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The Power Of Submission - Isabella Mumbi |
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 I recently had an interesting chat with my grandmother who is in her eighties. She was recalling her primary school days with nostalgia. She fondly remembers two of her teachers Wello (Nick named for saying well! well! well! every time he came to class) and Mr.Gathanju (nick named for using a walking stick).
My grandmother not only owes her confidence in English and Math to Wello, but a lot more.Wello was more than just a great teacher; he was also a mentor, a hard worker and a veteran farmer. As cucu excitedly narrated her story, I picked up a few lessons she learnt from Wello; the value of education, time-keeping, the importance of investing, cultivating healthy relationships and surrounding yourself with resourceful people. Wello died yrs ago but he certainly left a legacy for generations to come.
Nicknaming teachers did not start yesterday. Judging from the excitement in my grandmother’s tone depicting how they enjoyed nicknaming their teachers, it’s easy to understand what Solomon meant when he said there is nothing new under the sun. We could tell the same stories of our own times. Grandmother did reap the benefits of submitting to her elders - had she ignored the counsel of teacher Wello, her life would probably have moved in a not so pleasant direction.
A classic example for us today as Christians is found in Luke 2: 41- 52:
"When Jesus was 12yrs old, he accompanied his parents to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover and after the feast was over, Jesus decided to remain in the temple without the knowledge of his parents."
Think of it in the very same way we accompany our parents to church on Sunday morning and after the service we stay behind to bond/catch up with our friends or decide to go visiting places without the knowledge of our parents.
"Thinking that Jesus was still in their company, they traveled for a day, on discovering Jesus was not with them, they began looking for him among their relatives and friends"
This still happens today, when we leave home or our guardians company without letting them know of our whereabouts.
After three days of searching they went back to Jerusalem they found him among teachers listening to them and asking them questions
Certainly quite impressive!! But…
"When his parents saw him they were astonished his mother said to him “son, why have you treated us like this” your father and I have been anxiously searching for you’. In return, Jesus asked them “why were you searching for me don’t you know I was in my father’s house?’’ ….
We all know the meaning of Jesus’ answer. But how often do young people wonder why their parents have to ‘fuss over everything’? Jesus’ parents did not understand what he was saying to them (v50), in the very same way parents don’t understand their children in this day and age. Prayer items like “pray for my son, he has really changed and out of control, I don’t understand him any more” are floated often.
There is a key and a challenge in how Jesus responded to this situation.
v51 ‘then he went to Nazareth with them and he was obedient to them’ v52 concludes ‘and Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and with favour with God and man’. What a big reward this was for submitting to his parents.
Going by the example of Wello and Jesus, those that have gone before us – the older generation - are an authority that young people should not over look. Rather, we need to make them a permanent point of reference. Let us consistently involve them as we make life’s decisions in matters spiritual, social, physical, emotional and any other aspects of our lives.
More often than not, we do things without or ignore their counsel and when we fail we run back to them for help. Let’s change our attitudes and walk in wisdom, because as Proverbs 15: 22 points out, plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
About The Author: Isabella Mumbi loves to express herself in telling stories and writing down her observations of life.
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1"\\\"Kweni kweli\\\""
at Wednesday, 26 November 2008 12:40
Amazing article. Young people of nowadays seem to think that paroz don\\\'t dig anything about our \\\"youthfullness\\\". My mum always says in a matter of discussion concerning something am srtongly for when she is somewhat against that she has been there and she knows it all! and am like, it\\\'s different now...times have changed only to find out in the end that she is always right. Let us obey our parents as instructed by our God. He knew what he was talking about when he spoke it out. Mumbi, keep it up. May God endelea pouring out his wisdom, knowledge and under
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