Excerpts from
Maximize Relationships by Uyoyou C. Charles-Iyoha
• Reverential
They
reverence God and draw their purpose, strength and inspiration from God.
• Obedience
They are
obedient people, always obeying the laws and instructions of God. Their
obedience to God also dovetails into obedience to any authority God places them
under.
• Faith
They are
people of faith (risk takers), men and women of great faith who act on the
basis of God’s Word and not necessarily the benefits that would accrue to them.
However, their risks are calculated risks – they act on the basis of the Word
of God and not foolhardiness, pride,
what other people are doing or what is in
vogue. Abraham for instance left Haran at the instance of God’s Word and became
the owner of Canaan. He set out to sacrifice Isaac on the basis of God’s Word
and gained Isaac and several descendants as well as Canaan. Isaac obeyed the
Word of God and sowed precious seed in the land of Gerar at a time of famine.
He reaped a huge harvest and progressively became so wealthy that the people of
Gerar became envious of him and sent him away from their land.
• Courageous
They are
courageous people who challenge situations and actions as well as people that
are defiant to God and His Word. David challenged a pompous Goliath and killed
him. Esther literally took her life in her hands when she approached King
Ahasuerus without being sent for. Joseph courageously and consistently rejected
the satanic advances of Potiphar’s immoral wife and ran for his dear life when
the woman attempted to rape him. Though Joseph served an unjust prison term, he
considered it better than sinning against God and his master Potiphar through
an illicit relationship between him and Potiphar’s wife. Daniel courageously
requested time from King Nebuchadnezzar so he could access the King’s dream. He
not only told the dream but also interpreted the dream. He also courageously
interpreted Belshazzar’s dream in spite of the fact that Belshazzar would die.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden
image and were thrown into the fiery furnace. God spared their lives. Daniel
prayed in spite of the decree not to pray for thirty days. He was thrown into
the den of lions but God kept him from harm. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice
Isaac was also an act of courage.
• Investors
Wise people
are investors of time, knowledge resources and skills in the kingdom of God and
for the high purposes of God. The Apostle Paul readily comes to mind. He
invested time, knowledge resources and skills in preaching the gospel to both
Gentiles and Jews. He covered a very significant portion of Asia and Europe
with the gospel, led many people to Christ and the worship of the true God. He
also planted many churches, raised and mentored many disciples who took over
the leadership of the churches when Paul moved on to other cities and towns.
Significantly, Paul wrote several books of the New Testament of the Bible, a
major blessing to the Church. Many sick people received their healings, demon
possessed people were delivered and practitioners of magic destroyed their arts
and turned to God all because Paul, a lawyer and persecutor of the early church
turned to God and chose to honor God by investing his time and resources in
preaching the gospel.
So also is
Timothy, Paul’s mentee. The Israelite maid of Naaman’s wife who invested time
testifying about the greatness of God and the power of God to heal in a land
where she was taken captive is another example of a time investor in the
kingdom of God. As a result of her evangelism, an army general turned away from
idols to serve God.
Daniel
invested time, God’s divine ability in him to tell and interpret dreams for the
purposes of God in Babylon, a land where he was in captivity. God honored
Daniel. Apart from the promotions to high positions in the land as well as
other material benefits, the most significant aspect of Daniel’s investment of
time, skills and knowledge resources in the lives of the leadership of Babylon
is that God used Daniel to lead the King and an entire nation to the worship of
the true God. Please see Daniel Chapters 2 verses 47 to 48; 4 verses 34 to 37
and 6.
http://www.amazon.com/Uyoyou-Christiana-Charles-Iyoha/e/B00JLO15SM
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