NBB SUNDAY-SUNDAY MEDICINE: “BEHOLD” BY CULTURE BAND

NOTE: First published on May 9, 2021. The “Published” date on the tab is the date that it was uploaded on this new site. Though some issues in this piece may still be current (depending on…), this is to avoid mistaking it as current news.

This is “No Bullshiting”, by Harry Agina.

Greetings, folks!

Today’s Praise Worship “Sunday-Sunday Medicine” can be summed up as a “Judgement Day” song by the “Culture” band of Jamaica. It reminds us of that last day that we MUST all account for our deeds here on planet earth, and, it starts thus:

“Children of Israel…listen to me carefully!…I was travelling up the mountains one day…and suddenly I heard a voice come to I and I, and said, ‘Behold, I come quickly to pay every man according to the work that ye have done’…And I know that it was the voice, the voice of the Most High…”

Well, you know the drill. Before we get to the “medicine,” there is always a little “No Bullshitting” message, which some fans call “sermonizing,” but I choose to call it few words of commonsense wisdom. Oh yes, indeed! I often talk about my conversations between ‘ME,’ ‘MYSELF’, and  ‘I.’ I have always called it the “No Bullshitting” Blog (NBB) trinity conversations, but it goes beyond NBB, to my regular Harry Agina life. 

You probably think and say that Harry has gone wako…you know, like loko, or bunkers. Okay, let’s just come straight out with it; you think that Harry has gone crazy…talking to myself like a mad man; right? Wrong! In fact, if you don’t do that yourself, then you are probably the one not doing the right thing. It is a good thing to do, and, I’ll tell you why, pronto!

I do believe that whosoever that does not hold ‘ME’, ‘MYSELF’ and ‘I’ conversations is UNLIKELY to possess good conscience, and I’ll tell you why, too. You should be able to sit in your couch sometimes, or maybe lay back in your bed, looking at the ceiling, and ask yourself…”Self, what I said or did to Mr. Musa, or Madam  Iyabo, or even the 10-year old child called Ekaite out there today; was it right; was I right; would I like it if done or said to me???” If not, then, I don’t think that you have good conscience in you, period!!! One of the most important of God’s Ten Commandments, which you will hear in the following “Sunday-Sunday Medicine” as it speaks of the “Judgement Day,” is “Do onto others only as you would want to be done to you,” or something like that. Mind you, the “Ten Commandments” have nothing to do with religion; they were issued before Christianity, Islam, and  MOST of the other religions of today’s world were born. 

No wonder, today’s medicine starts with “Children of Israel,” and, somewhere down the line it also says that “He spoke to the Jews and the Gentiles.” I have not read the Qur’an from cover to cover, but I believe that the Commandments exist therein, just like in the Christian Bible. They should also exist in the codes of other religions that worship the same Almighty God, or Allah, or Oluwa, or Chiukwu, as various tribes and tongues call Him.

The “Do onto others as you would want to be done to you” is similar to the Commandment that says “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” And, if you ask me, or, even if you refuse to ask me, I still tell you that those two are actually the cardinal of all the Ten Commandments. If you can follow them, every other commandment of virtue falls into place. Just check it out: If you LOVE ME exactly as you love yourself, and combine it with a will never to do to me anything that you would not like somebody to do to you, and, everybody in the world also happens to possess the same qualities…bros, or sis, the world would be a great place for all humanity, meeeeeeen!!!

Just think about it for a moment, would you…I can tell you that there would not be any crime of ‘man’ against ‘man’ in the entire world, with few exceptions, of course. For instance, a masochist who loves hurting himself or herself wouldn’t mind hurting you or me, too; and a melancholic who enjoys being sad, wouldn’t mind making you and me sad, too.  

Such exceptions exist in all human rules. My point is that, if the characteristics behind the two commandments that I have picked for my illustration were overwhelmingly pervading the entire humanity, the world would be a much better place for all mankind. 

There would be less sins, less crimes, and more righteousness. That’s a utopian world that will never exist, of course; we can only try to get as close to it as possible. And, the focus of the day is that conversations between ‘ME’, ‘MYSELF’, and ‘I’ are good for every human, if we want to improve towards this utopian world.

If you can’t sit alone and review your relationships with fellow humans, and ask yourself if you would enjoy, or hate, the exact same thing that you did or said to another person, then you have no Christ in you, and you should be ashamed of calling yourself a Christian. Same goes for you if you’re Muslim, and other religions. As I already said, it doesn’t even matter if Christ and Prophet Mohammed preached them, or not, because the “Ten Commandments” that I am quoting from were issued by God Himself before those religions emerged in the world.

It’s one thing to do wrong to other people without knowing or believing that you are doing anything wrong; and another matter altogether when you willfully do wrong to hurt another. I do believe…in fact, I am convinced, that God much more readily forgives wrong doing that is based on ignorance or naivety, than He forgives wrongs that are consciously done. And, one good way to cut down naivety and ignorance is to often hold conversations within you, or soul-searching, if you will, to review your deeds.

 That’s what I call my conversations between ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’, plus ‘Mr. Conscience’ who silently sits somewhere nearby, controlling the session. For you, it’s a conversation between ‘you’, ‘yourself’, and ‘you,’ plus your conscience.

And, by the way, remember that the conversation must be sincere. Don’t try to justify your deeds or words to Musa or Iyabo or Ekaite with insincerity. If ‘Mr. Conscience’ does exist in you, ‘he’ would consistently pang your mind or soul when you are being insincere to yourself. So, ‘YOU’ must always try to tell ‘yourself’ the truth, and nothing but the truth, when you hold the ‘you,’ ‘yourself’ and ‘YOU’ conversations to review your deeds to other humans, or even non-human beings.

 I may not swear that I am always perfect in my own ‘ME,’ ‘MYSELF’ and ‘I’ conversations, but I can tell you that I do make effort to be sincere. So, when you have your ‘you’, ‘yourself’, and ‘YOU’ conversations, which you may wanno call “soul-searching,” ask yourself the key question: Would I like, or would I hate what I did or said to Musa, Emeka, or Bassey earlier today if it was said or done to me? Do I love Musa, Emeka or Bassey as I love myself? Indeed, before you get unnecessarily cruel to a dog or any other animal near you, which is not dangerous to you, ask yourself this question: “Self, if I was a dog, would I appreciate such cruelty, meeeeeeeeeeen?”

And now, here comes the Sunday-Sunday Medicine, titled “Behold.” But first, I wanno give you the lyrics, thus:

Children of Israel…listen to me carefully! I was travelling up the mountains one day…and suddenly I heard a voice come to I and I, and say: “Behold I come quickly to pay every man according the work that ye have done.” And I know that it was the voice, the voice of the Most High…And I know, yes I know that it was the voice, the voice of the Most High. He said, “Behold, behold, I come quickly.” Hear what he say to one an’all! Say “Behold, behold, I come quickly.”

This world is like a mirror, reflecting what you do, and if you face it smiling, it will smile right back to you. So do unto others as you would have them do, so that your days will be many, many years much longer.

 And I know that it was the voice; it was the voice of the Most High…and I know, yes I know, that it was the voice, it was the voice of the Most High. He said “Behold, behold, I come quickly.” Hear what He say to one and all. Say “Behold, behold, I come quickly.”

There’s no tongue, nor language that shall not be heard. He said “Behold, behold, I come quickly.” He speaks to Jews and also the Gentiles. He said “Behold, behold, I come quickly.” Although the sea may rage and the time may tough, He said “Behold, behold, I come quickly.” please don’t sell your soul for money. “Behold, behold, behold, behold, behold, I come quickly.”

And so, NBB concludes with the final words, thus: Yes, sir; yes, ma’am, God comes quickly with His judgment on that final day. And, your guide towards a good judgement for you is my twin Commandments of: (1) Do onto others as you would like to be done onto you, and (2) Love thy neighbor as you love thyself. And now, “Behold,” by Culture of Jamaica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4OXwwmFens