THE ALTERNATIVE By Reno Omokri
This week’s #TheAlternative, is an excerpt from my last book, Start Solving Problems, released in June 2020. Below is a full chapter in the book, which has helped many people around the world transform their lives and achieve their dreams. And it is my belief that it will help readers of my column access a Christ-like mind that enables them live the good life here on Earth.
The purpose of life is to enjoy it within the boundaries set by God. If you are not enjoying life, you need to start enjoying it now. Nothing and no one is stopping you from enjoying life except yourself. Do not wait until you hit it big. Happiness is a choice. Celebrate the fact that God gave you consciousness irrespective of where you are in life.
The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose. So live purposefully, not carelessly. Purpose in your mind that you will live the good life no matter what. Christ died for you to have it. God has given you everything you need to live it. There is absolutely nothing anyone can do to stop you from living the good life once you decide that, that is what you want to do.
And this is not some pie in the sky Pollyanna-ish philosophy. I am talking about something that God’s word promises and which I have and am still experiencing.
Nobody knows if he or she will be alive tomorrow, thus it is foolishness to postpone your enjoyment of life till tomorrow. There is no reason why you should not enjoy life right now. The purpose of life is not to live it. It is to enjoy it!
God is not going to give your life meaning. He already gave you His word, and your brain and mind. Start living the good life by using these resources to give your life meaning. God is available to do for you what you can’t do for yourself and not what He has empowered you to do.
I am an ambassador of faith, motivation and the John 10:10 life that Christ promised to those who believe in God through Him, because I have experienced that, that life is possible if you apply the principles in God’s word.
It does not matter if you are going through storms. External storms should not affect your internal joy. Rather, your internal joy should permeate your storms and calm them.
Rain does not fall when the sky is blue and beautiful. Rather, the darker the cloud, the more rain it brings. Learn from that. The challenges in your life are your period of rainfall. Those are the times when you grow. Crisis comes with opportunity. Opportunity brings growth. Growth allows you to live the good life and extend it to others.
Build your character because that is the infrastructure that will enable you live the good life in a sustained manner otherwise you will have the good life today and the not-so-good life tomorrow. Character is essential.
Many people make a mistake and think they can build the good life on the strength of shallow things like their looks and physical attributes. It is not possible to do so because as we age, physical attributes deteriorate.
Your nails start falling off three days after death. Hair follows on the fourth day. At sixty days, only bones remain. All the money we spend on hair, nails, make up, gone! The only thing that you develop in life that outlasts your death is your character. Therefore, you can only consistently live the good life to the extent that you consistently develop your character.
That is why Proverbs 4:18 teaches as follows:
“The path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” (NKJV).
Notice that our light does not shine bright. No. It shines brighter each new day. That indicates a continuum of growth. It is that growth continuum that ensures that we consistently enjoy the good life.
As part of your character development, you will need to always have goals and targets. They give you something to aim for in life. Without goals and targets, life will be aimless. The discipline required to achieve your goals and targets is key to character development.
In trying to achieve your goals and targets, you will naturally face obstacles. Do not focus on them. Be aware of them, but do not fixate on obstacles. Instead, focus on possibilities. What you focus on will dominate your life. Naturally, bees sting. But their honey is sweet. If you focus on the sting, you will never get the sweet.
Heaven is not just a place God’s children go to when we die physically. Heaven is also a place successful, purposeful and contented people live while alive. There is a literal heaven in the afterlife, but by your actions and or inactions, you can make this life a heaven or hell.
When I talk about living the good life, I do not refer to a ‘good’ life built on the back of crime and sin. That is why I am particular about character development. Money made in ways that ruin your character is money that cannot consistently give you the good life.
No matter how rich you are, you still grow old and die. As you are accounting for your millions with your accountant, remember you will also account for your life with the great Accountant. It is good to make money. But it is best to make heaven!
And one thing we learn from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is that character and memory are the only things that we will take with us from this life into the next. We see that both Lazarus and the rich man retained their character and their memory, but they did not retain their Earthly status.
Lazarus did not make it in life, but his righteousness took him to heaven. The rich man made it in life, but his wickedness took him to hell. Do not be deceived by wealth without character. It can give you the good life for a time, but it cannot give you the good life for a lifetime.
Your money will not be buried with you. Your power will not be buried with you. Your pride will not be buried with you. You will be buried with your memories and character. In life, do not just make money, power and pride. Make good memories and character.
And in living the good life, you must not race with the car in front of you. Drive your life at your pace. If you race with the car ahead of you, you never know what can happen. You may get the accident meant for the car you are racing with. Run your own race.
Do not allow the things that this world sees as a drawback hold you back from living a good life. God has already given you permission to have the John 10:10 life. Do not consult your background or educational status before you make up your mind that the good life is for you.
Yes, you may or may not have done well in school. You may or may not have a degree. It does not matter whether or not you failed in school. Examinations are a test of memory, not a test of intelligence. Do not feel you are unintelligent because you failed an examination or you did not get a degree. It is better to fail at school but win in life than to pass at school and fail at life. And as long as you have God and His son, you will pass in life and you can start living the good life.
Start Solving Problems is available at WHSmith, Barnes and Noble, amazon, eBay, and wherever good books are sold.
