MAL43:21 | Page 46

PERSPECTIVE

The Armour Of God !

By Joseph Lunani

There is a famous saying that states “ si vis pacem , para bellum ” ( to live in peace , prepare for war ) ~ Publius F . Vegetius 4 / 5 AD . When babies are born , they are oblivious to the battles in the world they are getting into . They are shielded by smiling parents , over joyous grandparents and giggling friends and people of goodwill .

Why do I say people of goodwill ? In my community as is in many African setups , we are aware that there are people of illwill around us . Those that “ throw bad eyes ”, cast spells , engage in the occult and sorcery for the downfall of others . We therefore in jurisprudence go all out to shield ourselves from those bad people . We wear “ hirizi ” ( a good charm article or object ) to block these bad eyes . We anoint ourselves with holy water or any other sanctified liquid . We say spell protective chants and deliverance prayers . We go all out to ensure our safety from these “ bad eyes ”, spells and what not . Babies surrounded with pomp , laughter , honor and all that is noble never get to know this dark world until they are of age .
Then we have the other battles unknown not only to the babies but the community around us . We are at war in our relationships . We are at war with our work colleagues . We are at war with the government over regulations and taxes . We are at war with high cost of living . We are at war with the miserable parts of our lives . We are even at war in our hearts with the jealousy fangs and pangs when all around us seem to be doing better than ourselves .
We hate that noisy neighbor who plays loud music for he is heads over heels with some damsel . We do not like the other one that parks his flashy car badly . We are infuriated by that colleague that gets promoted and awarded yet we all know she is lazy . We are angry with God for the fake pastors and impostors of faith who swim in opulence when the faithful languish in poverty and want .

Everyone is in countless battles . Our lives and businesses should be the solutions people seek to bring balance and the elusive peace in various aspects of their lives . Our brands should ooze trust and be seen to front formidable solutions that solve problems beyond our profits .

Basically , we are at war with our insecurities , short-comings , addictions , losses and all those against us including bad breath , ill-health and smelly armpits . All these battles and more are the order of our days .
This background then forms a very tough foundation to start a business let alone build a solid one . It may explain why our anger exudes in our work and spews everywhere we step . So how do we find peace and balance ? What does it take for us to be the best form of ourselves in the midst of these storms of life ?
My take is first we need to accept that there are many battles in and around our lives . We need to detail them to the tiniest of specification . We then need to prepare to battle it out with each . In some cases simultaneously , in other instances sequentially . We cannot afford to be ignorant of any battle set out for us . Science proves there is no vacuum and faith agrees that there has to be a spiritual dominion in every aspect of our lives . When we do not specify the dominion then another sneaky silent great usurper takes charge .
We then secondly require to acquire the necessary information about each battle . On how to first contain it then turn it on its head and subdue the battle to our victory .
The next step is to gather the necessary arsenal of weapons required for the battle . It should be noted that every battle has a life and , in some instances , can be a long
44 MAL43 / 21 ISSUE