If Jesus could do it – Why Can’t You?

 

One of the things about coming from a country that has national service is that you have a sure-fire way of knowing that you’re turning into an old git. That is sign is when you meet up with your best mates and you grumble about how easy the kids have it in national service. The common refrain is “It wasn’t like that back then.” In the artillery it’s especially noticeable. In my time, the old gunners would talk about how they really had to dig and get the round into the chamber (the lightest round is 19kg) unlike the whipper snappers like us who had a “flick rammer” which the job for us. Now, my contemporaries talk about how “gun drill” was actually a physical drill and not the “push button” stuff that today’s gunners get involved in.

I bring this topic up because I met with one of my best mates over the Easter weekend and somehow, we ended up talking about how our respective kid just don’t get the hardships that we went through. Then in the midst of this session, I realised that my parents probably did the same thing, talking about how I had it easy when compared to them.

A former client of mine, who has become a venture capitalist made the point that when technology has reached a stage where people today don’t need to do things that we did in the past. Old people will tell you that they work out eight multiplied by eight in their heads unlike the kids who need calculators. However, the question is, why do people need to memorise things and do complicated sums in their head when they have everything in super computer at fits into their palms?

In a way, we, the aging folks need to understand that today’s issues are not yesterday’s issues. Sure, our kids may not have been through the things we did but that’s not to say that they don’t have their issues which are unique to their generation.

Having said that, where I do question the younger generation is on their expectations. Talk to enough young graduates about their expectations and you will get the impression that they’re expecting to be in the vice-president’s desk once they graduate.

This is most visible in the religious sphere. You get our youth being drawn to churches who sell what I call “McGod” where joining the church becomes a sure way to get into a glorious place called heaven. My ex-wife’s pastor had a way of seeing miracles in the shape of the car his congregation gave him. To be fair, this isn’t exactly limited to Christians. Talk to enough Buddhist and they’ll be sure to tell you about the master who accumulated so much merit that he could float in the air and do all sorts of magical things.

I’m not knocking wanting to find peace and spirituality. What I am knocking is the idea that peace and salvation can be found by joining a club with its membership fees. Spirituality and salvation come from pretty miserable places.

Let’s look at the basic fact that we commemorate “Good Friday,” before we have “Easter Sunday.” Thanks to Mel Gibson, we got to see the Bible made live in the Passion of Christ. Crucifixion is not a word but a brutal form of death. The man we know as “Jesus Christ” was turned into nothing more than a lump of flesh before he was even nailed to the cross (the idea of crucifixion being you suffocate to death).  

 

 He had to go through this (Copyright National Catholic Report).

It’s only after he was treated like a piece of meat and then killed that he was able to resurrect and get the glory of the divine:

 

 To get tot this (Copyright Nigerian Voice)

Too many people get caught up with the idea of the “glory” bit. Too few people understand that he could only get the “Divine Glory” by going through the suffering.

This isn’t restricted to Jesus Christ. The person that we know as the Buddha wasn’t born as the Buddha. He had to go through that process of discovery before he found enlightenment. Mohammed wasn’t born a prophet. He only started taking dictation from the angels after his 40^th birthday.

So, the fact is that the great religious teachers of humanity had to go through some form of challenge before they got the glory of the divine. Unfortunately, too many religious organisations teach this basic fact.

Nobody grows in a comfort zone. Why should I up my game when I automatically win? However, when you face someone who has a good chance of turning you into mincemeat, things suddenly change. You become forced to up your game. If you study organisations, you’ll realise that those who never face challenge end up killing themselves.

It’s as simple as this – if Jesus could through the misery and suffering of the crucifixion before obtaining the glory of the resurrection, why can’t we go through the discomfort of change in order to emerge stronger?