The Story of the Dead Sea By Eguriase S. M. Okaka

 

THE STORY OF THE DEAD SEA

BY EGURIASE S. M. OKAKA

Recently, I heard a story about a sea in the Pacific Ocean called the ‘Dead Sea’. Why is it so-called one would wonder? The Dead Sea is in the Middle East and many pilgrims visit it every year to experience its salty nature. That is personified but it has a reason why it is so referred.

I understand that the Dead Sea has access of receiving mineral resources, especially salty but the most surprising aspect of it is that it does not have access to giving out what it receives. The result is that the salt nature of the water is forever concentrated.

This has made the Seawater to be sticky and painful in the eye if you take your bath with the water or swim in it.  If we relate that to human nature, it is exactly what you find with people who are always receiving without giving out. They become dangerous to themselves and society.

We should examine ourselves whether we receive and do not have access to giving out. We might be sticky and over salty like the Dead Sea. That state is very bad for us as we may become over-concentrated too.

It is clear that when we receive and refuse to give out we become like our subject matter here, gathering all manner of resources including dirt. But when we give out we become like a flowing river that cannot gather dirt because it flows always. Have you seen a rolling stone gathering mold? That is how a flowing river is. It does not gather dirt because it flows all away.

The holy book states: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ When you give you create more room to receive from the creator. Even the Almighty God gave a perfect example in John 3:16 when he gave us his only begotten son. And when you don’t give out you gather dirt within yourself and you will be creating room for sticks and dirt which will be harmful to you in the long run.

Giving is an act that makes you look like your maker. For God so loved the world that he gave. The emphasis here is ‘giving’. Giving is a sign of love when you love you give.  If you have a love that is when you give if you don’t have love you can’t give whether you have enough or not.

 A man who cannot give you 10kobo today wouldn’t give you 10Naira tomorrow even when he has more than enough. Giving is a virtue everyone should possess at all times because of its benefits:  You are blessed because you are a giver. It is more blessed to give than to receive. The hands that give are always blessed.  According to Lucky Dube the South African Singer, says ‘Blessed is the hands that giveth’.

 Another benefit of giving is protection from all evils. Those you give to always pray for you and bless you. If you look around you, you will find that nobody wants a giver to die because he or she is contributing positively to humanity. In our own little communities, one finds out that those who are highly prayed for are givers. There is this situation that a man died by the bullets of some wicked assassins and people gather to pray for him to come back to life to continue his benevolence but God chooses not to answer such prayers because it came out of a selfish motive. He can’t leave a better place and come back to troubles. No!

What I am trying to say is that there is no reward for selfishness. Selfish people always stand alone. Why givers always have crowds of people surrounding them, the majority of those who need their benevolence and those who are not directly affected by their good deeds still prays for them. A

ll the same, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Helping humanity depends on your giving to the less-privilege persons who are not buoyant like you are.

Giving brings happiness to the giver. There are situations when you are able to render help to someone and you become happy by virtue of helping them. Thank God I was able to help that alone brings joy and happiness to the giver. Being able to help someone in trouble makes you joyful.

I wish we should examine ourselves whether we receive and do not have access of giving out. We might be sticky, and over salty like the Dead Sea.

But thank God that there is still room for change today. Start caring for the poor, the widows, and the less-privileged persons around you. Do something to emancipate them from the scourges of hardship and poverty.

 If we do not help the poor we are indebted to God that is a fact that I have discovered.

“Be not weary in well doing for in due time you will ripe your reward.” That is another fact of life.

 Givers never lack another beautiful fact.

Giving is a necessary tool for promotion.

Giving makes you happy and brings fulfillment to the giver.

“The poor you have with you always but me you do not have.” if we have the poor around us we should give to them. That is exactly, what we should do. Therefore, let us be part of the efforts to alleviate the human suffering in the land.

Give to charity!

Do not be like the Dead Sea!

To support this work, pay your widow's mite to Eguriase S.M. Okaka, UBA Account Number:- 2147263986