The benefits of right decision making

…CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK…THE HARD TRUTH by Dr Kennedy Musonda

FOR a child of God, happiness or should I say joy, is not dependent on happenings and acquisition of material things, achievement of goals or making tons of money even though these may be important, but they are not determinants of happiness and fulfillment in life.

Happiness or joy depends on the fact that you are a child of God and that the Spirit who lives in you, gives you joy. That is what Romans 14:17 (KJV) says “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.” That is when you understand what Isaiah 55:1-3 which states that “Wait and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters and eat! Yes, come, buy a drink and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend money in what is not food, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Listen to me carefully and eat what is good and let your heart be excited in the goodness of God.” What this passage of scripture is saying is that there is a void in you that can only be satisfied by God.

You can try to accumulate as much material possessions or fill the gap with pleasure seeking but you can never be satisfied with these things no matter how much and how long you try. You might feel good for a short period, but you still must do the same things over and over again and each time in an increasing measure. And this the reason many people become drug and alcohol addicts.

The book of Jeremiah has something to say about people who faithfully serve God. Jeremiah 17:7-10 says: “But blessed is a person who puts his trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in God. He or she will be like a tree planted by water that sends its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; the leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear the fruit.”

A similar scripture is found in Psalm 1:3-4 which says, “that person is like a tree planted by the streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever he does it succeeds. But it is not so with the wicked. They are like chaff that the wind blows away.” Of course, this does not mean a person who faithfully serves God does not experience problems but even he or she goes through problems, God is there to help him or her overcome those problems.

I want to let you know that you do not have the capacity to overcome your challenges, addictions and problems that come from a sinful life. The hard truth is that there is a sinful nature in you that controls you such that no matter how you promise yourself not to repeat what you do not like doing, you still go back to doing it again.

The Bible says human beings are slaves to sin (John 8:34; Romans 6:6) and slaves has no control over their lives. It is only when you come to Christ that He condemns sin in you or should I say, He disables the power of sin in you (Romans 8:3-4). Some effects of sins take a long time to show up, but they surely show up sooner or later.

The Hard Truth is that if you are one of the few that escapes them here – life – they will still catch up with you in the afterlife when you will have to spend your eternity in the lake of fire.

In the 1994 Malawian general elections that brought President Bakili Muluzi to power, there was a slogan that was chanted which said “wina azalila” or “someone is going to cry.” It is probably like the 2011 PF election slogan “don’t kubeba” (don’t tell them). The wina azalila slogan was referring to the one who was going to lose the elections. The Hard Truth is that those who decide not to give their lives to Christ and have their sins forgiven, it is “wina azalila” and it is for eternity for that matter.

For the next version of The Hard Truth, check Kalemba every Tuesday.

Author: Dr Kennedy Musonda is an international consultant in development. He holds a Bachelor and Master of Social Work, a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a PhD in Business Administration. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theology.

For feedback contact email: [email protected], WhatsApp/Telegram line +260977526404 or Skype: kmusonda45