Vision and Fear 9
WELCOME TO Leading Right. I am Abiodun Fijabi.
Fear thrives on external reinforcements. You are afraid of something and someone comes around or an event occurs to reinforce that fear. You are already gripped by the fear of failure and your spouse nags you, wondering if any thing good can come out of you. Or you learn your most trusted customer has crossed over to your competitor. The fear that our nation may never rise again is ours but it has been reinforced by the world’s perceptions about us. We are told nothing works in our nation and that confirms our fear. We have always believed that about ourselves anyway.
David was not immune from these external reinforcements. He was not only contending against Goliath but against a fearful people who were not ready to dare and were unwilling to encourage any other to do so. His first human obstacle came from within his own family.
“Eliab, his older brother, heard David fraternizing with the men and lost his temper: "What are you doing here! Why aren't you minding your own business, tending that scrawny flock of sheep? I know what you're up to. You've come down here to see the sights, hoping for a ringside seat at a bloody battle!"
The fearful king was the next obstacle to a dream that would restore Israel’s glory. King Saul was very direct. "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced--and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born."
Now think about it. You have this great vision that is capable of making the difference to your society. The challenge this vision represents is already frightening. Then your older brother comes along with words like. “What do you think you are doing? You should not be doing this at all.” And then your nation’s President looks at you straight in the face and tells you, “This is a job for men not for boys like you.” I will assume that the already frightening challenge will now look impossible.
But not for David. He shrugged off both reinforcements of fear from outside to face his fear. In the end, he restored the pride of a nation before its famous enemy.
You can and should do the same to any obstacles that have reinforced your fear. Walk away from this obstacle with determination to face your fear. You might in the process restore the pride of your nation, put your name on the pages of history or advance a community to which you belong.
Fear thrives on external reinforcements. You are afraid of something and someone comes around or an event occurs to reinforce that fear. You are already gripped by the fear of failure and your spouse nags you, wondering if any thing good can come out of you. Or you learn your most trusted customer has crossed over to your competitor. The fear that our nation may never rise again is ours but it has been reinforced by the world’s perceptions about us. We are told nothing works in our nation and that confirms our fear. We have always believed that about ourselves anyway.
David was not immune from these external reinforcements. He was not only contending against Goliath but against a fearful people who were not ready to dare and were unwilling to encourage any other to do so. His first human obstacle came from within his own family.
“Eliab, his older brother, heard David fraternizing with the men and lost his temper: "What are you doing here! Why aren't you minding your own business, tending that scrawny flock of sheep? I know what you're up to. You've come down here to see the sights, hoping for a ringside seat at a bloody battle!"
The fearful king was the next obstacle to a dream that would restore Israel’s glory. King Saul was very direct. "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced--and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born."
Now think about it. You have this great vision that is capable of making the difference to your society. The challenge this vision represents is already frightening. Then your older brother comes along with words like. “What do you think you are doing? You should not be doing this at all.” And then your nation’s President looks at you straight in the face and tells you, “This is a job for men not for boys like you.” I will assume that the already frightening challenge will now look impossible.
But not for David. He shrugged off both reinforcements of fear from outside to face his fear. In the end, he restored the pride of a nation before its famous enemy.
You can and should do the same to any obstacles that have reinforced your fear. Walk away from this obstacle with determination to face your fear. You might in the process restore the pride of your nation, put your name on the pages of history or advance a community to which you belong.
posted by Abiodun Fijabi at 9:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home