A few months ago, I, and about 249 other young entrepreneurs from across Latin-America and the Caribbean landed in Detroit, Michigan to mark the commencement of a US Department of State-sponsored program called the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative. On arriving in Detroit, the Saint Lucian cohort – which I am a part of – decided to go out to have a late lunch. As we sat at an Applebees awaiting the arrival of our food, our conversation veered toward politics, policymaking, and entrepreneurship. What do we need to create an environment where entrepreneurship in the region thrives?
My suggestion was simple. I wanted to meet with Caribbean governments who form part of the CARICOM to put forth a simple proposal: Each Caribbean island will pick a niche (or not) – tech, agriculture, food, arts, culture, film or music – set up at least one live-in co-working space, with a small live-in team of mentors and skilled professionals with expertise in branding and marketing, programming, app, and web development. We would bring in 30-50 fellows from across the world mainly from across the Caribbean and Africa. The government would then inject a $100,000USD – $150,000USD investment to the program. This investment would be used to fund ideas, giving companies $2000USD to $5000USD to put towards the growth and development of their companies within the 6-month incubator/accelerator program. In exchange, every company coming out of the program MUST be registered in that country, thereby ensuring their possible success will give back to the country in the form of payment of taxes. Another key feature of the proposal is that Caribbean governments who host and fund these programs would also gain an equity stake in each company.
Two women and two men seated at the table, my suggestions were greeted with a barrage of male laughter. The two men at the table felt that this was not nearly enough, perhaps not taking into consideration that in being responsible for providing the housing for the members of the accelerator/co-working space, one Caribbean government would be investing anywhere from $350,000USD-$500,000USD to get such a program off the ground.
Over the 6 weeks that would follow this discussion, I would spend copious amounts of time analyzing the questions asked by my counterparts as well as the reasons supporting their analysis that the idea would likely fail solely because the financial accelerant provided would not be enough. I would also spend copious amounts of time speaking to development practitioners about how I best feel we can use entrepreneurship as a tool for Caribbean Development.
At the end of my thoughts, I remained confident that while the proposal currently excluded companies seeking larger capital investments, that it would fill a need. At the end of my thoughts I recognized that common to the pushback was the comparison of American ecosystems to that of the ones in the Caribbean. It became clear to me that a huge part of our struggle to create a functioning and robust ecosystem for Caribbean Entrepreneurs is our desire to pattern it after Silicon Valley. At the end of my thoughts I had highlighted three things that we need to rethink if we are concerned with developing a successful Caribbean Entrepreneurial ecosystem – one tailored to the unique constraints encountered in the region; one founded on the understanding that the Caribbean is not Silicon Valley and it shouldn’t try to be.
1. Defining Our Success
Many of us have read on the vastness of the wealth of the “successful ones” out of Silicon Valley. They’re valued in the millions and billions. Perhaps what we’ve read has begun to influence how we define success, because in the Caribbean we typically define a successful company as one where at least one of the shareholders is a millionaire. But how realistic is this if the solution provided is one that will address specific Caribbean problems?
A successful Caribbean company does not necessarily mean a million-dollar company. A successful Caribbean company may be one banking $50,000USD or $250,000USD in profits every year. If you ask me, a successful Caribbean company is one which seeks to solve the region’s problems in efficient ways while maintaining financial sustainability.
Am I saying that Caribbean companies should not seek million dollar valuations?
Absolutely not!
I have personal goals of becoming a millionaire, so my aim here is not to discourage anyone from the attainment of that goal. My aim here is to help Caribbean Entrepreneurs consider what drives their definition of success. Is it financial profit or impact and value?
This is important because our narrative around what a successful company is has fueled a narrative of its own “Think Global”. We now tell entrepreneurs not to look to serve only the Caribbean market if they want to be successful. This is problematic because more than anything else the Caribbean Entrepreneurial ecosystem should be seen as an ally to the Caribbean’s development. When it is viewed that way, the reality becomes that some companies will spring up to solve problems that are unique and exclusive to the Caribbean. When it is viewed through these lenses it becomes clear that every Caribbean company CANNOT scale to meet global needs. And there is nothing wrong with that.
2. Seeking Large Injections of Capital Investment
One of the most cited success stories about incubator/accelerator programs is Y-Combinator. Today, Y-Combinator has a competitive entry process and gives selected entrants a $120,000USD financial accelerant. What most people don’t know is that Y-Combinator did not start off giving $120,000USD. They started off giving $10,000USD. As the program grew in stature and success, many investors wanted to become a part of the movement in Silicon Valley and thus made more funds available.
When I made my simple suggestion, one of the young men at the table countered that he had needed much more than what I was offering and that the amount I was offering would not even assist him in getting his company off the ground. I was curious. I had knowledge of the costs it entailed to set up a company like his so I asked how much he needed to get his company off the ground. When he dropped a bomb of the amount that he thought he needed to just get his company off the ground – $15,000XCD – I was flabbergasted.
To some people, this is not a large amount of money. And it really is not a superior amount. But to me, relative to what it was being used for, it is. Also, I think I was more shaken that I could have outlined how he could have started the very same company with a little less than $2,000USD even without the team of experts that would come attached to the $2000USD that I was offering.
His approach to getting his company off the ground – not lean – had me evaluating why and what we seek large capital investments for. The reality is that many Caribbean companies seek more investment than they could possibly know what to do with not because they need it, but because they are following the rules of an ecosystem which has said that this is the way to go.
In the Caribbean context seeking Large Injections of Capital Investment usually means one of two things:
i. Pressure on Caribbean governments and agencies to fund Opulence as Opposed to Development
ii. Great Dependence on the Benevolence of Foreign Investors and Venture Capitalists
I’m opposed to both.
I believe that Caribbean governments are responsible for creating an environment where Caribbean companies can thrive. But I am often vocal in my opposition to the pressure that local entrepreneurs place on them to find and funnel large capital investments into local companies and events. Often these large injections of capital per business are not needed but they’re requested simply because we’re looking to pattern an ecosystem that does not fit our cultural, economic and political realities.
As it concerns the courted intrusion of Foreign Investors and Venture Capitalists both by governments and private entities, I could not be more opposed. There could not be a greater travesty to our development as a region. Amongst the many implications of this is that we are setting Caribbean companies up for failure, but I think the most poignant to be that this approach embraces everything unsustainable about development.
What, pray tell, do I mean by this?
Caribbean Entrepreneurs currently speak a lot of the sustainable development goals and how their companies aid in the attainment of these goals. However, through various discussions, I’ve noted that most Caribbean entrepreneurs define sustainable development simply as “development able to meet the needs of now”. The way in which they define this concept is important because the way in which they define it largely directs the quality and quantity of capital investment which they seek. It also largely supports their reasoning – steeped in opulence – for why they’re seeking such large investments.
When I or most development practitioners speak of sustainable development we do not define it simply as “development able to meet the needs of now” or even “development able to meet the needs of 5 years from now.” We define sustainable development as “development able to meet the needs of now without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
When we say generation, we’re talking about at least 30 years from “now”. This means that in the context of development when evaluating the sustainability of a project, proposal or approach we need to consider how these actions affect our region now, but also how they will affect our region at least 30 years from “now”.
So how do I see large capital investments from foreign investors and venture capitalists affecting us?
Investment is ownership. Whether or not we want to admit it, investors and venture capitalists inject capital in exchange for ownership of something: our land, cheaper labor, shares in our companies, and in some instances, political power. Because of our position within the international system, the Caribbean is more often – if ever not – in a position of weakness when coming to the negotiation table. Even when it comes to private negotiations, if you’re a small Caribbean company not owned by Butch Stewart or Massy, you’re very likely in a position of weakness when coming to the negotiation table. As such, we’re often giving large pieces of land at low costs, under-priced labor, and too many shares in our companies in exchange for the large capital investments that we ask.
And no, we do not have the ability to predict the future, but we do have tools and means of evaluation which can give us an estimate of how certain actions and policies can affect us. With our current approach to building the ecosystem – seeking large injections of capital investment from foreign investors and venture capitalists – it is not far-fetched to say that within the next 30 years, we would have limited the ability of future generations to own land and to own homes. We are leasing large pieces of land at next to nothing to entities that can afford to pay top dollar for them. As such, we are limiting the availability of land in the face of rising demand, and thus pushing the prices of land up; up to a point where most locals cannot afford it. I can see that 30 years from now, the lion share of the profits – the majority of the region’s wealth – would be leaving the region to go back to some economic powerhouse, funneled through their investors and venture capitalists. I can see that using our current approach, 30 years from now, not unlike the plantation system, Caribbean people would have again found themselves producing for the profit of some metropole. Then again, has this ever not been a part of our identity?
I believe that the time will come where Caribbean entrepreneurs can seek large capital investments from foreign investors and venture capitalists while simultaneously controlling the narrative but I don’t think that the time is just yet. As of now, we don’t hold the power necessary to dictate terms. I believe that the way forward – if we want to be owners of a brand of development that is sustainable – is for this generation of entrepreneurs to bite the bullet and to be content to develop at a rate which we can afford to develop at; be content to scale our companies at the rate which we can afford to.
The way forward is lean and sacrificial.
This article from Solomon Igori shows how at MEST, one of Africa’s leading accelerator programs, participants are given an equivalent of $4USD to successfully start a business. This group was able to convert it to a little over $173USD after three days.
3. The Exclusive Caribbean Entrepreneur Clique
A few weeks ago, one of my Facebook connections from Ghana shared this:
There is so much idol worship in Silicon Valley re: successful founders and investors. But there is a common denominator for success which is rarely addressed: Privilege.
Source: Eric Bahn, General Partner, and Co-Founder at Hustle Fund.*
I want to confess my own journey of success, as it relates to Privilege. My Korean parents were poor when they arrived in the US, seeking opportunities for their future kids. Upon immigrating, my father Germanized the spelling of our last name (B-A-H-N), with the rational that a white-sounding last name would open up opportunities. I think it has.
By the time I was born, my parents were doing very well. I never suffered their trauma of poverty. I lived in a big house and went to the best public schools. As a kid, I never felt like I was missing any resources. Partly because of my abundant resources, I was able to attend Stanford. Mom and Dad paid for that too, and I graduated with no debt. They even bought me a Honda after completing grad school! (I know, spoiled brat).
With my family safety net, great education, zero debt, economy car, and abundance mindset–I went forth into the world ready to take huge risks. Taking risks was easy and natural because I COULD AFFORD IT. Success followed. I’m not saying that I didn’t work hard throughout my journey, but Privilege was like a tailwind that seemed to accelerate my career. In Silicon Valley, Privilege seems more normal/common than not.
It feels like so many founders/investors here aren’t running the same race as regular people. If this were a 100-meter dash, we got a 40-meter head start while everyone else waits at the starting line. Our team HustleFundVC believes great founders look like anyone and come from anywhere–privileged or not. I’m starting to realize that Privilege should be an important factor in the assessment of founders.
By better understanding a founder’s personal journey, we should use that knowledge to tare how far along privileged/unprivileged founders should perform across an equal timeline. Founders with a lot of resources will naturally report more progress than founders who have very little resources, over the same period of time. Both still could be equally great in outcome over the long term.
I’m still thinking a lot about how to approach Privilege in Silicon Valley. As a starting point, I wish more people here would recognize it when discussing their ‘self-made’ success.
I love this piece because Eric Bahn shares something that we rarely ever think about when we cite Silicon Valley as “the” model: the privilege of the majority of its members. I’m also sharing it because it brings us to the next element: the exclusivity that I hope we renounce in our endeavors to build the Caribbean ecosystem.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Silicon Valley is America’s country club for entrepreneurs. It naturally excludes certain demographics and socio-economic groups and while many of these groups are fighting to change its composition, I see the builders of the Caribbean ecosystem rushing to and adopting similar exclusive approaches and attitudes to grow the Caribbean ecosystem.
If we want to build a robust ecosystem as quickly as possible, we need all hands on deck. The Caribbean is way too small for us to hog resources; skilled people, or the right connections. The Caribbean is way too small for us to have to deal with issues such as not being able to access the right people at the right time because of skin tone, gender or an unfamiliar last name. The Caribbean is way too small for our most successful to not purposely seek to – to not go out of their way to – mentor, aid or give a platform to those coming up. If we can rethink our approach to exclusivity – support for a mindset that is concerned with who will be the first crab out of the barrel – we would have remedied a large part of the difficulties we face in constructing a robust Caribbean entrepreneurial ecosystem.
As I conclude, I wish not to be seen as someone professing to know it all. I do believe that some of my proposals can be tweaked to provide even greater efficiency than what is currently inherent. Still, as a young Caribbean Entrepreneur keen on ensuring that we are creating and growing profitable companies without compromising sustainability – that we are raising entrepreneurs who are not just concerned with profit, but solutions – I hold firm in my assessments that rethinking these 3 key points will do well to grow a fruitful ecosystem.
Jason graduated university at the top of his class. He double-majored in History & Economics and was particularly interested in helping create developmental prescriptions for underdeveloped regions. He knew that there was a possibility that he wouldn’t get his dream job straight out of university, but two years in, he wasn’t expecting to be unemployed and concerned for what he would eat every day. This was a season of trouble and he was dreading it.
Most people, like Jason, are faced with a sense of dread when they hear the word, “trouble”. Trouble is not something that we embrace or want. These are hard times. These are uncomfortable times. These are times where our children are not doing well in school. These are times where we’re insecure about the way we look. These are times when our loved ones die. These are times when we can’t pay off our debts. These are times when everyone deserts us. These are troubling times.
But why do we so despise trouble? Is it because it is a bad thing?
A few weeks ago, I was doing my laundry downstairs our house. I was alone and my surroundings were quiet so I took the time as an opportunity to sit with my thoughts. I reflected on some of the difficulties that I was facing and had been facing since my exodus from university life in 2013. And I was like, “Man, I am so tired of this, God. When does this end?”
The voice of God swiftly responded to my complaints. It said, “I want you to change your perspective of trouble.”
At the word “trouble”, my mind’s eye was given an animation of a square-headed little nuisance. He jumped from place to place, gracing any and everyone with his unwanted presence. A woman was pouring ingredients into a bowl getting ready to whisk it into a beautiful consistency and before she could finish pouring in all of her eggs, he hopped unto the spoon and “troubled” the contents of the bowl. He stirred fiercely.
He jumped off the spoon and run out of the house. He was looking to impose his presence on some other unsuspecting people. As he run towards a car with a couple discussing what they were going to have for supper, he saw a puddle of water and kicked it with joy. He wouldn’t be trouble if he had not troubled that water. He then run towards the car with that unsuspecting couple. He shook the car with all of his might, leaving the couple startled and the car displaced.
The animation ended, but by the end of that little episode where I crazily chuckled and smiled to no one or anything, my understanding of trouble had been redefined. Still, as if to cement what he was bringing to my attention, God brought to my remembrance a passage of Scripture: John 5:1-4.
1After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
I was familiar with the passage and the reminder added clarity to what had been provided by the animation, but I felt like I needed to read it. I rushed upstairs to my room to grab my Bible. And there it was…
At the risk of having this read or sound like a typed out sermon, turn your attention to verse 3 with me. Note the state of people before the troubled thing; in this case, water. They were impotent, blind, halt and withered. And they were anticipating a move: a move of water; a move in the water.
By this point I was near speaking in tongues. I kid. But I was bubbling with excitement. I still didn’t want trouble and would take a pass on it if it was offered to me politely but I was beginning to understand it’s significance.
It’s significance was further heightened when God brought to my attention the significance of what was being troubled: water. I want you to think of water and its symbolism in the Bible. Water, even in secular circles is symbolic of life. Hold on to that symbolism. You’ll need it.
But anyhoo…
At this point, I was like, “Ok God. I hear you. I get you. My perspective is changing. I’m definitely expecting a great move or shift in my life. I want to go from poor to rich. I want to go from proud to humble. So I’m definitely like these people at the pool waiting for a move.” And then I hit verse 4.
Verse 4: Something happened which created the movement of water. The angel troubled the water.
What?
I said, the angel troubled the water.
Now, remember that symbolism that you were holding onto? Let’s make the conversion: The angel troubled life. The angel troubled your life.
At that point I wasn’t so excited anymore. I was like, “Ok God. I hear you. This trouble that I am experiencing is here to create that movement or shift in my life that I’m desiring and asking of you”. My face literally looked like a frowning smiley. But then he wasn’t done. He said, “One more thing. Look at what happened after the water – your life – is troubled.”
“…whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.”
Yup. After the water was troubled and the sick embraced it for what it was, they rushed to step into it, and there was a conversion. Those who were impotent became powerful. Those who were blind gained vision, those who were halt gained movement and those who were withered became upright and alive again.
My excitement peaked again.
In applying this understanding of trouble to my life, I was encouraged to embrace troubled times. I was encouraged to see them for what they really are. I was encouraged to see them as moments that would provide clarity in my vision and fuel for my movement. I was encouraged to see them as moments that would provide a surge of power in my life; moments that would see me upright in my faith where I had withered. I learnt that there was virtue in trouble.
July 23, 2016
When The King Doesn’t Show Up: How Game 3 of the 2016 NBA Finals Caused Me To Re-evaluate My Relationship With God
onUncategorizedThe past few weeks I’ve spent perhaps too many hours of my time embroiled in serious trash talk on Facebook. It was NBA playoff season. Need I say more?
Lebron James, affectionately called King James, is one of my favorite basketball players. Physically, he is a beauty to behold. A man of his size is perhaps better suited to the clashing associated with American football. Nevertheless, he’s managed to carry all of this to the basketball court and when he hits the paint, he’s simply unstoppable. Still, Lebron has yet to leave the mark that many, like me, expected him to leave.
On Friday evening as the Golden State Warriors beat the Cavs on their own court to move to a very favorable 3–1 lead, I shook my head.
I shook my head because for another year I felt that Lebron James had disappointed me. I shook my head because for another year I felt like the King had not shown up.
I shook my head because I knew that for the rest of the night, I was about to be the recipient of some of the most scathing taunts by friends and acquaintances who simply couldn’t stand Lebron James.
Just as I expected, the taunts came in.
One.
By.
One.
One of the taunts encouraged me to turn away from Lebron because he had been such a disappointment; such a letdown. To this, I responded that he was still King in my palace. My loyalty to this man that I’d NEVER met was astounding.
And then it got me thinking. How do I behave when I find myself in a place where God doesn’t show up
Would my response carry the same brand of loyalty that it did when I spake of a mere human being?
I am in a season in my life where I am questioning many of the things that I had been taught about Christianity and God.
I’m in a season where I accept things exactly as they are.
I’m in a season where I’ve moved away from sugarcoating things for the sake of creating a more palatable pill out of the God that I serve.
I’ve learned to accept that no matter the outcome, he is God.
When I was growing up, I was told that God always shows up. He always answers. He’s always there. Yet, in my personal experience, I’ve sometimes felt that I was deserted. I’ve sometimes felt like God didn’t show up for me. I’ve learned that these feelings are valid. But I’ve also learned that there is something more important than these feelings. What’s even more important is how I deal with these feelings.
I’ve had experiences where I felt strongly that God had spoken to me and led me in a particular direction. I was so excited about these moments that I shared them. But the end result didn’t always match my expectations.
I’ve had experiences where people with lots of life left to live and lots of impact left to give were suddenly taken from me and I felt that I couldn’t justify God’s Kingship. In some of these moments, people taunted me and mockingly asked me, “Where is Your God?”
My responses weren’t always the right ones. But I’m conscious now. So in the state of my consciousness, I wonder: When people ask me, “Where is your God?” will I still stand boldly and declare that he is still the King of My Palace; still the King of My Heart?
My experience this playoff season has taught me to say, no matter the circumstance, that God is God. If I can still see the greatness in a mere man when time and time again he has not met my expectations how can I not teach myself to see the all-powerful, all-knowing God with these very same eyes?
How can I not teach myself to see God with these very same eyes when he is faithful to work out all things for my good?
When did we become God?
When did we come into the arrogance that causes us to believe that we can speak to the morning or the day and cause it to be what we say it should be?
One of the things that our generation does best is to minimize the sovereignty of God. We have suddenly come into a knowledge of all of this power, but it is a power not guided by the bounds of humility. It is a power that exalts itself above the sovereignty of God.
Where is our humility?
Where is our submission to the will and desires of God?
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luke 10:19 (KJV)
If there is one thing that I’ve gathered it is that the power that God has given unto us as human beings through his son Jesus Christ is not for the sake of dictating or commanding the matters and elements that He has expressly stated are within His control and His control alone. Power has been given unto us to trample the works of the enemy and to destroy the kingdom of darkness. We have not been given a power that is in the same measurement as the power of God. From that, we know that we do not even own an iota of the power necessary to command our morning or our dog’s morning for that matter.
But Chadia, This is in the Bible
Where?
You mean Job 38?
Let us look at this portion of Scripture that men have so shamelessly convoluted.
Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!’
12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
Job 38 captures a conversation between God and Job. God is in shock that a measly human being would question Him about what He has and hasn’t allowed. Job, in his calamity, began to adopt a posture of arrogance and irreverence to God. It is somewhat understandable. The man had lost everything, he was riddled with sickness and he just couldn’t seem to find an answer for the question of why he was experiencing the things that he was experiencing. But even then God found it necessary to come down and to humble him by asking him a series of questions that would force him to once again recognize the power and sovereignty that ONLY He, GOD, possessed.
The only answers that Job could have given to the questions found in Job Chapter 38 are, “You, God. No one, but You God.”
When God asked Job whether he had commanded the morning it wasn’t a prescription to the troubles that Job was facing. He wasn’t by any means saying to Job, “Have you commanded the morning? If you had, you wouldn’t experience what you just experienced here. If you had commanded the morning your day would have gone exactly as you told it to.”
God was saying, “Job, I am God. You have not done anything that I have done (including commanding the morning) nor can you do anything that I have done. I am God alone. I am in a class all by myself. Know that. Understand that. Know that I have control of every single thing in this universe.”
Girl, I don’t know what you’re going on about but you’re tripping. I’ve tried this and it works for me.
Yes. It works for you. But you are paying attention to the results and not how the results have been attained. This is not about what works. This is about whether what works for you is in accordance with the will and Word of God. This is not simply a matter of accomplishing a desired goal. It is also a matter of how you accomplish this goal.
Take for example two men who have set out to become millionaires. In the end, they both accomplished their goals. One peddled drugs on the corner, the other started off as a janitor and built his own cleaning company up from scratch. They both achieved the same result but do we not care about how the result was achieved?
Umm… this whole sovereignty thing. Where does free will come in? Will God not do anything that I desire?
“A sovereign God could be a dictator (God is not). Or a sovereign could abdicate the use of his powers (God has not). Ultimately God is in control of all things, though He may choose to let certain events happen according to natural laws which He has ordained.”
Charles Ryrie
The understanding of the sovereignty of God is a point that should bring us to reverence. It is not a point that seeks to force us to believe that our will or our desires have absolutely no standing. When we desire something from God, we go to Him in humility. When we desire to see God move in our favor and in alignment with our desires we go to Him in humility.
It is not God that we go to in power. We go to the Kingdom of darkness in power. We command, we dictate and we will it to come into alignment with what we desire to see: its destruction. We speak to demons and they should obey us. We speak to sickness and we are right to expect it to submit to the power that God has given to us. This is the realm where we are meant to exercise our power in Jesus Christ. We should NEVER be so arrogant as to extend into the matters that God has not given under our control.
One more thing. Didn’t Joshua Command the sun to stand still?
“12 On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to theLord in front of all the people of Israel. He said,
“Let the sun stand still over Gibeon,
and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.”
Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar[b]? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day.[c] 14 There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!” – Joshua 10:12-14 (NLT)
No matter what version you read it in, you come to an understanding that it was really God who made the sun stand still. No matter what version you read it in, it is clear that before the sun stood still at Joshua’s request that he prayed to God. This command came ONLY after Joshua’s request. The sun is in God’s jurisdiction. ONLY God had the power to command it to do anything and God did just that at Joshua’s request. I love how the King James Version puts verse 14. It says, “and there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.”
Even then we see a pattern about the power given unto us as human beings and the use of that power. We see that this display of power that Joshua prayed for (humility), was delivered for the defeat of the enemy.
So… Command Your Morning?
The Theology behind “Command Your Morning” is dangerous. It cripples Christians. It forces us to ignore the power of the SOVEREIGN God that we serve. It makes us incapable of dealing with the calamities of life in a way that NEVER diminishes God. It forces us to believe that our POWER is so grand as to do what God has expressly said in his word that only he can do. It forces us into a place of complacency that says that we are the ones in charge of every single aspect of our lives.
From this post I want you to take the following:
1. God is sovereign
2. Power has been given unto us to defeat the enemy and the Kingdom of Darkness; not to design our lives.
3. We are not to approach God in power. He is always to be approached in humility.
4. God is sovereign 😀
It’s 2:57 am and I can’t sleep. God has placed some things of great significance on my heart as it pertains relationships and emotions and how these things affect Christian men and women. I am a 22-year-old Christian woman. I have never been in a relationship. My lips remain untouched. I am a virgin. Yet, I am not owner to that sense of wholeness and purity that should come with my chaste status. During the past couple of weeks, I spent some time talking to God about that nagging feeling that stalked me; that feeling said, “Chadia, being a virgin isn’t enough.” For others, it would read that being celibate isn’t enough. I found out that there was great merit to this uncomfortable feeling and the disconcerting thought which it bred, and I will share with you why.
I’ve never been in a relationship, but I’m not exactly the type of woman who shies away from men. I shy away from relationships, but not men. My personality is one that revels in winning. As such, I became a master of the game. I enjoyed mind games and the sense of conquest that came with them, and the man who was the quintessential flirt was my perfect prey. I took pleasure in my ability to make a man fall, but remain detached. By the time I was 17, I had read so many books that explained the psychology of the man in contrast to the psychology of the woman that I had gleaned an understanding of men, well beyond my years. I understood things about them that they themselves were yet to become aware of. What I thought was fun, would taint something that I deemed very valuable: my purity.
In the Christian realm we often view purity as something having to do only with the physical; only as it pertains to sex. But I am fast learning that emotional integrity is a big part of purity. God started to reveal to me how we as young men and women give off pieces of ourselves to others who are not our spouses. As a young woman, I shouldn’t be doing for another man what only my husband should experience. Too many men have experienced the care and affection that only my husband should experience, too many men have heard me say words that only my husband should hear, and too many men have received the affirmation that only my husband should receive. Too many men have seen and experienced the power behind the woman that I am; the power that only my husband should experience. As a young man, too many women should not have experienced the care and affection that only your wife should experience, too many women should not have heard you say the words that only your wife should hear, and too many women should not have received the affirmation that only your wife should receive.
When you’re young, armed with knowledge but not enough wisdom, the attachment (the individual to you) that comes with giving away these pieces of yourself deceives you into believing that you are in a position of power. You believe that these other people are getting hurt, but you have it under control. Trust me when I say that you have told yourself a big lie. To young women, I say to you that you are compromising your emotional wholeness, which is unfair to both you and your future husband. To young men, I say to you that your are compromising your emotional wholeness which is unfair both to you and your future wife. We become nothing but robots of the game. The game was not created for us. We are Christians. It is not ours to play.
I asked myself if God allowed me to meet my husband today, would I be in a place of emotional integrity that he is worthy of? How many men am I emotionally attached to? How many “friends” do I need to redefine my relationship with? Will I be able to love him as I should? Would I be as open as I could be? How unfair would it be to him, that another man has experienced what is his? This is why I say that we simply become robots of the game. All my game-playing has left me in a place of emotional brokenness. I shouldn’t be afraid to become attached to someone if he is serious about me, and has created an atmosphere of trust and comfort, but I am. I shouldn’t be afraid to share certain things with someone if he has created an atmosphere of trust and comfort, but I am. It is important to guard one’s heart, but mine is in a maximum security prison.
Despite still having some unattached pieces from the puzzle of emotional wholeness and integrity, God has allowed me to put many of the pieces back together again. I don’t flirt anymore. It is a dangerous and unfair game. I watch how I give compliments. There is a compliment and then there is the deliberate stroking of the ego. I understand that it is not my job to make a man who is not my husband or intended husband feel like he is Superman. You affirm a man too much, he either becomes attached if he’s not averse to the idea of a relationship or runs if he is averse. Affirmation is a powerful thing to a man, and if you can make him feel like he’s Superman he also recognizes that you can become his kryptonite; meaning he recognizes that you are a force to be taken seriously. I’ve learnt to set boundaries, and I’ve learnt to ask questions. I ask from the get-go what a man’s intentions are where I’m concerned. If you are not serious about me, then we shouldn’t be having certain conversations, we shouldn’t be sharing certain jokes and information, and you probably shouldn’t be taking me out to nice, cozy dinners and giving me gifts. I’ve also taken note of the things that I value. I understand that giving gifts is a big part of how I demonstrate love, so I don’t give gifts to all and sundry. It may be a normal way of life to the man, but to me, it’s a big deal, and somewhat alters the way I feel about an individual.
I don’t know how to guide a young man along the path of emotional integrity, but I can say this: I believe that God has called the young men in the body to stand apart from the young men of the world. They stand apart by understanding that their rightful place is the place of leadership. They stand apart by understanding that theirs is a role of protection, and subsequently demonstrating this comprehension by guarding and protecting the emotions of the young women with whom they interact. They stand apart by operating in integrity when pursuing a woman in the body. Gentlemen, it makes absolutely no sense pursuing women when you know that settling down is afar off for you. It is not your job to flatter a young woman that you have no intention of taking seriously, and you should feel absolutely no guilt about it. It doesn’t matter how much you say that we are “just friends”. If your mouth is saying one thing but your actions are saying another, the woman will most likely go with what you are doing. Do not be alarmed that even after you’ve said a million times that we are just friends that a woman falls for you if you’re treating her like only someone who is her man should.
My eyes have become heavy, and the clacking sound of the keys of my keyboard is no longer appealing. I have church in a few hours, but I would hope that this post would open the discourse on emotional integrity amongst young men and women of God and even those who are in the world. After all, he came that we would all have life more abundantly. I’m off for now. And it is possible that you will hear more on this topic from me. Shalom!
I wrote this blog post at 22 years old, and truth be told I was unprepared for the barrage of emails and comments it would receive. I’ve since followed it up with a book that attempts to answer the many questions that I received. You can pick up a copy of Being A Virgin Isn’t Enough by clicking on HERE.