Human Nature -By Joe Dauda

Note: People prefer to be sorry for you than to celebrate you. And things become stickier when they have to celebrate you after first feeling sorry for you, perhaps because of a temporal setback you experienced. What this means is that you have nothing to gain in flaunting your wealth or possessions or anything generally considered of value. 

When God commands you to be humble, he is just doing you a favour. One of the advantages of humility is a life of little or no stress. Humble people do not intimidate others — even when they are more educated, wealthier, and more experienced. They try to get along with you without trying to make you feel they are better than you in any way. 

What happens on social media is a result of social engineering. People have been conditioned to want to be celebrated. It’s a mind game and as fake as a shadow. 

If you are proud, you have no idea what people say behind your back. And it is impossible to love a proud person. The way God made us, we are wired to love and be gracious to humble people. But, like God Himself, we inwardly resist the proud, even if they are our colleagues, friends, or neighbours or family members.

James 4:6
God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Except you are disciplined and doing something significant and meaningful on the respective platforms, social media has made you proud, perhaps without your permission. By focusing on yourself and expecting birthday greetings, likes to your posts, followers, and all those fake awards people crave, you become a little Satan. As a guy, you want your bearded face to be seen by everyone in the world; some ladies even want their feminine attributes displayed in full view; others want their privacy laid bare as long as they suspect that enough of their viewers will be impressed by what they see — whether it’s their underwear, or clothes, or shoes, or just the beautiful interior of their houses. 

Satan was gifted by God and dressed with a precious covering; Ezekiel 28:13. But he wanted to be celebrated: in other words, he wanted to be worshipped. And then he fell. 

That’s his plan for all of us. Let’s be wise. Give glory to God for making you the most handsome guy in your country by trying to obey His will; honour God for making you a paragon of beauty among women by not putting God’s children in harm’s way just for the vain feeling of being admired. Be modest! 

One day, we will all give account of every ability God has given us. The richer you are, the more educated you are, the more handsome/beautiful you are, the more talented you are, the longer your panel of inquiry will last. Whatever you did to glorify yourself or tempt others or intimidate others will be rewarded in the same way that of Satan will be rewarded — except you repent. Instead of wanting worship/celebration for what God has bestowed on you, quietly enjoy what can legitimately be enjoyed and stop mimicking God’s worst enemy — Satan — who was not content with being made beautiful but sought glory for something that God freely gave. 

Don’t you think God has a reason for making you the way you are or allowing you to be as wealthy or educated or experienced as you are? You think it is so that others will cower at your presence? Oh no! He did it for His own glory and for a good purpose. Don’t rob God of His glory by focusing on you. 

Some women are so beautiful their destiny is to marry a king. But they focus on themselves, get crumbs along the way, get violated along the way by unworthy men — and will end up as combustible wood in hell fire. Esther was superbly beautiful but was also virtuous. Those two attributes hardly get mixed these days but through Esther’s beauty (under the restraint of godliness) a whole nation — including the forefathers of Jesus Christ — was saved. 

I repeat: don’t rob God of his glory. Your powers — height, talent, confidence, personality, beauty, education, experience, connections, aura, strength, etc. — may be for a reason greater and more noble than you can ever imagine. Focusing on the giver and wanting to please Him is the only way of truly unlocking that secret to your true destiny.

Heavenly Father, I don’t want to be like Satan. Please forgive me for every single case of pride I have exhibited with the blessings you freely gave me. Help me to, from henceforth, have the mind of Jesus Christ and focus on pleasing you rather than pleasing myself and seeking the admiration of others. 

May God have mercy on all of us.