Tag: #Agba Jalingo

You cannot go to bed a blunder and wake up a wonder.

Jesus is the reason for the season.

Your attitude will determine your altitude.

Your offering will wipe out your suffering.

What you drop on the altar determines what you get from the altar.

Your network will determine your net worth.

Your ancestral baggage predicts your futuristic luggage.

If you don’t pay your tithe, things will be tight for you.

If you do not work in God’s courtyard, God will not work in your vineyard.

Without a life of holiness, you will live a life of hollowness.

If you release generously, you will receive bountifully.

If you remain dedicated, you will be elevated.

Though some of the rhymes appear logical, most of the people who yell them at you from the podiums know these hackneyed rhymes will not work until you get to work.

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent

My friend who is a Pastor has invited me again, twice in three years, to come preach in his church. I will be talking about the online possibilities and opportunities in 2024. He wants the young people in his Church to learn how to make money in 2024.

The last time I was there, the congregation was blessed. Till date, some of them who started their small businesses from the nuggets I shared are still testifying. Some ideas didn’t work. Some worked half way and Nigeria killed them. Some are still struggling to stabilize, while a few are flying already. Yet I have become a traditionalist. A proud and forceful one at that.

One thing you need to know about African Traditional Religions is that, they don’t discriminate. They don’t proselytize. They have no qualms embracing other people’s beliefs. They don’t tell you not to associate with others. They are perhaps one of the most generous belief systems in the world. They don’t fight religious wars. The Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, and co, drove away and even murdered Western Christian missionaries who first arrived their lands, to protect their own beliefs. They detested encroachment and made sure they kept their traditional beliefs against all odds.

Africans were the ones who fully accepted to embrace and practice foreign religions side by side with their own until they were persuaded, conquered and assimilated. They didn’t see any need for antagonism. They even accepted that theirs is foolish and worthless. Till date, we are still denigrated and told that we are going to hell, yet we are not angry or bitter.

My Pastor friend knows that I no longer go to church. That I have hands off Christianity for reasons best known to me and for which he has decided to understand with me. But he insists that his people need what I have in my brain. When they ask him why he will bring me, according to him, “I tell them I know Jalingo. He is my friend and brother. He has not denounced God. He simply says he wants to serve God via the lens of his ancestors. That doesn’t diminish who I know him to be.”

Now, you are at liberty to criticize my friend as you may find pleasing and even condemn my invitation. Neither him nor yours sincerely, actually gives a damn about that. Is it your right. But those who will be in church will not go back empty. They will learn something new. It’s a meeting of young people. That’s what is important here. I am also not inviting you. Not because I don’t want you to come but because you will think that the knowledge I will be sharing is inspired by demons. So your attendance will not be very needed unless you want to gate crash. You are allowed to. After all, it is a church. The Church of God and God is not from your village.

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo

Dicslaimet: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

Let me start my new year like this. With a disputable analogy. Namely that, Christ did not die selflessly. Before you get angry with me. Let me inform you that it is the Bible that said so. Not me.

It says in Hebrews 12:2 – “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM, ENDURED THE CROSS, despising the shame, and is SET DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD.” This verse may not have been interpreted to you in the manner I am trying to do now, that is why I earlier called it a disputable analogy.

There was a price waiting ahead that motivated Christ. First was the Joy that was awaiting him. Every winner has a taste of that joy. If you have ever won before, you know what that joy feels like. The joy of standing in the middle of the olympic podium with a gold medal on your neck is not in the market place. It is earned. Then the biggest trophy was to win the chance to sit at the right hand of the throne of God. Tell me what motivation can be bigger than that? What other price could have been greater?

This is not to diminish the fact that Christ died for love. My position does not put that forward. Christ died for love. I am saying that it was not selfless love. The benefits derived from the death of Christ were also shared with Christ. He derived that ultimate joy that was awaiting him and also earned an exclusive place at the right hand of the throne of God, and that automatically separates the ‘less’ from the self-less.

Why am I belaboring myself to draw your attention to this? It is because I need you, (particularly the younger persons and my own contemporaries who are still knocking on other doors for upliftment. I mean all of us unless others.), to put a price tag on everything you plan to do in 2024, unless charity and deliberate sacrifice.

Don’t be self-righteous about it this year. Be bold about it. Find a method to commoditize your value and calibrate your price tag. Also be ready to deliver as promised. It is because you can deliver as promised, that should qualify you to earn. Don’t go scamming people. Christ is not a scammer.

I am trying to say that, it is also Christ-like to ask for a price wherever you are offering service that another person can be paid for. For instance, if you are playing an instrument in a church choir or even offering professional ushering or catering or medical services in a church or doing apprenticeship and your boss or organization is using you or your time for other services that are not part of your apprenticeship.

Be deliberate about it in 2024. I repeat, don’t be self righteous about it. Civilizations have not been built by righteousness, but have been sustained by the fear of God. We cannot turn Jesus into a transaction but in our transactions, we can draw lessons from his example. He is not just an example in righteousness and sacrifice, he is also an example in self pricing.

In 2024, politicians are not going to change and turn to nice guys. Preachers are not going to stop scamming you. The economy is not going to get friendlier, prices are not going to come down. It is you that must earn more. I hope you heard that last line? Read it again!

Anything you are doing free presently that another person can be paid money for the same thing, reevaluate it and price it properly then put a price tag on yourself anytime you are required to perform that same service in 2024. You can give discounts at your discretion, there will always be free days, but let the person or organization know how much money you are losing so they will more properly appreciate your value.

Do it boldly. Do it deliberately. Do it professionally. Do it with a straight face. Do it with the fear of God. Those who want it free know you can be paid. They know they are taking advantage of you. They are paying others. It is you that hasn’t put a price on yourself and that’s not how you should roll in 2024!

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

Dear Lord,

I ask not for more light but for eyes to see the light that already exists.

I ask not for sweeter songs but for ears to hear the present melodies.

I ask not for more love but for skill to turn anger into tenderness.

I ask for no more joy but for how to feel closer to your ineffable presence.

To give others everything I already have; enthusiasm and courage.

I ask for no more gifts but for the ability to use the gifts I have already received from you.

I ask that in my sinful nature, even when I falter like I always do, I should not escape your chastisement, but I beseech thee to chastise me in love and lead me not unto destruction.

Make me a master of all fears so I can be the friend I want to be.

To convey the truth I know!

For me to love purity. To seek the good and with all my power, to raise in every soul that comes in touch with me, a spark of the same fire.

Thank you for the chance to begin another cycle. Thank you Lord for my friends and foes alike. Thank you for my family. Thank you Lord for thus far, and thank you for where I am headed.

Thank you also my friends for reading and engaging yours sincerely here all year long and 🙏do have a wonderful year ahead.

Happy birthday to me!

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

Consider This Before You Hate…

Hate is in part what keeps us going when our lives have been put on hold. Every time there are severe disruptions in our lives, the stronger the hate we have for everything around us. Hate avails a major form of catharsis for releasing, and providing relief from such repressed emotions.

Hate is also an intense repulsion for something or someone, which falsely inflates the ego and makes one feel very superior and self-righteous against the thing or person who is hated. It makes the one hating, feels better, or so it seems.

It is very important not to equally forget that hate is a very potent and mind consuming emotion. It is a mental poison that can contaminate your mind, rot your nervous system and depress your soul.

If you suddenly set eyes on a thing or person you hate, the sudden surge of adrenalin into your entire system persists until that thing or person gets out of sight and mind. That sudden surge takes a huge adverse toll on your nervous and circulatory systems and even the brain.

When you hate, you must also be strong enough to let people hate you back. Because the emotion and energy you give out is what you get in return. The aura of a hate-filled person attracts exactly what that person emits into his or her own magnetic field.

So to balance this equation, we should accept that it is more liberating to let go of hateful emotions by deliberately practicing empathy. We may need to also reevaluate the circumstances that may have led us to hate that thing or person and work on overcoming the same. We should as well, reflect on what is our abiding fate if other things or persons keep hateful emotions against us. These will guide us back to the path of purposely reconciliation with ourselves.

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

I choose that headline deliberately because of one of the most quoted scriptures that I feel is also being manipulated and deliberately used to perpetuate hocus-pocus.

It has become an alibi for impunity and a leeway for rascality, to promptly quote, Matthew 7:37 when folks don’t want their adverse doings to be scrutinized. But that scripture has two parts. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

From my own understanding of that scripture, the only reason you shouldn’t judge others, is if you don’t want to be judged too or if your own acts are stinking or if you know your own actions can’t stand the test. And realistically, whether you judge or not, we will all be judged anyway.

There is nowhere in the Bible where it is stated that judging others is bad. None. The emphasis is on “so that you will also not be judged.” The fear of being judged ourselves is what has made that scripture handy. In fact, Apostle Paul says in, 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 that: “It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.” New Living Translation (NLT).

And in John’s Gospel, Chapter 7:24, it is written, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Judging others was still not condemned. The condition for judging others here is that it must go beyond appearance to “good judgement.” The command did not forbid anyone from judging others. So I will wait for anyone to show me where the Bible condemns judging others. That a cliche has become popular or hackneyed, doesn’t make it always true.

Open your mouth and judge who needs to be judged based on good judgement. Most people in the world are generally scared of being called to account, so everything that fits into that nonchalance is taken as a given. Don’t conform!

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

Who Is A Fearless Man?

Fear is one of the most basic emotions embedded in the nervous system. Not just that of man, but in every creature that has nerves. All creatures that have nerves are equipped with the survival instinct necessary to respond with fear when we sense danger or feel unsafe. It is a warning or signal to be careful and to escape from danger. The reason you run when you see an oncoming vehicle is because of that natural fear instinct. So there is no such thing as a fearless man or woman.

Anytime we encounter anything we fear, whether physical or emotional, the brain immediately transmits the information to the nervous system. The nervous system then prepares you to either flee or fight. The preparation process usually includes faster heartbeat, intense breathing, perspiration, sensation. Blood pumps with increased pressure to the muscles to prepare the body for physical action.

Because the fear instinct is programmed to protect you, it is activated faster than the thinking faculty of the brain, which processes the information. As soon as the brain evaluates the information and gives an all clear signal, the fear instinct is immediately turned off. All this process is completed in seconds.

We all have our different fears. People fear situations or things that make them feel unsafe. People fear the uncertainty of the future or the next moment. And there are many people who prefer to avoid their fears. It usually seems like an easier path. But it is simple knowledge that you cannot overcome what you avoid. We overcome our fears by giving ourselves the chance to learn about and gradually get used to those things or situations that make us fear.

Tourists who visit a zoo may be afraid of lions, but the care givers who tender the lions have overcome that fear. If you are not a trained paratrooper, you will be afraid of jumping from heights. That fear helps to keep you out of danger. But if you receive the training, you gradually overcome that fear and become adept in para-trooping.

So in essence, a fearless man is not the one that does not have fears, it is the one who has learnt to overcome his fears. We all have fears. Those things that suddenly increase our blood pressure. But whether these fears are sudden or prolonged, it is by staying very determined to confront them that is the most formidable path. Face that fear today!

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article are strictly that of the author, Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.