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The quandary of Prophet Nathan
Recently I have been compelled to reflect on the issue of Prophet Nathan and the assignment given to him by God to rebuke and declare God’s intention towards David, for taking someone’s wife and murdering him.
There are times in a man’s life that you need to either choose to obey God or behave like Jonah who disobeyed God. Depending on the consequences of obeying the instructions of God, in terms of either what you stand to lose, or the wrath you may incur from certain personalities, you may choose not to do the right thing.
Deciding to do the right thing, which means obeying God, who is the embodiment of all that is right, can be very tricky at times, due to the impact it may have on relations between yourself and others, or on your loved ones.
In some instances, you take into consideration the danger you may be exposed to and you are tempted to say to yourself, “Am I the only person who has been called to do the right thing”?
Nathan was a Prophet of God as recorded in the Bible, in the time of King David, according to 2 Samuel chapter 12. The story has it that, in the days when Kings went to war to acquire territories, King David decided to relax in his palace. As he was walking around the palace at the roof top, he saw a beautiful woman having her bath.
I am tempted to believe that she was a young lady so the protrusions in her chest area, indeed was a sight to behold; the men would understand what I am saying. The King, instead of taking his eyes off quickly, rather gazed at her naked body and was therefore mesmerised by what he saw and succumbed to lust.
He sent for her and committed adultery and when he was informed a few weeks later by the lady that she was pregnant, hatched an evil plan and got the husband killed. God being a just God by nature, was very angry and therefore sent Prophet Nathan to declare to David that what he had planned to do to David, as punishment for his evil deeds.
The dilemma for Nathan, the prophet of God was how to deliver such an unpleasant message to King of all Israel, who had the power to kill and to keep alive because such was the authority of Kings at the time. If he chose to obey God, there could be serious consequences not only for him but could even extend to his family.
On the other hand, if he decided to do a Jonah, he faces another potential consequences so what was he to do? Someone I know told me about a dilemma she faced when she accidentally discovered that her friend’s husband, had a separate secret family. She was shocked when she saw the secret wife and her two children with the man.
Was she to tell the friend of what she had discovered as a good friend should do and is also the right thing to do or keep quiet and condone the wrong thing fearing the consequences of divorce and associated issues that she had destroyed her friend’s marriage?
Most people are confronted with such situations which I term the quandary of Nathan in various aspects of our lives, whether at the workplace, churches, clubs, schools, etc. Instead of gathering the courage to do the right thing, we tend to fear what the society might perceive us to be or the possible backlash, instead of doing that which is right and pleases God.
Let us choose to be like Prophet Nathan who chose to do the right thing and please God so we receive blessings from God and also avoid living with a guilty conscience. It is dangerous to live with a guilty conscience. God bless.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
This week I have a very strong desire to put on my Apostolic Cap and talk about the power available to children of God which we can utilise to generate positive outcomes, in our lives.
There is a phrase in the Bible that if Christians meditate on, can immensely transform their lives. In Matthew 28:6 there is a phrase “… as he said…” according to the King James Version.
Thus phrase forms part of a statement declared by an angel of God to two women who were disciples of Jesus who had gone to his tomb early in the morning on the third day after his death.
According to the Biblical account, the stone covering the entrance of the tomb had been rolled away and an Angel was sitting on it and he made the statement to the effect that the Jesus they are seeking is not there and that he had risen, as he said before his death.
His resurrection affirmed the authenticity and dependability of the word of Jesus and therefore the word of God.
Christianity has to do with faith in the word of God. Pastor Mensa Otabil said if we view Christianity as an inside out view, you would go inside to operate the power that is in you.
As a Christian, the spirit of God and therefore the power of God, dwells in you. Anyone who is aware of this truth, does not go around seeking to have a so called powerful person resolve his or her spiritual issues.
Most Christians who move from prophet to prophet, do not believe that the spirit of God which operates in a Pastor or Prophet, is the same spirit that dwells in him or her.
In fact , that Christian may be more ‘powerful’ than the Prophet or Pastor he is going to for prayers because he is living a holy life, which is pleasing to God, for God is no respecter of persons according to Acts 10:34-35.
God does not give out his spirit in different measures to indwell believers. The spirit of God that dwells in a new convert, is the same spirit that dwells in a Bishop or a Prophet or an Evangelist or an Elder or a Deacon.
All you need to do as a child of God is to believe in the word of God and know that it works and that according to 1 John 4:4 we, Christians, that the Spirit of God dwells in us have overcome the world and Jesus in us, is greater than the Devil who is out in the world, wrecking havoc all around.
If we realise that we have overcome the Devil and everything he controls, then we can believe and act in faith and make declarations and just as Christ declared that he will die and on the third day, he will rise from the dead and it manifested as he said, there shall be a manifestation of our declarations also.
The problem of modern day Christians is that, a lot of them, do not study and meditate on the word of God, so they do not witness the manifestation of the power of God, in their lives.
Such an experience over time, give them the impression that the spirit of God dwells in different dimensions in believers. This then leads them to seek solutions to their challenges from so called powerful men of God.
Some Pastors also fall into this misconception of the measure of the spirit of God in believers. When the size of a Pastor’s church for instance, is not increasing the way he had been praying for self-doubt sometimes begin to set in.
Especially, if he begins to compare his church with that of say a colleague from the same Bible School, then he begins to wonder if there is not a spiritual secret he is not aware of.
This is when, if care is not taken, fellow Pastors who appears to be very successful in the ministry but are using occultic powers, could sway them from the narrow path and get them trapped in the Devil’s clutches and eventually and inevitably, destroy their lives. God bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
Introduction
You have been there. Twenty tabs open comparing laptops. A blank page for an email you’ve been “thinking about” for three days. A menu with 30 options and you leave hungry.
This is decision paralysis: the state where the volume of information, options, or perceived stakes prevents you from making a decision at all. It’s not laziness. It’s a cognitive overload response.
In a data-rich environment, it’s becoming the default mode for both individuals and organisations.
This article breaks down why it happens, how it shows up, what it costs, and how to break it.
1. What decision paralysis actually is?
Decision paralysis is a failure of the decision-making system to convert information into action. Psychologists call it ‘analysis paralysis’ or ‘choice overload.’
It has three components:
1. Cognitive overload: Working memory can hold between four to seven chunks of information at once. When you try to track 20 variables, the system freezes.
2. Anticipatory regret: You overestimate the pain of making the wrong choice. The brain avoids the emotional cost by avoiding the choice.
3. Ambiguity aversion: Humans prefer known risks over unknown ones. When outcomes are uncertain, we stall.
The result is not neutral. Not deciding is a decision. It costs time, momentum, and opportunity
2. Why it’s getting worse now
2.1 Infinite options
Amazon has 350 million products. Netflix has 6000+ titles. Dating apps have unlimited profiles. The paradox of choice: more options increase initial satisfaction but decrease final satisfaction and increase regret.
2.2 Information abundance without synthesis
You can find 50 studies on sleep. Each one has caveats, conflicting results, and different methodologies. Without a framework to integrate them, more data creates more confusion, not clarity. This connects directly to the “data-rich, wisdom-poor” problem.
2.3 Reversibility anxiety
In the digital age, most decisions feel permanent. A bad post goes viral. A bad hire is public on LinkedIn. A bad career move is visible. The fear of irreversible error makes people delay.
2.4 Algorithmic mirroring
Platforms show you what you already engage with. This creates an illusion that there’s one ‘best’ option you are missing. You keep searching, convinced the optimal choice is one more scroll away.
3. How it shows up
Personal Level
Cannot pick a career path after six months of ‘research’
Spend two hours choosing a movie and watch nothing
Delay sending an email because it ‘isn’t perfect’
3.1 Organisational level
Teams spend 80 per cent of time in meetings gathering data, 20 per cent deciding
Product teams delay launch waiting for “one more data point”
KPIs multiply but no strategic choice is made
3.2 Common cognitive tells:
Endless comparison tables
Asking for one more opinion
Reframing the problem instead of solving it
Feeling drained after thinking but not acting
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
