Let’s start using the simplest, most obvious example… what we have seen and heard and experienced directly (1 John, 1: 1-2)… First, in the form of a parable
There was once upon a time a village. It was a peculiar village. It had a king and not the usual chief that other villages had. And it was made up of inhabitants who had voluntarily chosen to leave their original village to serve that king because they trusted him to take care of their every need. Consequently, everyone admitted into that special village had first to sign an agreement spelling out the declared values and priorities of the village king and by extension, that of the existing inhabitants. Those values and priorities hinged on promoting Love, Truth, Light, Integrity… Briefly, everything bright and beautiful, every custom wise and wonderful.
The village objectives were thus, in order of importance, to prioritise the king’s wishes, values, values, objectives and goals. Meeting this requirement was obviously a sure guarantee to enjoying his goodwill and all that suggests. Next, it was expected to promote the sustenance and replication of the heretofore-mentioned wishes, values objectives and goal. And last but not the least, it was expected to encourage many others to seek and desire admission into the village.
Something tells me I am not being sufficiently subtle here for a parable so why don’t we just zoom in to… local district heads.
Yes, there were many of these in the village. So of course, in the spirit of promoting love and peace, ensuring security and stability, enabling them to take good care of their families, and perform their onerous tasks efficiently and effectively, local district heads were accorded certain privileges. It seemed fair to do so since much is expected of them. We will not go into the first aspect of that adage as it will only give those troublesome dissenters a chance to distract us from our train of thought, by starting a debate as to whether much is indeed given some, or they grab the honour by hook or by crook… add political maneuverings, manipulation, favouritism, etc.
Well, it so happened that one day, this particular local district head had a specific need. Having identified this particular local district head, the camera must now zoom in to another protagonist in our parable: one ordinary inhabitant of the village. No title, no position, no status… The only thing that distinguishes this ordinary inhabitant at this particular moment, and qualifies him for mention in our parable was that he also shared the exact specific need of the local district head. Being an ordinary inhabitant, we will not bother to waste much time on him.
Therefore, let’s now quickly zoom in to the third member of the village. While not bearing the status of the local head, he at least had some status. You see, he had the power to provide the specific need earlier mentioned. This man knew the value of this thing but had no personal need for it. It was valuable but was only his on the condition that it be not sold. It had to be earned by merit through a transparent public auction that is open to even the neighbouring villages, just to ensure that the most deserving got it.
Every interested inhabitant knew that the process had to comply with the declared priorities of Love, Truth and Light in the village and therefore prepared for the competition very seriously. If I told you the means of preparation, I would be letting the cat out of the bag and you just might get bored. So here is my advice to you.… use your imagination here. Gotcha!!!
Meanwhile, on learning that there was some hope for meeting their specific need, both the district head and the ordinary inhabitant were delighted. There was hope and they both started to prepare…. and this is where the suspense starts.
They both took action. The ordinary inhabitant adopted the well-known and approved beaten track in the preparation process. It was actually the path declared by the king, and which the district head had taught them all over and over again over the years. And they had seen its merits and embraced it fully. However, for some reason, in this situation, the district head seemed to have other ideas…. Mind you, the ordinary inhabitants were not aware of this… at least, not yet. As the story teller, I am giving you a privileged bird’s eye view of events like every good storyteller is wont to do. Zoom in…
At dawn, the district head called his messenger. If the inhabitants knew this, they would probably have wondered why he sent for his messenger, since this small gesture contradicted the approved and fair preparation process.
On the special day fixed for the competition, the ordinary inhabitant rushed to the village square at dawn, ready to give his best and leave the rest to God. But he got a rude shock!!! The public auction had been canceled! How could that be, he wondered. He could not let things be. He had to know what happened. He carried out some investigations but nobody seemed to know why… until one basket mouth let the cat out of the bag… This cat again!!!
Anyway, it would seem that the district head who taught the approved process for obtaining any specific need, had opted for the path of influence on this particular matter. You see, this specific need was too valuable for him to take the risk of following the approved beaten track he himself had taught others. He wanted to ensure he obtained what he needed.
Word has it that the messenger he had sent at dawn was to summon the third inhabitant, the possessor of the valuable need, to his court. There this inhabitant was made privy to the district head’s need, and the many duties and obstacles that may impede him from getting it. It was only after this long litany of woes that the possessor’s ‘advice’ was sought on what to do.
Flabbergasted by this unapproved approach, yet somewhat flattered, the possessor kept a wise silence for a long while, head bowed, deep in thought. You see, he knew that the district head knew the approved process very well since he had taught it so many times! Every time he lifted his head to speak, the smile on the district head’s face met his pensive glance. By the time this happened the third time, the possessor had caught on to what was required of him.
“Why sir, there is no problem. You are so busy accomplishing your duties in order to bless us. It is a little thing for me to give you what you need. We can change the rules specially for you this time. You can have it. I will just need to cancel the auction.”
As you can imagine, the third inhabitant was not averse to the possibilities of reward in kind that awaited him in exchange for this special favour he was rendering the district head. He was giving something he had no right to sell, to someone who could reward him in another way. He had nothing to lose. The district head was the district head and if he chose to bend the rules, who was he to argue.
So how do you think the ordinary inhabitant reacted when he heard? He was furious of course! The rules had changed without his knowledge. This was no even-playing field. But who was he to take on the district head and the influential inhabitant? He was not going to make waves. No wahala, na. Win some, lose some. He had learnt his lesson.
He murmured to himself with a scornful snigger and a smirk on his face: “Since I am in no position of influence, I shall focus on getting money, for “Money answereth all things”.
Folks, from there on, his engagement with the approved, tried, and beaten track unraveled rapidly. He would make time to personally amend it, adjust it, tweak it, and relearn it. Prayer was no longer the key.
Yes! The cat is finally out!!!
HERE ENDS THE PARABLE FOR TODAY. LOOK OUT FOR THE INTERPRETATION IN THE NEXT EDITION.