© Ayo Omolayo
“Be looking at me ooo! Do you think you must have one big title before God can use you?” My mentor asked me as I watched her writing down some of the things my younger sister said.
“Because me and my husband teach alot of people doesn’t mean we are Mr and Mrs know it all. I’m not ashamed to learn from anyone. Pride is not a character in Jesus. It must never be found in us”
I nodded in affirmation and stood up to go and get something to write with. I came back and sat down.
“Please this information is not something to throw away. God is opening my eyes right now to how to make my marriage more sweeter. Please Sharon, go ahead and tell us. What is the opposite of Love according to the language of the spirit?”
After a brief silence, my sister looked at us and answered.
“Lust!”
I was surprised. How does lust have anything to do with the opposite of Love? At least if you don’t love someone, you hate the person. That’s how the world operates.
“Listen! Lust is a bigger opposite because it is a combination of both love and hate mixed together”.
“Wow!” My mentor exclaimed and wrote down a few words.
“When there’s no love in the family, what replaces it is lust. Lust is what will make a woman marry a man she doesn’t love and call it love. She doesn’t know that what’s going on there is she’s taking advantage of the man.
The same goes for a lot of boyfriend and girlfriend relationship. The guy wants to sleep with the girl and that’s all he cares about. He doesn’t love her, but lusts after her beauty. So everything he does to her, the sugar coated words, the night calls, the declaration of how much he loves her and the spending of money is all with one purpose. To get her on his bed. Once that is achieved, you discover a different character in the boy. Mission accomplished.
That’s the same thing with a lot of Christians today. They give their lives to Christ, but they don’t love him. They don’t obey whatever he tells them to do. And God being merciful doesn’t cast them away. He still shows his love to them by granting them their requests whenever they pray. Such people whenever they need something from God, the first thing they do is to confess their sins. Because they believe it would be an hindrance to their prayers or request from God.
They sometimes make promises to God which the Bible call flattery. They flatter God with a lot of promises to live better lives once God gives them what they want. Maybe they need money or a job or a promotion at the place of work or they want to go to school. They start telling God a lot of things about how they would live once they get what they’re asking from him.
Psalms 78:36 to 37. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
They lust after God because of the benefits he offers. They don’t love him by their actions of obedience to his word. They disobey his command and whenever they repent, it’s only to be a good boy and get chocolate from daddy.
Their repentance doesn’t last. They don’t surrender completely to God. Half of them wants what the world has to offer, while the other half wants God. So instead of surrendering to one master, they want both masters.
So they don’t actually love God.
They only want he has to offer. That’s the same thing a marriage where God isn’t looks like. The husband and the wife are just together because of one benefit the relationship has to offer. Maybe the man needs financial support and the woman offers it perfectly. So he had to pretend to love her when he knows fully well he doesn’t. Or the woman needs the man for the influential name he bears. The wife of a popular man. So she pretends to respect him, all for the benefits the relationship has to offer.
Without God in us, all we have is a counterfeit of what God had to offer.. Lust is not all about emotions for the opposite gender. Lust is more of selfishness. It is note focused on self satisfaction than satisfying the need of others. If at all lust would do anything that would benefit others, it’s because of the benefits it would bring on him.
That’s why Jesus said when you give, don’t give expecting something in return as a lot of people do. They give to the rich so that they can get something bigger from him when the time comes.
Take for example the politicians. When they are about to go for election, you’ll see how they start acting nice. They buy things and distribute them to the people. They supply the people in rural areas with social amenities. Electricity, water, Education and good roads. All these to convince them into voting them into power. But as soon as they enter the seat of power, they turn back to doing what was on their minds at the beginning. That’s how Lust operates.
It is selfish and it’s all about taking advantage of someone else. Nobody really hates God. Deep within us, we want him in our lives. This just that some lust for him and others love him genuinely”, my sister said.
I felt guilty of this. My relationship with God has been more of exploiting him. I was mentally ill and went to him for the healing he offers. All I wanted was for him to heal me so I can be on my way. Return to my old life and continue with the way things were before. But when I discovered he wanted something more than a mere transaction. When I saw he wanted a relationship with me, I got rebellious. That was not what I wanted. I saw his demands as a burden. If I truly loved him, I would have given him everything he wanted like a woman in love is supposed to. I would have said yes to everything he asked me to surrender.
I only needed God in my life for what he could give or do for me. While I remained the boss of my life, telling him what I wanted and at the snap of my fingers, he gives me.
“Lord! I’m so sorry!” I said within me.
“Don’t tell me you’re sorry! Do what I asked you to do! That’s when you’re truly sorry!” Came the gentle whisper.
“Cris! You have started talking to yourself again!” I said in whispers.
“That’s the end of the class friends!” My sister announced.
“God bless you sister Sharon!” My mentor said.
“Amen!”
Just then my mentor’s phone started ringing. She picked it up and placed it on her ear.
“Yes! What! ” She asked with a broad grin on her face.
“You mean she’s here with her son? I’m coming right now!” She said and stood up.
“Girls! I need to be on my way now. I have someone I need to meet right now!” She announced and took her bag.
“Cris!” She called me.
“Please can you come with me?” She asked.
I looked at my sister and then back to her.
“I haven’t seen Tunde in a while now. I am also waiting for him”, I replied.
Going with her on a ride wouldn’t be such a good idea.
“My baby girl! Please!” She said and made those puppy eyes.
Why was she begging me to go with her? If she wanted me to follow her all she needed was order me to do so. Or does she have something else in mind? I remembered when my eyes met with hers during our discussion. I noticed she saw my mood swing. Or did she played along and made me think I fooled her?
Something tells me this ride home is more than just a ride.
“Even if it is, wouldn’t that be a perfect opportunity to open up to her? Came the gentle whisper.
I sighed and looked up.
“Please baby girl!” She pleaded with an American intonation.
“Okay!”
“Yay!” She shouted and punched the air with her fists.
“I really want you to meet this woman. That’s why I needed to drag you along. Sorry I was too demanding!” She apologized.
“Oh! A woman!”
“Yes! A great woman of God! She’s a …. I don’t want to go into details. Please hurry up let’s go!” She said and headed for the door
I turned to my sister.
“Say hi to Tunde for me. I’m going to meet this woman of God!” I told her and followed my mentor.
“Why are you walking behind me?” She asked and pulled me to her side.
“Let’s walk together!” She said and placed her left arm around my shoulders.
I felt loved, but each time I wanted to enjoy the feeling, guilt sprang up. I had to release these secrets I had locked up in my heart and be free. Yes, I would confess to my mentor on the way.
Tina was still lost in her conversation with the gateman.
My mentor opened the car and told me to take my seat. I opened the back door and sat at the back. I knew Tina would join us and that meant one thing. My confession had to wait.
My mentor met Tina and spoke with her. For the sake of distance, I couldn’t hear what she was saying but by the time she was done, she came back alone, leaving her with the gateman.
The gateman quickly rose up to his duty and opened the gate, but Tina remained on her seat.
My mentor sat down at the driver’s seat and turned to me.
“Get over here Cris! I told Tina that your driver would bring her to the house when she was ready, so he can also take you back. She told me she’s not done talking with your gateman”.
I was amazed. That means I had not lost my opportunity. I came out of the vehicle and sat with my mentor at the front.
She turned on the ignition and drove out of the garage. We waved at Tina and the gateman as we left the building.
Soon we were on the streets, on our way to my mentor’s house.
“So Cris! Are you ready to tell me that thing bordering you?” She asked.
My heart started pounding heavily.
Do I tell her the truth or tell her something else?
To be continued……
You people should tell Cris to stop this nonsense ooo!
I don’t know if they would flog her 39 strokes of the cane if she tells the truth.
Satan is not ready to lose the battle. He still believes he can get her.
How many of us today follow God because of the benefits he has to offer?
Have you truly surrendered to his Lordship? Do your actions show to him how much you love him? Or is it only your mouth that announces to the world ‘I love Jesus?’
Do you Love him or lust after him?
I want to really appreciate you all for your prayers.
Someone asked me recently, how are you able to write all these? Do you see them on a dream or what.
Honestly, I don’t know how. But these stories come as I pray, observing my quiet time.
Sometimes I don’t know what to write, but as soon as I pick up my phone and start, a door just opens and the whole episode drops
Since I began this story last month I’ve been typing every single day non-stop.
Please, I want to solicit for your prayers for me. And your comments also.
Please be praying for me! I thank God for some of you who have been doing that, but please do more.
Everyday I type and type with my phone. It’s not been easy for me. Please support me with your prayers and comments
Don’t be a Ghost reader! Please!
God bless you
I see your efforts, may God continue to reward your efforts. Kai, it’s cool to serve God in your place of calling.
May God continue to bless you and give your more inspiration brother Ayo 🙏