Features
Place yourself in Joseph’s shoes
Whenever I hear of someone who had committed suicide I become sad and wonder if those close to him or her could have done something to have prevented the incident.
Most of the time, when the reason behind the suicide is revealed, one wonders if such an issue should cause somebody to take his own life. There is one particular incident that grieves my heart anytime it comes to mind.
A young lady in one of our public universities, who happened to be the daughter of an MP, committed suicide and the reason attributed to that unfortunate incident was that her boyfriend broke up with her.
I am sure that if people who committed suicide had placed themselves in the shoes of Joseph in the Bible, they would have realised that their challenges had a solutions and that they could be resolved.
Frankly, not to remind the family of their tragic loss, a young lady who is in first year at the university definitely has the chance of getting another boyfriend down the line if having a boyfriend is such a big deal for her.
Imagine a young man or a young lady who has completed her university education and is struggling to find a job for a year, two years, three years and still no job. The situation becomes worse when you find yourself in such a situation and you hear of your mates getting employed and it is like something is on your case trying to prevent you from landing a job.
The pressure on you can cause you to engage in something terrible. If care is not taken, it can lead to mental breakdown and this is where parents must be very alert and give a lot of encouragement to their children to forestall suicidal tendencies taking over their children’s minds.
This is where as a Christian parent, you need to draw their attention to the challenges Joseph went through and how he kept his faith in God and God finally came through for him.
Given the current economic conditions prevailing in the country, the mental pressure it can bring to bear on individuals is immense. The religious leaders especially pastors have a huge responsibility in reducing the stress imposed on their church members by the prevailing economic pressure.
At the individual level, Christians ought to take responsibility by trying to address the need to reduce stress. In this regard, the attitude of Joseph can be of immense help.
In the Bible, Joseph had a revelation concerning his future. He knew that one day, he will be a great man but sharing his dream to his siblings generated a lot of envy and hatred towards him.
This resulted in him being kidnapped and sold into slavery by his siblings. He was fortunate to be sold in turn to the army commander who recognised his commitment to duty and subsequently made him the overseer.
When he thought that fate has finally smiled on him, the commander’s wife wanted to sleep with him and his refusal led to his being framed as an attempted rapist. He was therefore sentenced into life prison.
How bad can it get than this, but he did not give up because sometimes in life, giving up is not an option. Situations life dishes out to us can at times be like that of Joseph’s and when that happens, let us remember to put ourselves in Joseph’s shoes.
Betrayed by his siblings and wrongly imprisoned for life in a foreign country and the person who filed the case against you was the number 2 man of the land. How are you ever going to gain your freedom?
Sometimes the experiences we go through are part of God’s plan of toughening us up for a future assignment and so we need to trust God when it appears everybody and everything is against us.
The intriguing aspect in life is that people you have once helped one way or the other can disappoint you when you expect them to reciprocate the gesture. This happened to Joseph but in all this he maintained his trust in God and God honoured his trust in him and brought freedom and promotion to Joseph
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
Features
Traditional values an option for anti-corruption drive — (Part 1)
One of the issues we have been grappling with as a nation is corruption, and it has had such a devastating effect on our national development. I have been convinced that until morality becomes the foundation upon which our governance system is built, we can never go forward as a nation.
Our traditional practices, which have shaped our cultural beliefs, have always espoused values that have kept us along the straight and the narrow and have preserved our societies since ancient times.
These are values that frown on negative habits like stealing, cheating, greediness, selfishness, etc. Our grandparents have told us stories of societies where stealing was regarded as so shameful that offenders, when caught, have on a number of instances committed suicide.
In fact, my mother told me of a story where a man who was living in the same village as her mother (my grandmother), after having been caught stealing a neighbour’s cockerel, out of shame committed suicide on a mango tree. Those were the days that shameful acts were an abomination.
Tegare worship, a traditional spiritual worship during which the spirit possesses the Tegare Priest and begins to reveal secrets, was one of the means by which the society upheld African values in the days of my grandmother and the early childhood days of my mother.
Those were the days when the fear of being killed by Tegare prevented people from engaging in anti-social vices. These days, people sleeping with other people’s wives are not uncommon.
These wrongful behaviour was not countenanced at all by Tegare. One was likely going to lose his life on days that Tegare operates, and so unhealthy habits like coveting your neighbour’s wife was a taboo.
Stealing of other people’s farm produce, for instance, could mean certain death or incapacitation of the whole or part of the body in the full glare of everybody. People realised that there were consequences for wrongdoing, and this went a long way to motivate the society to adhere to right values.
Imagine a President being sworn into office and whoever administers the oath says, “Please say this after me: I, Mr. …., do solemnly swear by God, the spirits of my ancestors and the spirits ruling in Ghana, that should I engage in corrupt acts, may I and my family become crippled, may madness become entrenched in my family, may incurable sicknesses and diseases be my portion and that of my family, both immediate and extended.”
Can you imagine a situation where a few weeks afterwards the President goes to engage in corrupt acts and we hear of his sudden demise or incapacitation and confessing that he engaged in corrupt acts before passing or before the incapacitation—and the effect it will have on his successor? I believe we have to critically examine this option to curb corruption.
My grandmother gave me an eyewitness account of one such encounter where a woman died instantly after the Tegare Priest had revealed a wrong attitude she had displayed during the performance on one of the days scheduled for Tegare spirit manifestation.
According to her story, the Priest, after he had been possessed by the spirit, declared that for what the woman had done, he would not forgive her and that he would kill. Instantly, according to my grandmother, the lady fell down suddenly and she died—just like what happened to Ananias and his wife Sapphira in Acts Chapter 5.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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Features
Emotional distortions:A lethal threat to mental health
Emotional distortions can indeed have a profound impact on an individual’s mental health and well-being. These distortions can lead to a range of negative consequences, including anxiety, depression, and impaired relationships.
Emotional surgery is a therapeutic approach that aims to address and heal emotional wounds, traumas, and blockages. This approach recognises that emotional pain can have a profound impact on an individual’s quality of life and seeks to provide a comprehensive and compassionate approach to healing.
How emotional surgery can help
Emotional surgery can help individuals:
Identify and challenge negative thought patterns: By becoming aware of emotional distortions, individuals can learn to challenge and reframe negative thoughts.
Develop greater emotional resilience: Emotional surgery can help individuals develop the skills and strategies needed to manage their emotions and respond to challenging situations.
Improve relationships: By addressing emotional wounds and promoting emotional well-being, individuals can develop more positive and healthy relationships with others.
The benefits of emotional surgery
The benefits of emotional surgery can include:
Improved mental health outcomes: Emotional surgery can help individuals reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Enhanced relationships: Emotional surgery can help individuals develop more positive and healthy relationships with others.
Increased self-awareness: Emotional surgery can help individuals develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their emotions.
A path towards healing
Emotional surgery offers a promising approach to addressing emotional distortions and promoting emotional well-being. By acknowledging the impact of emotional pain and seeking to provide a comprehensive and compassionate approach to healing, individuals can take the first step towards recovery and improved mental health.
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BY ROBERT EKOW GRIMMOND-THOMPSON