RECOGNISE THE VAMPIRES!

Sometimes ago, I read about the life history of Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great. Herod the Great was the Herod that ordered the killing of infants at Bethlehem when he heard of a child (Jesus Christ) that was born to be king in the future. According to the story, Herod Antipas was legally married to the daughter of a very powerful king— Aretas the king of Arabia Petræa.

Herod Antipas later in life married a second wife named Herodias. Herodias was formally the wife of Herod Philip- Herod Antipas half-brother. In those days, Herod Philip (also known as Herod Philip I) became inconsequential because of his mother’s treachery. He was excluded from all shares in his father's possessions, and lived afterward in a private station. As a result of his condition, his wife, Herodias left him to marry his brother Herod Antipas.

Herodias was a cancer in the life history of the Herod family! She left the broke Herod for another powerful Herod; an unlawful union that began the fall of Herod Antipas.

The moment Herodias entered the life of Antipas, like a cancer, she began to have negative influences with negative results in the life of Herod Antipas!

The fall of Herod Antipas started with the murder of John the Baptist under the influence of Herodias. John was against the marriage of Herodias and Antipas and described it as illegal. Though, Herod would have had John killed before Herodias influence, but he feared the people knowing that John was regarded as a prophet. 

As a result of Herodias marriage, Aretas (father of Herod Antipas first wife) was annoyed for his daughter’s sage and invaded Herod Antipas territory. History has it that Aretas was able to defeat Herod with a great loss because of the murder of John the Baptist- an offense committed by Herod due to the influence of his new wife Herodias.

As if the damage Herodias has caused Herod was not enough, at a later time, the ambition of Herodias proved the cause of her husband's ruin. She urged him to go to Rome to gain the title of king, but he was opposed at the court of Caligula by the emissaries of Agrippa, and condemned to perpetual banishment. Herod Antipas died in exile.

What an end to the life of a king! 

The lesson

The lesson is to be careful with Herodias descendants! Be wary about Herodias sons and Daughters! They are who I prefer to call vampires that suck life out of other fellow human beings. They can be in form of friends, relatives, boss, etc.

Recognize the vampires! How?

By their attributes! Vampires

·         Are those who want to get favour from you at all cost even when it means your ruin!

·         Are those who encourage or embrace you when you do evil!

·         Are those who belittle you, telling you, you can never make something out of life!

·         Are those who deny you of help at all cost!

Practical examples of  vampires

Illustration1:

Boy friend: baby, you I need the money urgently; it is just 2million! I know you can afford it.

Baby: you know I cannot raise that kind of money; how much is my salary, beside, the ones you have collected, you never pay back!

Boy Friend: ok ok! I will pay you back soon especially after you borrow me this money! Anything you can do now for me. Why don’t you sell your car which I know will not be up to the amount I requested, and …eh, but you can do something now! You are the bank manager! You can technically take the money without record! And return it when I pay you back.

Baby: are you telling me to steal!

……

Illustration 2:

Baba Taju: (came to greet mama Bisi her immediate sister in her house): Good evening Taibat (mama Bisi), how was the market?

Mama Bisi: Fine Jare bodami (my brother). Thank God you came! I was about to visit you at home so I can pay Bisi (her eldest daughter) WAEC exam money directly to you being the principal.

Baba Taju: (with an expression of disgust): mama Bisi! Why do you like to waste money on a girl! As a girl, let her go and marry, or who will train her up to the university? Use your small money for the male children; stop wasting money on something unimportant!

…….

Solution

If you have discovered you have a vampire around you, then the following are my suggestions

·         Learn how to say I cannot

·         Learn how to do without them

·         Learn how to lean on God

Thanks for reading; you can add other solutions or comments on my facebook page: or on this page of the blog.

Much Ado about Laws

Situations from time to time allow the law makers to make laws or review existing laws and principles in different countries. As an illustration, the atrocities committed by Dr Josef Mengele (nicknamed: Angel of Death), a Nazi physician who became infamous for performing human experiments on camp inmates including children during the second world war era brought about the Nuremberg codes of conducts for researchers and scientist. 

As the world gets older, laws and principles are reviewed, new laws are established that will take into consideration the present conditions and situations surrounding the laws.  

I wish that and I want to believe (as much as possible) that the principles on religion (which I respect) need to be reviewed in view of the prevailing circumstances! I wish laws will be adjusted for this generation. I wish these existing laws and principles of moral standards, of religion should be revisited to take into cognizance civilization, economic maladjustment, terrorism, global communication and many more!

What am I driving at? The Bible says marriage is honourable and the bed undefiled yet the conditions are not favourable. As a result of the economic situation, guys do not get married as early as 32 (majority, not a reliable data because it not based on research), ladies do not get marry as early as 28 (not a reliable data either).

Global melt down and economic situation especially of the 3^rd world countries have turned everything upside down. Men are occupied, looking for avenues to be productive; women are busy praying for husbands. Now husbands are not scarce, responsible husbands do, that is the situation of the present society and yet we are to obey laws in the face of changing reality, does that sound justified? 

Some people are killing others, a situation that ushered in new vocabularies such as terrorism and yet, the law of moral standard, the laws I believed in said love your neighbor as yourself, who is my neighbor? The last time I checked, I was told it could be that man who killed my friend in the northern part of Nigeria! I was told love your enemies also. When Jesus informed his followers (the full steps of those I presume following) to love their enemies, he did not categorize the enemies based on their offences.

On no account was it written in the laws you can steal or ‘tap’ if you are holding a political position especially in Nigeria despite the fact that people, even your immediate family will curse you if you are not taking or sharing the national cake. If you can steal for yourself, without sharing, people will still respect you; even your immediate family will say ‘raka dede’ as the northerners express their respect for the rich. If you did not share and you did not steal for yourself, people will call you bastard, the majority of those you represented while you were in office will withdraw their respect! They expect you to steal but not to get caught, and yet thou shall not steal!

I will pour out my heart

Do you know why people indulge in hypocrisies? Do you know why some self proclaimed Clerics; Pastors, Imams, Reverends, indulge in so much atrocities ranging from adulteries, to corruption, occultism, rapes, human right violation and other felonies?

From my point of view, these self proclaimed clerics were forced by the changing reality of the present global conditions of unemployment, economic downturn, and metal laziness. I simply mean that most people are hypocrite because they are not interested in what they do, in who they proclaim to be; they are only interested in achieving economic power and other advantages the present situation has caused them. What the majority claim to be are means to an end, not an end in themselves. 

The same reason why the person who hate teaching will be found teaching in secondary schools is the same reason, a pastor who proclaim and teach the philosophy of one wife, one husband, convincing so much crowd will after death be found with 4wives and many more coming as concubines claiming they have children for the deceased. 

Now, look at what the laws has done;

The law has caused a nun to be diagnosed with cervical cancer (because breast cancer is gotten via sexual intercourse which a nun is forbidden of), Pastor seen stealing public money (including that of his congregation), an Imam (who should be righteous) discovered to be a pedophile, and a religious person indulging in masturbation (as a result of late marriage and/ probably was religious because of economic gains).

We all are affected in one way or the other!

The big question is, can we change and relax the laws in prevailing precarious conditions we have found ourselves? Can we justify little corruption, little hatred for the enemy, little this and little that?

As much as I wish the laws to favour me, as much as I would prefer to give unemployment as an excuse for indulging in corruption, to say that my wife is in abroad for economic reasons, so I can indulge in a little adultery (because ‘body no be wood’), to give late marriage as an excuse of having series of sex partners, to indulge in prostitution because of poverty. 

I heard the standard cannot change! We do not create the laws, but we are bound by the laws. These laws may be unfavourable and unfair in the trend of things, but they are rigid and cannot be relaxed.

I heard remove not the ancient land mark.., I heard, whosoever add to this laws…, If we (being human) cannot review the laws because we did not create the laws, and we cannot partly obey the laws because it is as good as not obeying the laws, we should strive hard to obey the laws!

But what about the doctrines we have created for ourselves? If we cannot change laws because we did not create them, we can review our doctrines!