’s greater than self but this posture can only be genuinely birthed from a revelation of the nature, ability and the works of the one who you acknowledge is greater.

i say this to say that there’s a reason why God’s mighty works were referenced and canonized in the sacred texts or holy scriptures as we call them and i believe that consciousness is a major player in the frame of thought that led to that fruit of wisdom. merriam-webster defines consciousness as the quality or state of being aware, especially of something within oneself. i define it as an awareness, a reckoning or discerning of something intangible as though it was tangible.

simply put, it’s being so aware of a truth or reality that it defines your perspective, influences your actions and methods of approach towards a certain subject or to life as a macrocosm. it can be conceptualized as the donning of a regalia of what you believe and the subsequent effulgence of that belief. a simple illustration would be fear. if you’re conscious of fear, you perceive everything through that vista, it defines your approach to things and situations. you begin to live out fear essentially, because it’s in your consciousness.

consciousness is knowledge, expressed as the possession of information, one that becomes a reality, a reality that lives and breathes within you. i read the scriptures, the old testament more specifically and i marvel about how conscious these guys were of a God in heaven, the God of their covenant. they were so conscious that they attributed everything to him, they’d seen expressions of his might and they knew nothing could happen to or for them without him, whether good, bad or ugly. God was real to them and they feared him.

a fear that came from a dimension of knowledge, the knowledge of his terrible works, and this is an expression or the fruit of a degree of the experiential knowledge of God. when this reverential fear of God is established as a stronghold, a pillar, that can’t be shaken; then we can proceed to the next class in the school of knowledge and that’s the knowledge of his nature, character and tendencies. the nature of a thing tells you a lot about the thing and in the same breath, the nature of God tells you a lot about him

he is spirit, and if you really understand that, it defines how you relate with him, how you respond to his beckoning and instructions, how you perceive him. Jesus said and i quote, a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones as ye see me have. how do you communicate with an entity that doesn’t have flesh and bones? this information alone opens up a well of curiosity and a desire to know and understand, how does a spirit talk and instruct? how does a spirit walk, act, and think? what does a covenant mean to a sprit and how is it established?

if you do this right, you’d come up with a wealth of information you’d have never had if you never took up that responsibility. it’s the same with his character, if the word says he’s good, how so?, how can he be just and merciful at the same time? how is he love and how does he love? how is he all powerful yet he put himself in a position where he will only work and show out in this realm through willing and yielded men? how can he kill and make alive? how is he one in three expressions and each co-exist without conflict? how is he one spirit and seven spirits at the same time?

all of this questions and more can only be answered by an intentional walk with and an experiential knowledge of him. i wrote in a previous article that all of the expressions of God that we know today are a product of his revealing himself in those dimensions and i know without a shadow of a doubt that there are more expressions of his person yet to be discovered or articulated. the word says that the secret of the lord are with those that fear him, and if fear is the beginning of knowledge, we can deduce from these two statements that the secrets – mysteries, insights to deep things are given to those that know him.

Jesus said and i quote “ye worship, ye know not what.” and this remains true even today. most people worship a God they have no revelation of, the children of israel proved this to be true, the pharisees and sadducees did too. your father’s God might not necessarily be your God and jacob’s life proved this. as much as he was a beneficiary of the covenant of abraham, he had to go on his journey to find that God, and he did. he found God, got a name change and bought into that covenant.

scattered around the scriptures, you’ll find these two statements – the lord God of your fathers and the lord your God. they both hold so much weight but i’ll just zero in on the fact that there’s a difference between your God and the God of your fathers. this speaks to a personal knowledge on both sides of the coin. the fathers had to know him personally or in the spirit of the article, experientially for him to be their God, and the sons have to take up that responsibility too, to know him as their God because you can’t transfer your knowledge of God.

the knowledge of God is a conscious reality that is intangible. of course it comes with tangible fruits that others can glean and benefit from but that knowledge of God remains largely personal. for example, the keepers of the law in the days that Jesus walked the earth didn’t know God like abraham knew him and they lived out that ignorance, to the point of killing his son, thinking they were doing him a favour. the law was a fruit of personal revelations of God from the covenant to moses and the prophets and they handled this fruit without a revelation of who it was pointing to.

you have to understand there’s a God beyond the letter, and this is where this contemplation really begins; i write the next few statements at the risk of sounding controversial. it’s written that the letter killeth, because the letter was an invitation, God isn’t limited to it. the spirit of God inspired the letter, or the law, using the individual perspectives of the writers but he’s not limited to the law. for example, i’m writing this body of truth, but my knowledge isn’t limited to the content of this article.

the knowledge of the letter and the canonized word of God is great and it’ll always be our benchmark in the faith, but i believe that God is calling us to a place of deeper experience with him. experiences that confirm and align with the word but also come with degrees of consciousness. experiences with God that make him real and true. john said and i quote, “that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life”.

this is pointing to the fact that their consciousness of and confidence in Jesus was not predicated on hearsay or other people’s experiences, they saw with their eyes, heard him with the hearing of the ear, their hands handled or touched to establish the perspective that Jesus was both the son and the word. these guys saw him as a man, they saw and heard God affirm him, were witnesses of his passion, they saw him die, saw him buried, saw his body missing in the grave, saw the resurrected christ, saw him ascend, and received the baptism of the holy ghost which was proof that he was glorified and seated at the right hand of the father.

now you tell me, how could they doubt? or deny him to save their lives? this experience gave them a consciousness that could not be taken from them. the writer in the book of acts said that Jesus showed himself alive by many infallible proofs and was with them forty days before his ascension. why go through all that stress if experiences were unnecessary or irrelevant? experiences bear witness to the truth, many of the things they heard Jesus say didn’t crystallize in their understanding until after his resurrection.

the things they experienced confirmed the things that were written about Jesus before he was born and you’d find this in the scriptures where the disciples would say things like “this” happened that “that” may be fulfilled. this contemplation is to shine light to the place of an experiential knowledge of God. for the keepers of the law, the letter was in their hands, and they’d read it all their life, but when they saw the fulfillment of the letter in the flesh they couldn’t perceive him for who he was, and this is proof that the letter without a revelation of the person of Jesus is just that – a letter.

paul was an apostle that saw the resurrected christ in a heavenly vision, and this was one of the things that established his confidence in his calling and the gospel he preached. it established his consciousness of God so much that he went through hell and high water to fulfill his assignment.
persecutions not withstanding, afflictions front left and center, he kept at it, defended his faith and finished his race. this was a man who prior to this encounter, persecuted the church to defend this letter. the bible records that he learnt from the best teacher and affirmed his zeal, yet he was blinded to the truth.

the difference between saul the persecutor and paul the apostle was a revelation of God, or better put, the experiential knowledge of God. his perspective was corrected and realigned, his zeal got repurposed and he could see as God would have him see because of that encounter and the quest to know the God that the letter had always spoke about. same letter, but a different perspective that can be traced to first the encounter and then the subsequent knowledge of God. the letter couldn’t achieve it’s purpose without that knowledge of God.

please understand that i’m not advocating for a dismissal of the supremacy of the word of God or the adoption of a posture of irreverence to the written word, i’m saying that we have to press for the knowledge and revelation of the person that is the word. the written word has to come alive and become the living word, that is real and tangible to you; we have to grow to a place where the word is not just tales, fables or historical artifacts but spirit and life and this will only happen with the experiential knowledge of God.

this is the wisdom behind encounters and experiences, to give us confidence and establish consciousness, ultimately precipitating the knowledge of God. it’s not enough to know that there’s a God in the bible, we have to labour to know the God of the bible; neither is it enough to know the written word, we have to know the spirit that inspired that word. only then can we proceed to bear fruits of this knowledge of God. he calls us to be with him – to know him, his acts and his ways. only then can we bear fruits.

one of the many fruits of the experiential knowledge of God is the correct interpretation of situations and scenarios. if you know God as good, one that dwells in light and has no darkness in him, if you’re aware that he is love and he loves you, if you know that he’s almighty and that he can keep you, armed with the consciousness of his promises and the fact that he can’t lie, or that he binds himself to his word and is committed to performing them not because you were told but by experience, how can situations and circumstances dictate to you what is true and what isn’t? how can they tell you what to believe?

i’m not downplaying the reality of scenarios and circumstances, as even the best of us will be confronted by them, i’m saying that the knowledge of God crafts a perspective for us and we approach and respond to this situations from this perspective. for example, Jesus said that in the world we’d have tribulation: but to be of good cheer; why? because he had overcome the world. this is a truth that establishes perspective, it doesn’t insulate you from tribulations but it gives you the disposition of an overcomer in light of that tribulation.

this knowledge determines how you fight, and how you speak, and the actions you take to establish your victory. i’ve come to realize that the name of a thing is the thing and you have to brood on that to understand it, but continuing in the spirit of this example, if you define a situation as a stumbling block, then that’s what it becomes, and in the same breath, if you defined that same situation as a stepping stone, that’s what it is. that’s the power of perspective; every hypothesis is born out of it, but the good thing is that as you progressively know God, he crafts your perspective.

another fruit of the knowledge of God is in the demonstration of faith and the manifestation of power.
you can explain faith to an accounting expert as a discounted cash flow; it’s seeing things from the lens of what they’d be in the now and acting accordingly. while DCF as a concept is hinged on the value of potential income or revenue, faith is hinged on the knowledge of God, his word, his nature and his character. most people won’t readily admit it, but man was a creature made to operate by faith. by design, faith in God, but the world hinges theirs on logic, might and strength, science, knowledge and so on.

and while that’s a deviation from the original design, they still operate by this principle. whatever you trust, you have faith in and this happens in the presence or absence of consciousness. this gets clearer when you understand that faith in lay man’s terms is simply belief, belief that is hinged on trust. faith is a God designed principle, and this cosmos was designed to function by it, in addition to the many other established principles wound into the fabrics of the cosmos.

bible faith always begins with the knowledge of God. if i handed you a cheque for a billion dollars and you know me or at least a few things about me, that i don’t lie and that i’m capable and that it is my will for you to cash the check and spend the money, would you be jittery on your way to the bank? it’s the same way with God’s word, embedded in the word are blank cheques – promises, with instructions on how to cash them.

the knowledge or awareness of these promises coupled with the knowledge of the one who has given you access to these promises by faith comes with the confidence to prove it. this is the confidence ingrained in those who stay with him and then get sent to do his will. it’s the wisdom in waiting on him, the wisdom in intimacy and fellowship because all of these help you know him and by inference trust him. trust is a fruit that has seeds that eventually grow into trees and subsequently more fruits, one of them being audacity.

audacity is brazen confidence that is hinged on the benchmark of belief. whether in self, ability, skill, competence or faith and trust in God. it can be explicated as taking risks, attempting daunting tasks and feats or doing things others would ordinarily not dare and knowing God experientially has a way of exercising this muscle. another fruit of a comprehensive knowledge of God is that you begin to see the way he sees and that ultimately crafts a perspective that individuals in the realm of absolute pragmatic wisdom can’t comprehend.

perspective itself is power, and a perspective that is crafted from a bedrock of the knowledge of God, faith and trust in him, and the audacity to work out that faith gives you disdain for fear. a man once said that fear is to the adversary what faith is to God. here’s an analogy, a father and his young son are on a walk, a dog appears from no where and attempts to scare the son. even if the scenario is scary to the son, the fact that he’s not alone and that the dog itself won’t dare to come close because it’s wary of the father is enough reason for the son to find rest.

this can explain why scattered around the scriptures we see “fear not”, “be still”, “stand still”, “rest”. and the context where these expressions are used were situations where these instructions made no pragmatic or logical sense. we stand still because we know him, and because we know him, we know his character, and we also have a revelation of his will and might. the aggregation of this knowledge gives us rest. rest my friends, is not the absence of a storm, it’s peace in spite of it; and the power to glide over it. fear and faith are mutually exclusive, like noise and absolute quietness, and the challenges of life can be likened to the dog that trembles at the presence of our father.

there are many other fruits of the experiential knowledge of God not elucidated in this article that are valuable keys that ultimately catapult us to the realm of true dominion and victory but the true understanding of this reality- the experiential knowledge of God, precipitates faith and that’s how we please God. it’s how we live in the kingdom of light. this is not another article to preach mental ascent, neither is it an attempt to virtue signal spirituality.

it’s a call to responsibility, to actively seek him out and that with our whole hearts, to worship in truth and from a disposition of love, to find him while he’s near. it’s a call to take up our journey and follow after him, to submit to process and dealings, to die that we can live; individually and then corporately. if this article nudges you in that direction, then i’d have achieved my goal.

dominion, which is a product of genuine transformation, both individually and territorially will only find expression in a people that have a true knowledge of their God.

this knowledge that i speak of is only for those who have been translated by faith into the kingdom of light. if you read this and haven’t, or you have in the past but strayed and things are not the way they used to be.

here’s a quick prayer to get that fixed

Lord Jesus, I believe that you’re the son of God that came into the world to die for me that I might be reconciled to God. I acknowledge my state as a sinner, I receive you as my Lord and personal savior and acknowledge you as the Lord of all in my life. I declare that the power of sin and death is broken over me and that i’ve translated from darkness into the glorious kingdom of God.

that’s all it takes. welcome to the family of God 🙂

until next time, damola out!

references:
I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.
— Numbers 15:41

But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
— Daniel 11:32b

He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
— Psalm 103:7

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
— 1 John 4:17

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
— John 5:24

Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.
— John 7:28

I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
— John 8:26

And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
— John 12:45

But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
— John 5:36-38

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
— John 17:3

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
— 2 Peter 1:3

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
— Proverbs 1:7

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
— John 4:22

And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
— Genesis 32:28

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
— 2 Peter 1:21

I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
— Acts 22:3

Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
— Psalm 66:3

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
— Luke 24:39

The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
— Psalm 25:14

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
— 2 Corinthians 3:6

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
— 1 John 1:1

Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
— Acts 26:19

Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:
— Acts 26:22

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
— John 16:33

And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
— Exodus 14:13

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
— Isaiah 43:1

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
— Hebrews 11:6

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
— Hebrews 10:38

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 point 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 really 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 the 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 cut it 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 but 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 would be understanding the principles, precepts, patterns, systems and structures that this realm was built on; 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, yet we’ve got 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! 

i thought long and hard about how to title this reflection, i’ll probably still do that even as i proceed to elucidate my perspective; it could have been titled as “i talk to the holy spirit as i would my best friend”, and still be accurate because he’s literally my best friend- one i’ve never had. you see, i grew up in church and while this is no slight to my parents and our home church at the time, picture a beam balance with religion and relationship on each side, we hung pretty tightly to the religious end of the balance. i heard diverse doctrines and personal opinions taught as law but in all these, i had no personal experiences so i knew God by hearing – i heard about him, i knew about him but i never really knew him personally. there was a long list of do’s and don’ts but no real insight or understanding. i mean i get it in hindsight, in a bid to hedge against sliding into error, there was a silent but pervasive frown against expressing personal experiences in our walk with God and that was well, sincere but with many blindspots. 

 i served in church too and i did so diligently, i really enjoyed doing so but i did without a clear definition of the why, at that point, it was just the right thing to do and i did my bit before i left for school and as you can pretty much guess, i drifted- hard. i paint this picture intentionally because it’s important for you to understand where this reflection was birthed from. although i was never in total apathy when i left home, i still went to church, i still prayed – even if the chiefest part of that exercise was either asking for things or the expression of the need for a quick intervention and looking back now, the bulk of it was in ignorance. this drift was slow till it crystallized, mostly because there was no personal relationship and the underlying lack of understanding. freedom further established that gap because there was no obligation to do things religiously like i was erstwhile required to. no one made me pray or made it a point of duty to make me go to church, so the need for it dissipated until there was a need.

 consequently, he felt very far even while he was close and yeah, i definitely wasn’t in a good place but the good thing is i found my way back and when i did, i really did. now while i don’t frown at the structure of parents, guardians or spiritual heads enforcing the need to pray, partake in spiritual exercises and fellowship, in fact i think it’s a great moat, my point is that i truly believe that teaching and imparting understanding is a more excellent way. i believe that dwelling on the why, why we need to will always be superior to just drilling in the fact that we have to. empirical data backs this perspective, that it’s more effective when a person understands the why of a principle as opposed to just applying the principle. this is relevant in every realm of human endeavor and it can also be applied to systems and structures. for instance, a man who understands the wisdom in discipline will always outcompete the man who is just instructed in discipline if all other factors remain equal. replace discipline with any other proven principle and this statement still holds true. why? because understanding establishes consciousness.

 when i found my way back, i tried mechanically to sustain the relationship for a while and then i got baptized in the holy ghost and this was a watershed moment for me, not necessarily because of the tongues at first, but because of the ease that became available for intimacy and fellowship; i no longer had to do it by the strength of the flesh, there was a supply of help, i know that help to be grace now.  months later, i heard a preacher talk about how reading benny hinn’s book, “Good morning Holy Spirit” became a turning point in his walk with God.  i’m naturally very inquisitive, so i took it as a cue to read the book too and true to form, it radically adjusted my perspective, it gave me a revelation of who the person of the holy spirit was, it helped me conceptualize and contextualize the reality of the trinity and most importantly i saw a man express without holding back what a joy it was to have a relationship with God and i never want to recover from what that did to me. i honestly think everyone should read that book, because stumbling into truth does one of two things to you, it either affirms that you’re on the right path or it sounds the alarm that points out the need for an urgent detour and this is where my contemplation really begins. 

you see, where i come from and even now in society, talking about the holy spirit and a personal walk with him was almost esoteric. you either get it or you don’t, you were either in the club or you weren’t, and from the beginning it was not so. another perspective that birthed this reflection is my personality, i’ve never been one to have a lot of friends, acquaintances yes but even in those circles there was a few in the few. i enjoyed being alone, i’d rather be inside than outside, i like to listen more than i speak, and i’d rather observe the show than be the show and if i had to sell you on why, my big pitch would be wrapped around the fact that i get to hear my thoughts clearly. i can think, reflect, talk to myself and respond to those thoughts as they flow out of my lips, it’s like meditation but out loud. so for someone with a personality like mine, hungry for more spiritual realities while trying to conceptualize and understand the things i was experiencing, it was like striking gold when i read that book and that’s when my conversations with the spirit began. 

i’d ask him literally anything and wait for a response, some of these responses were immediate and for some i had to wait, then ask again; some explanations came in the same period that they were requested for and for others i had to build capacity first to even be able to grasp them when they eventually came but the beauty in all this was i’d found someone to run my thoughts by, and over time, a lot of assumptions got eliminated. i had a senior friend who knew all things and he’d found a very inquisitive friend in me, a genuine relationship indeed. before i read the book, my spiritual senses had just jerked back to life and i’d begun to see things, hear things, perceive things, have visions and dreams. i’d read my bible and while i was reading, i’d hear more than i saw in the print, i mean i always read the bible, but it was sealed, now these seals were breaking open and all of these experiences were alien to me, for a noob they felt weird and now in hindsight with higher levels of understanding i realize that that’s how he teaches, by walking you through a reality and then proceed to explain that reality by taking advantage of your curiosity. 

initially when they’d happen, i’d pick up my phone and rummage through search engines trying to find an answer or an opinion that explained what i was experiencing and occasionally, i’d bump into community groups where others were asking the same questions but there were no real answers, only speculations and assumptions at best and i’d settle for the notion that at least i wasn’t alone in the confusion. then i read that book and realized that those experiences were invitations to places of intimacy and understanding, that you don’t walk with a spirit by assumption nor by engaging your mind. i began to ask questions, all kinds of questions and the answers came in different ways. sometimes these answers came as direct responses, some as instructions, instructions like read this book, look up this teaching, listen to this sermon, read that article or listen to that song. some answers came as the names of some people who have gone ahead, walked the same path and have fruits to show for it, some answers came as a knowing of revelation, some were sensory perceptions and this is by no means an exhaustive list.

 i mean it was very interesting and soothing to know that he was willing to answer every question no matter how ignorantly it was phrased and that he was willing to satisfy my curiosity. he’d explain and then tell me why i had this and that experience years ago that i couldn’t understand, he’d revisit old decisions i made when i had certain choices presented to me and tell me how he guided me in making that decision when at the time if you asked me, my best answer would either be i just knew or that something told me, that something was a someone. he’d been in my life for a long time but almost like a stranger and that’ll never happen again. i began to understand his personality, gentle but powerful, he’d suggest but never impose on my power of choice, always close, never far. i’m an autodidact by nature and with a supercharged curiosity, i like to learn a lot, and i am predisposed to adding to my knowledge base in every way i can, from books to articles, to podcasts and documentaries.

 he took advantage of that and began to give me instructions, yes to this and no to that, watch this and listen to that, a little here and a little there, sometimes i’m reading a book by his instruction, and just a few chapters in, while i’m just getting around to the flow of the book, he says read another book and as soon as i obey, i see the beauty in the instruction, because a subject he was trying to teach me was explained better in the second book and i needed to read both to have complete understanding and balance. why? because knowledge in itself without structure can be a snare and structured knowledge is better than random knowledge. there are no words for this but it’s nothing short of amazing. this walk has shown me that spiritual realities can be understood, explained and articulately expressed to even the uninitiated and the proof is in the pudding. he’s really a teacher, one that’s interested in every aspect of my life and you see the excellency of his leadership by the wisdom revealed in his instructions.

 he brings you into the reality of truth, all truth. his wisdom transcends all subjects and fields and i speak by experience, he’s taught me things across board, from financial and relational wisdom and principles, to morals and character traits, to tips and instructions when i write code, to ideas and impressions that i write about. every manifestation of wisdom in my life, i credit it to him. i’ve found myself speaking on subjects i had little knowledge on and upon reflection, in my attempt to go for more knowledge on those subjects, i find that i wasn’t wrong. i’ve enjoyed help from key insights to bursts of utterance where he just takes over my tongue. he teaches you by leading you to materials that’ll expand your mind, which in turn gives him plenty of material to work with when it comes to inspiration, instruction and impressions. he knows what you need per time and if you’d obey, you won’t have to ask. this is true. by simple obedience, i’ve escaped from snares wrapped beautifully as flowers. emphasis on obedience because most times, he instructs without explaining why because he’s teaching you trust.

sometimes he does explain, but his modus operandi is to teach by walking you through it, and the explanation is in the process. failure to do this will leave you with many unnecessary scars. 

i could speak on his incontrovertible power to aid, save and advantage, but it goes without saying. his qualities and expressions are inexhaustible but i want to touch on the utter disadvantage of living in this realm without him. life as we know it is very spiritual, and the unseen realm is much more advanced in age, potent in power and pretty much decides what goes on in the realm that we do see. after all, the world as we know it was framed from the world we cannot see. brood for a minute, on the utter disadvantage in doing life by ad hoc opinions, assumption and conjectures when you have a literal tour guide who knows the way. he knows all things really, he was here before anything was and he’d also be around when this age passes away. i say all of this at the risk of sounding esoteric, because i know that without the actual experience, it’s mental ascent at best trying to understand spiritual things with the mind. 

you will never understand the gravity of a disadvantage if you’ve never had an advantage and you’d never value an advantage if you’ve never been in a prior state of disadvantage. for example, you might think you know the value of having two fully functioning hands but you don’t, and you won’t until you can only use one of them. you might think you value your eyes but you’d never truly value having eyes until you had them and now don’t. these are graphic illustrations i know but it’s an attempt to truly elucidate the concept of a disadvantage and i can only hope you get it but it really is as depicted- an utter disadvantage. as i’ve come to enjoy and take advantage of the relationship i have with the holy spirit, i think about those that currently are unaware of this truth or by reason of lack of true light have shied away from this reality. i speak as one who’s been there, i lived it and i marvel at the abundance of mercy that i enjoyed in ignorance and absolute risk. i think about the many mistakes i’ve made, from assumptions and pitfalls that looked right on paper to wrong associations, to being and living out of alignment and the many needless soul scars. i was empty and i just lived, tossed around by every wind of doctrine.

i lived a really risky life, i was skating on grace and mercy but i’ve realized that there’s a more excellent way. i found out my why and why i was by the help of the holy spirit. i’ve accessed help as insight, timely revelation, bespoke guidance and navigation – he doesn’t just tell you where you’re going, he tells you how to get there and as a bonus he’s willing to hold your hand and walk you there. when he teaches you, it never really leaves you and you can always draw from every lesson for future references. i touched on experiences a lot but not unconsciously, because that’s how he teaches but the balance is he’d never lead you, teach you or guide you against the established word of God. every experience is to lead you and bring you into truth, all truth. the lord himself said he had so many things to tell the disciples that they couldn’t bear-  bear as in handle, endure, understand, but when the spirit of truth is come, he’d guide – lead, bring you into, instruct and teach. if the master believed you need the holy spirit, you better believe that you do.

wisdom, revelation, understanding, might, counsel, the reverential fear of the lord comes from him. he’s the only one authorized to take from the father and give unto us. the fruits and gifts are his to give; renewal and refreshing comes from him. he’s the promise made fulfilled. i’ll speak on his power to transform, to change a man from inside out, from regeneration to reformation. i’ll tell you this for free, the character traits that society keeps looking for and have real trouble finding can only be produced in a people who have enrolled in his tutoring program, yielded their members and through process have come to a level of maturity. the world can’t explain it, but they know it when they see it. this is a school of many classes that you pass and make progress but you never really graduate from. through dealings and pruning you bear fruit, first downward and then upward. character is built into our frameworks by process and the holy spirit knows our tendencies so he fashions processes bespoke to those tendencies and he’d be there to walk you through that valley of pruning, a journey that’s usually unpleasant but absolutely necessary that he might bring you into places of understanding. he knows you better than you know yourself and he knows everything in the heart of the father that can only be communicated to you by spirit because he himself is spirit. 

this contemplation was supposed to be me talking about my relationship with him but as it developed into a full article, i found it pertinent to pass this truth across, that you can and should know God experientially. it’s an important part of our walk with him and while there’s the balance of doctrine and ultimate submission to the written word, i’m telling you for free that if you shut your heart off from the realm of the experiential knowledge of God, you’d be bankrupt of the very vital equipping this reality provides and produces in our walk with him. there’s a large dissect in the church today between the knowledge of God and information about God, like in the days that Jesus walked the face of the earth, the pharisees knew about God through the experiences of others, like abraham and moses but they never experienced him for themselves hence the ignorance and consequent hostility to the dimension the master was introducing. it’s why paul says that i may know him. know as in – to be taking in knowledge, come to know, recognize, perceive, understand. 

 experiences make truths real, like a stronghold. experiences or encounters as we’ve come to label them help to strengthen convictions and precipitate consciousness. for example, take two people, one of them has read about the God who’s a provider, the other has seen God reveal himself as a provider in a dire situation, who do you think is more conscious of God as a provider? i’ll leave you with this aphorism as you meditate on that question, that most if not all of the names of God we know today were personal revelations of God to his people, they had an experience and named him after that experience. i’ve had a love walk and a joyride with the holy spirit and it’s an experience i think everyone should enjoy. i ask him everything, and i mean everything, because for everything i know, there’s a revelation of the ton of things i don’t know.  i could rave on and on about this relationship but all of this and more is why i talk to the holy spirit like he’s my best friend and what’s more? he could be yours too – scratch that, he wants to be yours too. 

if you’re born again, then all you have to do, like benny hinn said is, say “Good morning, Holy Spirit and kick it off from there. if you’re not, it’s not the greatest place to be but you need him to translate from where you are to where you ought to be. 

Here’s a quick prayer to get that fixed.

Lord Jesus, I believe that you’re the son of God that came into the world to die for me that I might be reconciled to God. I acknowledge my state as a sinner, I receive you as my Lord and personal savior and acknowledge you as the Lord of all in my life. I declare that the power of sin and death is broken over me and that i’ve translated from darkness into the glorious kingdom of God.  

That’s all it takes.  Welcome to the family of God 🙂

well, until the next one, damola out!

references:

“To whom will he teach knowledge,

and to whom will he explain the message?

Those who are weaned from the milk,

those taken from the breast?

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,

line upon line, line upon line,

here a little, there a little.”

— Isaiah 28:9-10 KJV

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

— Hebrews 11:3 KJV

And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:

— Isaiah 37:31 KJV

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

— John 16:12 KJV

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

— John 16:13 KJV

He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

— John 16:14-15 KJV

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

— 1 Corinthians 2:11 KJV

Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.

—‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭55‬ ‭NIV‬‬

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

— Philippians 3:10

inventors in history were people who gave intellectual context to already existing intangible realities. they contextualized things that people knew but couldn’t quite explain. things like desires, needs and knowledge that was crying out to be expressed and established as wisdom. the understanding of these inherent desires that needed satisfaction led them to taking up the responsibility of solving problems, creating solutions and standardized benchmarks that’ll serve as foundations for the next generation of inventors who’d give context to the things that evolve from those existing solutions. this is the cycle of innovation.

being hidden for a time is a gift. you get to make the best reiterations, understand your essence, discern your unique prints and refine your perspective while you define your why and know why you are. you truly make the best adjustments in aggregated personal development while you’re relatively unknown or better put, in isolation.

empirically, it’s proven that it gets harder to morph when you’re a spectacle because you’ve ‘essentially’ crossed over from being just an individual to being an entity and these look like the same thing on paper but they’re not. with visibility, choices are highly leveraged and consequently, the implication of the slightest flawed perception can be beyond fatal.

the meat of this submission is that you molt the most in ‘relative obscurity’. embrace it, enjoy it and put it to good use because you’d miss it.

i’d like to start this contemplation with the definition of terms. what does destiny means in this context? it’s the pre-determined purpose, assignment, and destination for a person’s life, established by God before their birth while purpose is the reason for being, the why of a thing, the idea of the creation of the said thing; in this case, a person; the solution birthed to solve an existing problem.

 in business terms, the unit cost is the total expense to produce, store, and sell an item or service, calculated by dividing total costs (fixed + variable) by the number of units produced and in this frame of thought, it’s the total effort put into an venture divided by the results to show for it. effort here can be defined as the everything it costs to take a vision from ideation to manifestation.

merriam-webster defines pain as “a localized or generalized unpleasant bodily sensation or complex of sensations that causes mild to severe physical discomfort and emotional distress and it typically results from bodily disorder; and the state marked by the presence of such sensations”. medically, it’s defined as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience”. the britannica describes it as “a complex experience consisting of a physiological and psychological response to a noxious stimulus“.

pain is a state of discomfort, usually marked by mental, physical, psychological and sometimes emotional distress. it’s the absence of solace and relief and in the context of vision, destiny and purpose, i define pain as the cost for being undeterred and averse to failure. it’s the feedback you get from repeatedly bruised ego and the reality check of running into yet another brick wall.

 it’s what you feel when your results are miles apart from the expected end and you begin to acquaint yourself with everything that’ll be factored into trying again. i’m attempting to deconstruct this concept from a few vantage points and while this is no exhaustive list, i believe these perspectives give credence to the fact that pain in it’s different shades is a definitive crux when it comes to fulfilling destiny and purpose.

pain from the discomfort of transformation. 

no real growth happens in comfort, this is true because real and lasting change happens in places of absolute discomfort. stretching and birth-pangs are markers of the ruthless work of transformation; it pays no respect to your emotions and it’s relentlessly faithful to it’s process. transformation is akin to a challenging game or puzzle you have to decipher and complete, there’s no getting to the next level except you finish this level; you can’t brute force or circumvent it. 

there’s only one door to get out and you have to find the key to unlock it, but the beauty of this process of finding the key is what it does in and to you; it heightens your perception and sharpens your perspicacity as you increase in knowledge whilst growing in patience and tolerance, and you come out with refined skill sets and an upgrade in your problem solving ability. these traits qualify you to take on what’s waiting for you behind the door and you quickly begin to realize you had no business being in the next level without this character upgrade.  

now this stage is very painful and can easily lead to frustration because you’re presented with two mutually exclusive choices: abandon the process or continue. if destiny means anything to you then you fully understand that you really have one choice: to continue, to push and press in. most people never really speak on this, adequately at least. you hear people talk about how they started and then speak on their results when they got to the other side, almost intentionally skipping out on the divide between point A and B. why? well, because it was painful, slow, and hard. 

touching on it rips apart the veil of being invincible and robs them of the pleasure of prancing about like a superhero. this divide was a painful season that left them with scars on the back, calloused hands and not so pleasant memories. you see, the unfiltered truth is that everything we want or strive for is waiting for us on the other side of a door called process and the version of us that wanted it is not the version that ultimately possesses it. 

when we desire things, we typically don’t see that we’re not quite equipped and mature enough to handle and sustain these desires when they show up as answers or results, hence the necessity for transformation. the answer to the why of transformation is the need to build capacity by bearing root downwards strong enough to host the results while the lessons learnt in the wringer give us a wealth of understanding of the principles and patterns that can replicate those results and this truth only fully crystallizes on the other side of pain. 

pain from the sacrifice of discipline and consistency.

discipline and consistency go together; hand in glove. so you’re not really disciplined if there’s no track record of consistent repetition. discipline is being unsusceptible to the instructions of sensory reception and perception when it comes to taking on a responsibility. it’s showing up because you have to, even when you don’t want to; it’s being averse to excuses, understanding that there’s no in-between, you either do it or you don’t. 

discipline means having a rule over your spirit, it’s the ability to say no to good but not expedient things and the requisite tendency to exercise your will over things that really matter and this necessitates binding yourself to a routine and a code of conduct with ultimate accountability and faithfulness to it. it’s the latent potential to lead yourself. discipline is powerful, but as powerful as it is, without consistency over time, it’s mostly ineffective. 

consistency is faithfulness to a cause, practicing a thing over and over until it’s a way of life, beyond just a routine. consistency is what amplifies the force and potency of discipline, it reveals the power of grit and tenacity because it takes a high level of resolve to commit to doing something repeatedly over a certain period of time, in perfect and not so perfect conditions. 

it’s a lifestyle of doing what’s right without a penchant for applause or motivation.  discipline and consistency by extension is the best revelation of self control and it’s a crux for leadership because you can’t lead others if you haven’t gained mastery in leading yourself and to earn this badge, you have to be amenable with discomfort, you have to understand commitment and none of this is learnt without a certain degree of pain. 

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.

— 1 Corinthians 9:25 KJV

Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.

— 1 Corinthians 9:25 NAS95

Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything.

— 1 Corinthians 9:25 CSB

Now every athlete who [goes into training and] competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things.

— 1 Corinthians 9:25 AMP 

Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline

— 1 Corinthians 9:25 GNT

i’ve pointed out this statement in diverse expressions to give credence to the fact that there’s a connection between striving, mastery and self control, which is effectively discipline.

i’ve realized in life that how we define a thing is what the thing is and i’ll explain with instances. if you define a headwind as an advantage, it becomes an advantage, you adopt the disposition of taking root, standing firm on your feet, you begin to adopt measures to help you build resistance and in contrast, if you define a tailwind as a disadvantage then it becomes just that. 

consequently, propitious events like speed, acceleration and momentum are perceived as grievances as opposed to being leverage. it’s the same with pain, if you define pain as a depressant, it becomes just that and how you react to it is defined by that. on the other hand, if you define pain as simply motivation, then it becomes motivation. for example, in body building, pain is proof of growth and progress and that can be applied to anything else.

 the pain of getting up and doing it again can be used as an advantage as opposed to being a valid excuse to not try. the highest performing people in the world in different domains are those that define pain differently. they do what they have to do anyway. discipline and consistency builds competence and with competence comes confidence. discipline reveals the power of commitment and sustained commitment leads to mastery and self control, all of this being fruits of pain. 

pain in the course of scaling mountains and surmounting challenges. 

to fulfill destiny you must win, and no one is declared a winner without a battle. unfortunately, these battles never really stop because everything we want in life requires a fight and we fight to win. if you desire dominion in any realm of human endeavor, you must be prepared to fight for it. everything in life that we want is currently in the custody of something or someone else. every degree of freedom in the world today required a level of contending to obtain; every seat of power and influence you desire doesn’t exist in a vacuum. 

similarly, every job, opportunity and crown has to be earned in some way. every gold medal had to be won and the same goes for every political post, every game and every business deal. i could go on, but i think my point is clear, that no victory is handed over; that no matter how easy it appears to be, there’s a level of effort required to attain and subsequently sustain it. the lion is the king of the jungle, but it has to fight and kill for it’s meals, i mean even in the pride it has to fight to defend it’s right to remain in charge of it’s territory.  

no matter how innocent you are, when you find yourself in the crosshairs of a litigation, you have to fight for your acquittal. even the word says to strive lawfully.

And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

— 2 Timothy 2:5 KJV

while i don’t endorse a do-it-by-any-means-necessary mental module because i believe that there’s a right way to win a fight, i’ve pointed out the reality of fighting and striving because complacency never wins you a crown. for instance, God gave the children of israel the land of canaan and it’s environs but they still had to contend for it. if you desire to be the best at anything, you have to beat people who are good at it, if you want to do something that’s never been done before, be prepared to pay prices that have never been paid before. 

the pursuit of destiny fulfillment requires scaling and surmounting mountains, challenges and obstacles. no territory in history was ever given up for free, there was always a battle for it and in the same fashion, no empire in the history of civilization exercised dominion over realms without having to subdue and exert themselves over the vast landmasses they accrued. this is the same with destiny.

you get to choose how you define it, but a challenge in my opinion is proof of progress. i used a game analogy earlier and inferred that beating each challenge requires an upgrade in capacity and in the same vein, every new level of the game comes with a tougher challenge. there’s no leveling up without beating a challenge but the good thing is every challenge prepares you for the next one. here’s an excerpt from a previous article i wrote.

 “life has it’s ways of testing your vision, as if to say- do you believe it? how far are you willing to go for it? what prices are you willing to pay? what sacrifices are you willing to make? what choices are you willing to make with the options available to you? what if you have to walk alone for a long time before others catch up? how long are you willing to wait for it? what if no one ever understands you enough to form an alliance with you and your vision? how many brick walls are you willing to run through? these are questions life will pose to you time and time again and you must have a response, each time.” 

this is very true, because regardless of what your dreams are, you’re going to have to fight to keep them alive. and for the most part, these challenges stretch and try us and we have to get up and respond, most times in pain and discomfort. but in spite of that present reality, we can define these challenges as what they really are – preparation for our vision and capacity building. adopting this mental module doesn’t cancel out the pain, but it gives it a purpose, making it a positive integer. pain can be embraced and channeled into something useful, establishing it as a unit cost for destiny. 

pain from experience.

there’s a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that can only be accumulated by experience whether pleasant or unpleasant. i’ll tell you this for free, experience is a currency that can purchase understanding and bear fruits of wisdom.  the experience gained from failure, being blindsided, disappointment, rejection and delay to name a few can all be precipitated into wisdom.  

there’s something a businessman with failed business ventures and strategies can tell you that no book will and there’s something an inventor who failed multiple times can tell you about innovation that no bank of knowledge can give you access to. little wonder overcomers are always grateful for their pain and their struggles because without those scars, marks and badges, which in hindsight become priceless, their story of triumph is incomplete. 

there’s nothing quite like victory in an endeavour held side by side with the account of an erstwhile attempt that didn’t quite pan out. experience does something to your character; it edits your perspective and gives credence to your opinions. you know what works and what doesn’t because you tried both and you can recreate your victories because you know exactly what you did to win. experience, both good and bad, is one of the prerequisites for leadership and mentorship. 

there’s something a sailor who battled storms at sea and prevailed can tell you that you can’t learn on paper. show me a leader without a wealth of experience with accounts of failure and i show you someone full of opinions with many blindspots. this is the dimension of pain that births compassion in people, it gives them a burden to set systems and structures to teach, guide and empower those who’d walk the same paths they’ve walked so they don’t have to pay the same hefty prices they paid with pain as the legal tender. 

this is the realm that leaves you with stories of suffering and defeat; valiance and glory, all birthed from your personal walk of struggle to triumph. unique insights, not fabricated lores. the ideation of vision isn’t a walk in the park but on the scale of difficulty, it’s the easiest bit. execution is the meat of it and only in execution is your idea tested, reiterated and proved over time before it’s reckoned a success, so knowledge alone can suffice for ideation but the road of execution requires a dimension of wisdom that’d be birthed on the journey and that by experience. 

the realm of experience is where you see the value of patience, because you don’t really understand how it’s a virtue until it’s your only option and like patience, there are many other intangibles that are discovered and kept in your chest of treasures while walking down this hallway of experience. it helps you see the wisdom in the honour for precepts and principles that produce results and you clearly see the folly in the concepts that didn’t work out.  

these aforementioned perspectives and the many unhighlighted ones all give life to this contemplation. in closing, it is proven by empirical data factored in from different realms of human endeavor that there’s no triumph without a struggle and there’s no manifestation of a vision without hard times, suffering and pain and the same goes for destiny and purpose. as a matter of fact choosing to not fulfilling destiny still comes with the pain of emptiness and diverse frustrations in time and disappointment in eternity when you realize all that could’ve been. 

there’s a measure of pain in wanting to live for more or settling for less, there’s pain in trying and pain in realizing you could’ve tried. there’s no escaping it but the beauty in all of this is that you get to choose your pain, and you should, choose. so while pain is unpleasant, i believe it’s a fair price to pay for legacy, birthing glory, making giants strides and leaving indelible imprints on the sands of time that posterity would be grateful for. 

upon reflection, i’ve deduced that there’s a direct correlation between law and culture. every  integral change in society’s perception and perspective was hinged on the creation, modification or abolition of laws. laws influence culture and culture engineers society’s perception of reality. intrinsically, the inherent difference between two societies is culture: the ethos, the spirit and soul of the societies and this is engineered, enabled and established by laws no matter how subtle or seemingly insignificant they appear to be. if you desire to make the people in a select geographical jurisdiction adopt a mental module, the proven effectual approach is to create or change existing laws. 

to contextualize this, laws are guidelines, frameworks and guardrails that determine what’s admissible and tolerable in a society and what’s not. institutions, entities whether private or corporate and families are all subject to the authority that backs laws. a law doesn’t just spell out what what freedom is, it dictates what morals, values and rights are acceptable, permissible and tolerable. laws cut across divers strata spanning from education and innovation, politics and religion, economics and value creation to social security and the sociological dynamics of the society.  the difference between right and wrong, laudable acts and misdemeanors are laws. 

laws are binding customs and principles hinged on precepts and concepts usually enforced by a justice system. some are institutionalized and some not so much but they exist to regulate human conduct, uphold justice and equity, maintain social order and provide a framework for settling disputes. laws are in classes and some supersede others in weight of authority and i point out this weight because everything in society answers to laws whether constitutional, statutory, common, administrative, customary or religious. laws are equalizers. from acts to bills, net positive and negative changes in society with respect to productivity, innovation, adaptation, evolution and growth in different dispensations can be traced to laws and in the same vein, every depravity and abhorrent action that grieves basic moral and axiological standards in society today is enabled by a law, things that were absolutely absurd just a few decades ago have been made culturally acceptable today by the power of laws. 

wars have been fought, systems and structures have clashed and crumbled, economies have thrived and been rendered crippled by the power of laws. radicalism, terrorism, insurgency have found expression in different forms because corrupted belief systems and opinions were set in stone by laws. territories have expanded and conquests have been wrought throughout history riding on the wings on laws because laws seek to establish perspectives while having little to no respect for the blind spots that come with them. now who sets these laws in stone and motion? legislators. 

legislators are elected, appointed, or sometimes hereditary individuals responsible for making, passing, and amending laws within a government body, belonging to a class called the legislature. they are vested with authority by the power of this office to craft, amend or repeal laws. they are representatives of the very folks who voted them in so essentially they’re put in that position to serve the interests of society. for order and structure, society can’t be run, swayed and tossed around by the opinions of isolated individuals so by election, there’s a microcosm of people, clad with the rights to speak for and represent the interests of the larger society and constitutionally, the people are obligated to respect both their rights and perspectives.

i point all this out to make sure there’s a revelation of the not so unsung but widely misunderstood power that legislators wield. they have the rights and obligation to write and pass laws and these rights are upheld by authority and affirmed by law. they stand as the voice of the people, which basically means their perspectives represent the perspective of the macrocosm of society and because laws in themselves aren’t sentient, they affirm these perspectives assuming process must have run it’s cause. in most societies today they are elected by the people but do these people really understand what this position is capable of doing in and to society as a whole? if laws are the equalizer and a handful of people have the authority to enact them, shouldn’t they be vetted? i mean actually subjected to a standard where parameters like character, vision, furnished leadership mindsets and transformation oriented agendas hold sway, not just mindless manifestoes and affiliations.

 legislators should be people that have been taught and transformed to understand that they are change agents. i personally believe that the first quality to look for in approving or appointing a legislator is character because it’s inherently who they are and their opinions, values and perspectives reflect just that. if laws dictate culture and laws are crafted by legislators, we can logically infer that legislators shape culture and effectively engineer society’s thinking not the laws in themselves because society reflects what the culture is and the culture is engineered by legislation. i think it’s pertinent to explain what culture is. culture is the aggregation of the ideas and ideologies, customs and practices, and social behaviour of a peculiar people or society.  it’s the constructed perspective and collective  methodologies adopted by people in a system and environment. simply put, it’s the way of life ingrained in individuals and people groups by virtue of underwritten constructs through association and existence in peculiar jurisdictions.

with that layer peeled off, we begin to see both the authority and weight of responsibility vested on legislators. humanity and civilization as we know it is really at the mercy of their interests, now what if their interests are selfish, profit driven and disingenuous? what happens to a society when not so credible individuals are given the rights and obligation to dictate how people act and by extension think? what happens to a society when the people who essentially qualify these legislators have no understanding of the power they’re committing into the hands of incompetent people and how much of a ripple effect these choices have? what happens to society when it’s legislators lack complete understanding of what their assignments and responsibilities are and what this deficiency of wisdom does to the macrocosm? a generation can be ensnared. societies have imploded, economies have crumbled, civilizations have been neutered by the gross ignorance of this connection of laws, culture and legislation. 

i have more to say, but my submission is to point out the covering cast and veil of ignorance and indifference with respect to this connection and to emphasize the need for concrete attention to detail to what’s currently lacking in legislation, legislature and the election of the actors on that stage, because culture dictates the state of a society and every society reflects the aggregation of the interests, values, thought processes and mental modules of it’s legislators. everything wrong in society today is feedback from the blind spots that ride on the back of our perspectives and this cuts across all strata of human endeavor.

experiences – both good and bad, give you testaments, and the aggregation of these testaments count as one of the qualifying components for leadership.