Author: Pastor J.O. Lawal

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 49

“About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’” (Matthew 20:6-7NIV)

Who went out in the evening and found some people standing around and doing nothing all day long? It was a landowner that was hiring people to work in his vineyard.But why would this man go out about 5pm looking for people to work for him? What volume of work could anyone that he hired at that time possibly do for him?

Well, as the account goes, the man did what he did for two main reasons. First, he did it because the work to be done in his vineyard was enormous, but those available to do the work were few. Yes, he had gone out a number of times that same day to bring in people to work for him. But it was evident that all the people he hired were not enough or would not work hard enough to finish that day’s job. And since he did not want anything to be left undone that day, he made a quick decision to go out again and bring in more workers, even if they would only be able to work for one hour.His second reason for doing so was to show his generosity to anyone that would position himself for it.

As our Lord Jesus, who shared the story made clear, when the man was going to pay all the people that worked for him that day, he gave all of them the same amount. And that actually upset those that he first brought in to work for him. They were upset because they thought it unfair to be paid the same amount as those who worked for only one hour.The man, however, told them that he wasn’t being unfair to them at all. That was because he paid them what they had agreed that morning to collect from him. Then, as he equally pointed out to them, he paid those who came in last the same amount as he paid them because he wanted to be generous to them. And could anyone fairly accuse him of being wrong by being generous to those people? No! (Cf. Matt 20:8-15)

But then, what put those workers who worked only for one hour in that position where they were able to enjoy that man’s generosity? Perseverance! How? Again, as we see in the account, these people came out that day as others did hoping that someone would hire them to work. Unfortunately, nobody was willing to hire them.

Now, having waited for few hours that day, they could have gone back home, discouraged and sad. But they did not. Instead, they stayed where they were, still hoping that someone would come around and hire them. And they stayed like that till the evening, not giving in to discouragement but still hopeful. That was perseverance. And it eventually paid off for them.How did it pay off for them? First, it enabled them to secure a job that same day and to get paid for what they did. So, they did not go home empty-handed.

Also, it positioned them to be beneficiaries of the generosity of the man that hired them. He gave them the full wages for a day’s job, something they did not merit at all. This, of course, is teaching us that perseverance pays.

The reason favour has been eluding some people is that they won’t persevere in doing anything. They will not persevere in handling their studies for excellence. They will not persevere in handling their business or in getting a good job, so that they can improve the quality of their living. Once things are not going their way, they will readily give up and not persevere or endure at all. Therefore, when favour shows up, it will not meet them where they are supposed to be and doing what they are supposed to be doing.

So, it will elude them.Now my prayer is that God’s favour for salvation, promotion or enlargement will never elude you again. But then, you need to learn to persevere in whatever you are doing. Things will not always go as you want them to go in life. But as long as you are on the right track and doing the right thing, persevere and don’t quit or give up. That is because God will show up for you at the right time, even when you think it is late, and cause His favour to rest upon you.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2026, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 47

“I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men!” (Eccl 1:12-13NIV)

Who is speaking here? King Solomon. And what point is he making to us? It is that of the need for us to learn to apply our minds to the various issues of our lives, if the wisdom of God will find expression in us as it should.Solomon, as we know through the bible, was blessed by God with unusual wisdom and breadth of understanding. He was so wise that people all over the world came to speak with him and to learn from him. Look at some of the things said about him in the bible:“He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.” (1Kings 4:32-34NIV)

How was Solomon able to do all the things mentioned in the text above and even more? Was it just because God gave him great wisdom and understanding? No! The reason was that he applied his mind to think and to explore things. In other words, he made it his business to put his mind to work. And it was as he did so that he found the wisdom and understanding that God had given to him at work in awesome ways.

In like manner, until we also learn to put our minds to work, until we learn to apply our minds to study, observe and explore the matters of our lives, the wisdom of God will not find expression in us as it ought to. Yes, we may be praying earnestly to God for wisdom. But until we start applying our minds to think, plan, investigate, examine and explore things in life, wisdom will not find expression in our lives as it should, even though we have wisdom greater than that of Solomon.What was the problem with the servant that buried the talent that his master gave him? It was that of unwillingness to put his mind to work. That man would not apply his mind at all to see how he could profit with the talent he had been given. So, whatever measure of wisdom that he had in him could not function to take him to higher heights of usefulness in life. (Cf. Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27)

Now that servant may even have possessed greater wisdom than the other servants. But of what use is wisdom that won’t work? We too may possess greater wisdom than many people around us. But unless that wisdom is at work in taking us to great heights of fruitfulness and usefulness, it will be nothing but a waste. And the only way whatever measure of wisdom that God has given to us will profit our lives and our world is for us to learn to put our minds to work.So, instead of sitting down in poverty, shame or distress, begin to apply your mind to think of how to move from where you are to where you should be.

Yes, there is a need for us to also continually pray to God to fill you with wisdom, knowledge and understanding to do what is right with your life and circumstances. But His wisdom, knowledge and understanding will not work in your life to make anything meaningful out of it for you, if you will not learn to use your head. Begin to use your head, then. Begin to apply our mind to think of how to use the challenges and opportunities of your life to your advantage. Yes, you will find doing so to be hard work. But this kind of hard work will pay you handsomely in life. So, get started with it right away. See you at the top.

Copyright © 2026, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 46

“Show proper respect to everyone…” (1Peter 2:17NIV)

What is Peter’s main instruction to us in our opening text? It is that we are to show proper respect to everyone. That means there is no one that doesn’t deserve to be respected.

Actually, many of us hardly find it hard to respect those who are older than us, who are senior to us at work or in school, who are occupying more important positions than us in life, who are far richer than us or who appear to be more serious in spiritual things than us. But when we are dealing with those that we consider to be inferior to us in any way, we don’t want to treat them with respect. And that is because we don’t see them as deserving our respect.But the Spirit of God through Peter is telling us that everyone in this life deserves respect, to one degree or the other. What we need to learn, as we deal with each person that comes our way, is how to properly respect them without putting ourselves down.

So, even if someone is not up to your class, according to human standards, you should still see him as deserving to be respected. That is because even though you may appear to be better or greater than him in all ways, according to human standards, he is still a human being that has been created in the image of God. And for that reason alone, you ought to relate to him with respect. (Cf. Gen 1:26-28; James 3:9-10)

In addition, it will be hard, if not impossible, to find someone in this life that you are better or greater than in all ways. That is because there will always be something others have that you don’t have. Therefore, they also deserve to be respected by you.

For example, even though Jesus Christ is Lord over all the creation of God, He still showed proper respect to the various people He related to in life. As we are shown in the bible, He showed proper respect to His parents, being submissive to them (Luke 2:51). Also, when certain people came to collect the temple tax from Him and Peter, He showed them respect by paying, even though it was not something He should be paying as Lord over everything. Why? It was because He knew that doing so would not diminish Him in any way; it would not change His status as the Lord of everyone and everything. (Cf. Matt 17:24-27)

In like manner, showing people adequate respect will not diminish you in life; it will not stop you from being who and whatever God has already made you. Rather, it will open more and greater doors for God’s favour and honour for you. Also, by doing so other people can learn humility from you.When Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, once came to visit him in his palace, he got up from his throne to pay her respect. Did that change his status as a great and powerful king? No! Also, when Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, came to pay him a visit in the wilderness, he went to meet him and bowed down to greet him. And did that diminish him in any way? Did it change his status as a great prophet of God? No! (Cf. Ex 18:5-7; 1Kings 2:19)

Therefore, wherever you are or go, learn to treat those you meet with respect. You may not know much about people when interacting with them. But by showing them some respect in the way you address and relate to them, you may just be laying a foundation for a better future relationship with them.

That way, if you should later find them to be higher than you in life, according to human standards, you will not be sorry that you did not treat them well on your first encounter. Or else, your apology may not be able to change their minds about you. And if they should be the ones to find out that you are higher than them in life, based on human classifications, they will be readily willing to show you respect, learning humility from you.So, don’t let it distress you to show people, old or young, rich or poor and known or unknown, proper respect. It won’t diminish you. It will only raise your value before God and man.

Copyright © 2026, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 45

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” (Proverbs 13:20NIV) Who is talking to us in our opening bible text? It is Solomon. And what is his instruction to us? it is that we should walk with the wise. In other words, we are to make wise people our companions.Now why do we need to do that? Why do we need to make wise people our companions?

According to Solomon, it is one of the ways to become wise. And as he further points out, if we ignore this instruction and decide to choose fools as our companions, we are bound to suffer one form of harm or the other. It is only a matter of time.But then, we must also understand that walking with wise people will not necessarily make us wise. It is our purpose of walking with them and our attitude towards learning from them that will determine whether our walk with them will result in our becoming wise or not.

What I am saying is that we have to be intentional in choosing to walk with wise people. That means we must intentionally look out for people that are truly wise around us that we can walk or fellowship with. Doing that in itself will be wisdom on our part. But it has to be done because there is no guarantee that wise people will freely flow into our lives. And where wise people are not readily around us to walk with, we had better begin to look elsewhere for companionship.Also, apart from being purposeful about choosing wise people as our companions, we also need to be purposeful about learning from them ways of wisdom. Otherwise, though we walk with them for decades, we will still not be wise.

Rehoboam, for instance, lived with his father Solomon for a number of years before he became king in his place. Yet he did not demonstrate wisdom at all but foolishness at the beginning of his reign. Why? His focus was most likely not on learning ways of wisdom from his father but on some other things. What other things? We are not told what they might be in the account. Perhaps his focus was just on becoming the next king after his father or on pleasure or on his father’s wealth.At any rate, though Rehoboam had a very rare privilege of being the son of Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived on earth before Jesus came, and also of living with him, he did not learn much wisdom from him. That was because he was not intentional about learning wisdom from him. So, he ended up having fools as his companions and suffering terribly for it. (Cf. 1Kings 12; 2Chro 10)

Now we too can expect to suffer terribly in life, if our companions are fools. And if we don’t want that, we had better begin to intentionally look out for the wise people among all the people in our lives that we will choose as our companions or counsellors. And once we recognise them, we should begin to take every righteous step that will make it possible for us to walk with them and also learn from them. Then perhaps we already have some of such people as our companions, we should not make the mistake of wasting the opportunity we have to learn from them by focussing our attention on less important things like pleasure, riches or positions in our relationships with them. Otherwise, even if we gain these things through our relationships with them, we, like Rehoboam, will still lose them at some point for our lack of wisdom. So, let us mind ourselves.

Copyright © 2026, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 44

“Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.” (1Sam 16:19-20NIV)

Why did Jesse send gifts to King Saul, as we see in our opening text? It was to appreciate him for choosing his son to be his personal musician in the palace. So, the gifts were not sent to bribe him to take David in as his musician but to appreciate him for already doing so.But why did he have to appreciate Saul in that manner? At least, David was chosen to serve him because he was highly skilful in playing the harp. He must actually have been the best in doing so in the country at the time.

Nevertheless, if the king, for any reason, had refused to have him, what would he have done? Nothing! Or if some of the officials of the king had decided to mess the selection process up and chosen someone less worthy of the service, what would David and his father have done? Nothing!So, even though David was chosen on merit, his father was still wise enough to know that he was supposed to appreciate the king for choosing him. And while we are not told in clear terms how King Saul responded to that show of appreciation, we are told from the account that he actually went on to like David very much. He, in fact, so liked him that he sent word to his father to allow him to remain permanently in his service. (Cf. 1Sam 16:21-22)

What, then, is this teaching us? It is that we must learn to recognise where appreciation is needed and give it. For many of us, it is only when people have given us or done for us something we don’t deserve that we think of the need to appreciate them. Therefore, we may not see the need to show appreciation where we think we deserve or are entitled to have what is coming to us. This is why we usually don’t show enough appreciation to our parents, husbands, wives, children, brethren or leaders in the church and other people that are close to us. We think we deserve or are entitled to whatever they are doing to us or for us.

But even if you deserve or are qualified or entitled to have something, it may still not come to you. You may be denied it, robbed of it or cheated of it for various reasons. If you, then, have not been denied what you are qualified or entitled to have, you should first be thankful to God for delivering it to you. Also, you should do whatever you can to appreciate anyone that He may have used in making that thing yours. That is because you may not be able to say what other doors of goodness doing so may open for you.

Finally, if someone that has gotten something on merit has enough sense to appreciate those used by God to secure that thing for him, you who are receiving whatever you are not qualified or entitled to have should know that you have no excuse for being lacking in appreciation.

So, learn to appreciate those God is using to lift you up or to open doors of prosperity to you, not just with words of mouth but also with meaningful gifts, however little those gifts may be. This is not bribery. This is appreciation. And if bribes can make people go out of their way to twist situations and systems, imagine what genuinely shown appreciation can do in setting things right.

Therefore, whether you deserve that good thing coming to you or not, recognise where to show appreciation for it and show it. May God continually fill you with the wisdom to do the right thing, as far as this matter is concerned. Amen.

Copyright © 2026, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)