WHICH PARENT WILL YOU BECOME? MAXWELL GAVI VOLTA When it comes to how short or tall we appear, traces have been made to genetic factors that offspring inherit from their parents. Zeroing in on this premise, it is palpable that our parents have great roles to perform with regards our intellectual and physical growth. But, what children receive from their parents per their intellectual and physical growth leaves much to be desired. To say that it is bad will be an understatement, it is totally chaotic, barbaric and dehumanising. This is more than meets the eyes of a common man, hence it calls for paradigm shift. Basically, there are two great categories of parents in our modern society. The one category that creates such mischief, penury, misery, chaos and curse and could unanimously be called devil incarnates. This category of parents litters the environment with children and blame their family and the government for their own created plight. They have a common trait. They actually depict and prove beyond all reasonable doubts that indeed humans belong to the kingdom Animalia. Their character traits differ in no respect to that of agama lizards, dogs, goats and cattle. The female reminisces the agama lizards. Objectively speaking, if one surreptitiously observes agama lizards about to lay eggs, lizards only dig hole and lay the eggs in and leave the eggs to their fate regardless of them being highly susceptible to predators. The warm sand will hatch the eggs and the offspring comes out to face the harsh conditions of this weird world and this huge transcendental event called life. They are to fend for themselves since their parents forgot where they kept their eggs. This is highly ubiquitous as it pertains to our mothers. The root cause is when these ‘undeserved mothers’ struggle to either pinpoint the fathers or the so called-fathers decline the responsibility, because the child came to the world out of wedlock. Isn’t it strange to hear or see babies being put in rubber bags and dumped near the gutters or placed in front of public toilets? The worst of all is the fathers. They represent the worst type of animals per child nurturing. They can be compared to goats, dogs, and donkeys. Again, if one watched billy goats in the countryside chasing a nanny goat on heat, they usually move in groups of three or four. As the mating continued, one billy goat will gain dominance over activities at that joyous moment and leave others at disadvantages. The rest unfortunate billy goats will hallucinate, bleat and circumrotate in a winding gyre while the fortunate goat engrossed in a sporadic spurt of orgasm until it is tired. Being greedy and self-aggrandising, on seeing others yapping and snapping in its face attempts a second round. During this uphill task, the billy goat thinks it is the only goat in the world at the material moment. Indeed, this kind of man lived aptly well with animals and behaved as such. Like cocks, goats and dogs, the man shrinks his responsibilities for the young ones he procreated. Because, these parents do not accept any responsibility of the young ones they procreate, the little resources they have are spent lavishly in drinking bars. Both men and women leave their children to their fate and get addicted to alcohol and hard drugs. They drink alcohol more than fish drink water and smoke like chimney. I wonder if they do not know the effects of smoking. Smoking destroys ones health by making you short of breath, it dirties one and one’s environment. It gives those who smoke stale smell. Mostly, there is a medical evidence that smoking causes fatal illness, causes certain birth defects, it destroys one’s psyche and physique. Smoking is akin to frying one’s brain which eventually kills one’s brain cells. Practically, it is just a means of damaging one’s pocket. It is just a way of pushing oneself into the clutches of abject poverty. Does it then mean that these reckless parents do not know that they are watching millions of cedis go up in smoke? So why do they smoke? There may be two possible absurd reasons. Some do it when they are sad or happy and others think it is a sign of being grown up. How daft! Stupid indeed! There are only two moments in ones live – happy moments and sad moments. So when one gets intoxicated by drugs and alcoholic drink because he claims to be elated or happy and he again smokes and drinks in stormy circumstances, what then is one doing to one’s body? One actually forgets his problem when totally intoxicated, but as soon as one gets out of the clutches of these opium, the problem repeats itself and tend to be more severe. The big question is when will one live without these opium and beverages? When will one stop it? The children of these reckless parents naturally face perils and destitution due to the uncouth, uncultured behaviours and reckless parental traits. Their talents suffer harnessing, their psychological and physical growth is hampered. Those who smiled to fortune by dint of grace to have the chance to eat in canteen and stain the classroom blocks with urine, their minds have become thorny and rocky ground on which their educator’s seed refuse to germinate. The unfortunate ones, where lies the fate of these children? Where will they barricade themselves against nightfall? Where will they enclose themselves against torrential night rain? Will they continue to forever live in live pain and agony? Is it worth their fault? Why should destiny be cruel to them? The other category of parents is the one that creates harmony, nourishment and hope. This category of parents could unanimously be called as vicars of God. They take charge of the young ones they procreate. Like the angels and archangels, they are at the beck and call of their children, they provide entirely the basic psychological and physiological needs of their children, they see to their children’s moral conduct. If it is true that humans belong to the kingdom Animalia, then this category of parents can aptly be equated to the marsupial. Like the marsupial carries its baby in a pouch, the female parents of this category also carry their young ones and place them at times in a crib, protect them against every stormy weather. Their male counterparts differ not, they behave just like the male eagles do. Examining carefully the genesis of the amorous relation between eagles, the female eagle takes the male eagle through a herculean task to ascertain its caring prowess. Tactfully, the female eagle flies high in the sky in anticipation that the male will follow. When it follows, the female eagle drops one of its feathers. As the feather falls, the male eagle must chase it and get it back. This and many other uphill tasks will follow till the female eagle is satisfied with the male that mating could take place. Like the eagle, serious minded would-be mothers at the time of dating equally take their men through these ordeals. These prepare these parents for the task ahead of them, no wonder they execute their duties well. This kind of parents is in minority in the society. They need to be eulogized since they are responsible for the complete success of the young ones they procreate- they revivify the standard of family life. Indeed, these are the parents who deserve gifts and praise words on mothers or father’s day, for not all who born and to be called parents but those who born and bred them are the true parents. But there is the need to extend an olive branch to our reckless parents. At times it isn’t their fault. In a word, to avoid this reckless parental traits and secure the future of our children and curb child neglect, all hands must be on deck. In fact, our traditional family system needs a serious overhaul to achieve positive results. There must be sporadic family life education programme to spew the dangers inherent in living a reckless parental lifestyle. Brides should be given grooms with good moral standard and we equally need a radical reorientation with regard to our value and educational system in the country. This will in a way help minimise child neglect and boost human resource in the country. BY:MAXWELL GAVI Ghana – West Africa 0248076983/0203342688 maxwellgavi74@gmail.com

YAO E. AGBENYO

NAME : AGBENYO YAO EBENEZER GENDER : MALE DATE OF BIRTH : 14TH September, 1989 ADDRESS : BOX 191, TEMA CELL : +233274864449, +233543556235, +233502289174 EMAIL : yaoagbenyo@gmail.com Blog : www.yaoagbenyo.blogspot.com PLACE OF BIRTH : KPOI-ETE, PRAMPRAM, TEMA. NATIONALITY : GHANAIAN MARRITAL STATUS : SINGLE LANGUAGES SPOKEN : ENGLISH, EWE, TWI, GA, FANTE, FRENCH, DANGME. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND INSTITUTION CERTIFICATE DURATION UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION B.A (hon.) ENGLISH Ed. 2010-14 METHODIST DAY SEC. WASSCE 2006-2009 MANHEAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL BECE 2004-2006 EMPLOYMENT HISTORY NATURE OF WORK INSTITUTION DURATION NATIONAL RECRUITMENT OFFICER Debate Ghana Ass. July 2014 to Date. TEACHING (NSS) AHAFOMAN SHS SEPT. (2014)-PRESENT TEACHING ODA INT. SHS JAN –July, 2014 INTERNSHIP AKIM STATE COLLEGE SEPTEMBER to DEC, 2013 ATTACHMENT MANHEAN SHS MAY-AUGUST, 2013 TEACHING GRACELAND INT. SCH. MAY-AUGUST, 2012 SOCIAL STUDIES TUTOR MANHEAN JHS MAY-AUGUST, 2011 MANAGER FRANCO ENTERPRISE JAN.-AUGUST, 2010 EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT SEPT.-DEC., 2009 TEACHING GRACELAND INT. SCH. MAY-AUGUST, 2009. POSITIONS HELD President, Boys Only Inc. Chaplain, Oda Int. Sen. High Sch. C.E.O. Youth And Future Inc. Founder and president Youth On Missions Int. Patron- AKIMSCO S.U. Youth leader, deeper christian life min., tema and oda Vice-President, Debate Club, uew Chaplain, Ghartey Hall Public relations officer, UEW Chaplaincy Board President, MEDASSOSA, UEW-Local Maintainance Co-Ordinator, DLCF, UEW Vice-President, SRC, MEDASS Precentor, UNESCO Commission-Choir, Ghana Bible Study Coordinator, GHAMSU House Prefect, St. John House. Fellowship Leader, DLSO AWARDS Best Behaved Boy (bbb) Best Literature In English Student Best Student in French (Awarded at the silver jubilee of MEDASS, TEMA.) PUBLICATIONS Literature Genius (text book for SHS and JHS) Kill it Now, a motivational book Guiding Gadgets for Gold Getters, a motivational book. (Unpublished) Indelible Prints, a book of quotes (unpublished) Spontaneous Overflow, an anthology of my own poems. Essence of Decency (drama) Is it Nothing to You? Watch Dog my Foot Is this a Choir or Club Secrets of Academic Excellence QUALITIES God fearing and humble. Has patience for slow learners. Energetic, action Driven and solution Oriented. Good interpersonal relationship. Very friendly but firm Respectful and very committed to duty. Hardworking, reliable and honest. A computer literate. Able to absorb pressure and deliver on time. Debate Judge Motivator HOBBIES Reading Writing Listening to inspirational music Counseling Research and evangelism OTHER EXPERIENCES Chief Judge Teacher Trainees Debate 2013 Speaker University of Education delegation to Ghana Tertiary Debating Championship Visiting counselor at different forums Quiz host Co-host, The down hearted, Radio Windy Bay Polling agent, Progressive Peoples Party. REFERENCES Dr. Amma Abrafi Adjei, Lecturer, Department of English Ed., UEW. Phone: (+233)244273980 email: abrafigh@gmail.com Mr. Martin Kyiileyang, Lecturer, Department of English Ed., UEW. Phone: (+233)209313064 Lawyer (Mrs.) Asiedu-Ofei, Gloria Barrister at law and solicitor, Phone: (+233)206020366 email: gasieduofei@hotmail.com Box CS8810, Tema. DATE………………………….. SIGN……………………

YEN BO BIO Agbenyo Yao E.A.R. We drown in a river not by falling in but remaining there in. The tragedy of life is not that we die but that many people reach the point of death only to realize that they had never really lived. Once you’ve cared for none, and lived for none and worked for none and sacrificed for none but self and I, dearly beloved you’ve never lived. Once you fail to try and fail to risk and fail to dare in life, dearly beloved you’ve never lived. The tragedy of life is not that we die but that things die in men while yet they live. Somewhere along the way of life you might feel hurt or disappointed, or scared or even have your heart broken by someone. Do you resign to fate and decide never again to try? Do we say because my mum had not a good marriage and dad and neighbours are always at war with their spouses we shall not venture to marry? Or shall we say because I proposed and she disposed, never again to try? Shall we say because he came with lip and ate and left not buying, never again to sell? Or shall we say because dad had not a school climate of rosy and cosy life, never again to school? Or shall we say because one died in first year “unquized”, never again to school? Or shall we say because we took a course, sat an exam and failed or perhaps had some papers referred, never again to try? Or shall we say because I had a poor grade in a lecturer’s course; never again to take his or her course? Or shall we say because I sat some papers and had it all devils on the cross; we shall not strive to destroy the Ds? Or shall we say because we try to learn an instrument and failed, never to learn to sing or play a flute? Indeed! It is according to the contours of the old ropes that we build new ones, but if an earlier wine tasted sour, is that an excuse never to taste another? Or shall we say because we sponsored ten students to school and they all left the church never again to help our youth? Tell me, shall we say because we voted several times and not had what we wanted, never again to vote? Are there not different weather conditions every time? Bro., are there not times when it is super cold and the blanket pinches as pin and times when the sun burns like fire? Are there not times in life when the weather is fair and cool when we wished it were same all day? Ah! Are there not times when the moon disappears at night, the stars give way and it rains anyway? Are there not times, ladies and gentlemen even in the day when darkness falls? Have we not experienced rain while yet the sun shone as bright? Dearest dear, such and such is life! Why then do we nag and complain and curse and blame God, throwing in the towel, losing hope and calling it quits? To say “kekrereke yen boo bio”x3 when things go wrong, ladies and gentlemen, is a sign of immaturity. Why can’t we still hope in God and trust Him to do as He’s said, trying as many times as we may to change lives rather than resigning to fate and saying “kekrereke men boo bio!” Date composed: wed, 31/10/12

AHAFO

THE YOUTH AND FUTURE INC THAT THE NEGLECT OF OUR CULTURAL VALUES HAS IMMENSELY CONTRIBUTED TO INDISCIPLINE AMONG TODAY’S YOUTH. As the principal speaker against the motion, I shall for the sake of our debate and time, define the borders of the Debate and confine it to the school. The causes of indiscipline can be divided into two groups, causes within school and causes outside school. It must be observed that each of these causes immensely contribute to indiscipline in the youth therefore the temptation to dwell on one particular cause as the most affecting cause must be overcome. The first speaker has already defined the motion that notwithstanding, The chair, ladies and gentlemen, lets answer these questions. 1. Is there indiscipline in the youth? If no, then there is no need for us to be here but since you and I are here, it means we admit the fact that there is evidence of indiscipline amongst the youth. 2. What are the causes? Our opponents are dwelling on the neglect of our cultural values to make their case but the chair, after my exposition, you will realize that even if there is a neglect of our cultural values, it has not in any way gendered indiscipline amongst the youth. 3. Have we neglected our cultural values? We haven’t. but rather what has been left out our indigenous culture are the negative aspects of our culture such as the trokosi, cruel widowhood rights and FGM. Ladies and gentlemen, culture is dynamic therefore as J.A Kufuor puts it, “our culture is going through transition” so I see no reason why we should misconstrue this transition for a neglect. This implies that though there are omissions now, those are natural thing that every culture goes through. 4. Have the part of our cultural values that have been subtracted caused any indiscipline? I am still waiting to be convinced as to how the abandonment of cruel practices such as FGM and trokosi lead to indiscipline. The bottom line is this: although there have been subtractions in our culture, it is a natural thing every culture goes through and these subtractions must not be misconstrued as neglect as if the thing is good and we are not taking care of it. 5. Indiscipline is an inherent trait in every culture.so even when the said culture was at its peak, indiscipline was here and shall remain with us till the rapture takes place. Therefore one cannot and must not say that the neglect of our cultural values has immensely contributed to the indiscipline amongst the youth. Having established my case, let me show you the real causes of the canker of indiscipline that has eaten up the youth. WITHIN THE SCHOOL. Visiting teachers like service personnel. In this case, the teacher handling the lesson is a supply teacher and so is not recognised by the learners as a figure of authority, because he/she is only temporarily teaching and that class. Also the supply teacher may not know the individual names of the pupils - this may give certain kids the excuse to ignore the teacher while he/she is attempting to communicate with them (it is indiscipline for learners to ignore their teacher.). It will take some time before they pretend to notice the teacher actually wants their attention. Name games might be played where the pupils assume the names of their friends for example during the register, to confuse the teacher. 1. In a case the teacher is foreign and cannot speak good English - the pupils can use it to their advantage by purposefully misunderstanding their teacher. Another way for pupils to shirk, is to engage in friendly conversation with the foreign teacher. Asking questions about his or her homeland is often a very successful way of enticing them to talk about subjects with very little relation to the lesson. 2. The teacher may be late and so the first few minutes of the lesson were spent in an environment devoid of the basic classroom rules. This bad foundation for the lesson makes pupils more prone to rebellious behavior. 3. Its the last lesson of the day. For any teacher, such a time of the day to teach is generally a misfortune. In anticipation of the end of the day, pupils take less care over their work and may lose commitment, as thoughts turn to what they have to do after the lesson, e.g piling up homework to deal with or an angry girlfriend who needs talking to. 4. Of course the standard of discipline is likely to go down even further if a lengthy holiday awaits the end of a Friday afternoon lesson or indeed awaits the end of a school week. 5. Poor teaching. Usually a teacher who makes more of an effort to connect with the pupils is more likely to gain their attention. But reading in a monotone from a text book before telling the pupils to get on with some task in their books is just asking for the paper planes to take flight and shouting across the classroom. 6. Outnumbered class or overcrowded class. It becomes quite difficult to control a very large class. Teaching is a tough job and giving the teacher student ratio in our country one should expect nothing but an increase in indiscipline. These are simply managerial and pedagogical issues and have nothing to do with the neglect of our cultural values even if there were reason enough to say that. 7. Some people are inherently indiscipline. According to Tim Lahaye, a temperament author and preacher, some people such as the phlegmatic and the sanguine are naturally indisciplined. This has nothing to do with cultural neglect. My opponents should check themselves up and come again. 8. Amongst higher ability groups, certain pupils may come to the conclusion that they are intellectually superior to the teacher and to their coleagues they misbehave because should the teacher come up to ask them a question about the topic under discussion, they would answer without a problem and so taunt him/her, without feeling any incentives to do the work. Instead they talk to friends, chuck stuff about. 9. Negative relations between pupils. There may also be unwelcome incidents that could occur between pupils at any time, causing tempers to occasionally flare. As you can probably guess, such emotions are likely to somewhat dim the awareness of school disciplines for the pupil(s) in question. CAUSES OUTSIDE SCHOOL; this may possibly include the following: 1. The parents of pupils may have no interest in education and so this encourages their children to assume a similar attitude, provoking rebellious behaviour. Has a cultural abandonment got anything to do with this? You are the cause of your own problems. According to professor Kwakuvi Azasu, a senior lecturer at the university of education, “the attitude of a parent largely affects their wards’ conducts in public and in school.” Just as the saying goes like father, like son. A crab can never birth a bird. Period and these issues ladies and gentlemen, have nothing to do with neglect of cultural values. They are simply pedagogical issues. 2. Pupils may be abused at home. Research has proven that children from broken homes tend to be more indisciplined than those from homes where the couple stay together. Why talk of the neglect of culture when all you have to do is to set the home right. Or is it only Ghanaian culture that encourages parents to stay together?Its not going to be as easy for a pupil from an unstable background to focus on school work as one from a more secure one. After all, what is a pupil who is mistreated at home more likely to be thinking about, will he be thinking of what's the formula for the circumference of a circle or, will my dad get drunk again tonight and threaten me with that knife? To such Pupils, being tough is the way to survive at home, so why should they think otherwise when they turn up at school? According to Peter Kofi Afful a Lecturer at Pentecost University and the University of Education, “people are products of circumstances and the environment.” This implies that, what you see more and experience is what makes you. Joel Osteen says “you are the product of your words.” In effect, a student who hears profane words everyday will definitely produce such words most of the time. Why blame this on neglect of cultural values? Change your thinking, change your mind! 3. Home life for some might involve being overindulged by parents where they are criticized and harshly reprimanded any time they go wrong so pupils expect the same when they come to school. And these are the causes of indiscipline. Neglect of cultural values has nothing at all to do with this!. 4. Again in the domestic context, pupils may not ever have been set clear boundaries at home and so its only natural that they are going to find abiding by a whole set of new rules at school a suffocating prospect which limits their usual freedom immeasurably. 5. The Ghanaian community is made of people from different cultures in which what is discipline in one may not be in another, so why then accuse the neglect of cultural values as the cause? Many nations today suffer critical illness courtesy of what corruption among people (citizens and foreign nationals) and not being able to control and regulate the effects. Thus, the pace of nation’s development is completely declining resulting to fear that this situation may go beyond uncontrollable climax. The situation is what the entire world is suffering today. The question here is; what are the effects of moral profligate to our nation’s development? The global economic meltdown is a typical example here. If I may ask, what are the underlying structures behind this? When huge money are spent recklessly or looted by the people in government, the result is the case. When two elephants are fighting, the grasses suffer. This cliche reminds me of the poverty situation in most developing nations of the world where their leaders indulge in looting their nations’ treasury and not finding a means of caring for the less privileged even when funds are released by developed nations. This resulted into unemployment for the teaming youths and school alumnae creating a big vacuum to accommodate more corrupt practices by these idle youths. Most of the youths turn restive in kidnapping, assassinations, robbery and terrorism. The problems created by some nations’ leaders and mostly in the developing nations contribute to neglect in the rule of law, no respects to human right and thus re-generating into more corrupt practices eating deeper into the nations’ fabrics. Another big effect of moral profligate is from media and their impact triggered by sophisticated technology and civilization. The information disseminated to the general public could lead to virtual practices unknown to the nation before now. Most practices like the abuse of sex and sexuality, practicing of witchcraft and indulging in drug trafficking among other crimes are seriously heating the development of our nations today. Thus, the media should be scrutinized to deliver a sound and error free information gearing towards building our nations. Government at all level, corporate bodies and individuals are therefore called to pay attention to this critical situation affecting the entire world today. The reversal of the current trend would do us better and re-create unity, peace and love among nations. There are many causes of indiscipline in the youth found in today's society. One of the main causes being the lack of parent involvement as well as parents not making children responsible for their own wrong doings and failures. Too often, parents are unaware of what is going on in their children's school until the child comes home with a failing grade. The parent is then ready to march into school and reprimand the teacher instead of the child. Children pick up on these behaviors and think that every time they are insubordinate that the teacher will be forced to take the blame. Youth that are not in school are more likely to be involved in criminal activities. They are also more likely to become drug users or to become alcoholics. Sociologists and psychologists have been very interested in studying the causes of youth violence, and it has become clear that it is a complex social problem. While it sometimes can be connected to a tolerance of violence at home and within the community (including the media), it's not necessarily the direct result of family violence or even of media violence alone. Media violence, family violence and violence within communities are all ways in which a general tolerance of violence are expressed. Interestingly, recent research suggests that sibling violence has a strong connection to youth violence. Brothers and sisters who engage in violent or bullying behaviors at home are more likely to be guilty of bullying and violence among their peers too, and as they get older they are also more prone to dating violence. When parents fail to monitor bullying among siblings at young ages, tolerance of those behaviors is implied. As children grow older, they apply the same behavior to all their other relationships. In addition to being connected to low levels of parent involvement, youth violence is also connected to low socio-economic status and other factors that are difficult to untangle since they are somewhat interdependent. There can be many factors that contribute to parents being unable to monitor their children's relationships appropriately, and this may be one connection to lower socioeconomic status. For instance a single mother who doesn't have a strong support network of family and friends to help may have little time to monitor children as she would otherwise. It can be tempting to oversimplify the causes of youth violence--but social issues like this one need to be addressed on several levels if they are to be prevented. reserve script

THAT THE NEGLECT OF OUR CULTURAL VALUES HAS IMMENSELY CONTRIBUTED TO INDISCIPLINE AMONG TODAY’S YOUTH. Mr. chairman, panel of adjudicators, the time keeper, teachers and headmasters present, co debaters, ladies and gentlemen, we have a serious motion before us that brings to the floor a serious topic that is of much interest to every stake holder of our time. That the neglect of our cultural values has contributed immensely to indiscipline among the youth. As the principal speaker against the motion, I shall for the sake of our debate and time, define the borders of the Debate and confine it to the school. The causes of indiscipline can be divided into two groups, causes within school and causes outside school and It must be noted that each of these causes immensely contribute to indiscipline in the youth therefore the temptation to dwell on one particular cause as the most affecting cause must be overcome. The first speaker has already defined the motion, that notwithstanding, The chair, ladies and gentlemen, lets answer these questions to enable us trace the line of argument. 1. Is there indiscipline in the youth? If no, then there is no need for us to be here but since you and I are here, it means we admit the fact that there is evidence of indiscipline amongst the youth. So yes! there is evidence of indiscipline amongst the youth. If so, 2. What then are the causes? Our opponents are dwelling on a said neglect of our cultural values to make their case but the chair, after my exposition, you will realize that even if there is a neglect of our cultural values, it has not in any way gendered indiscipline amongst the youth. 3. Have we neglected our cultural values? We against the motion are saying No! We haven’t, because our opponents cannot prove their case but rather what has been left out of our indigenous culture are the negative aspects of our culture such as the trokosi, cruel widowhood rights and FGM. Ladies and gentlemen, culture is dynamic therefore as J.A Kufuor puts it, “our culture is going through transition and these transitions take the form of omissions and additions ” so I see no reason why we should misconstrue this transition for a neglect. This implies that though there are omissions now, those are natural thing that every culture goes through. Therefore, it cannot be argued that a neglect of our cultural values has resulted in indiscipline among the youth. 4. Have the part of our cultural values that have been subtracted caused any indiscipline? I am still waiting to be convinced as to how the abandonment of cruel practices such as FGM and trokosi can lead to indiscipline. These have nothing to do with indiscipline. The bottom line is this: although there have been subtractions in our culture, it is a natural thing every culture goes through and these subtractions must not be misconstrued as neglect and therefore has not in anyway contributed to indiscipline among the youth. 5. Is there any culture or group of people anywhere in the world in which indiscipline doesn’t abound? Indiscipline is an inherent trait in every culture moreover even when the said culture was at its peak, indiscipline was here and shall remain with us till the rapture takes place. Even the Holy Bible acknowledges this in Rom.3:23 that all have sinned and indiscipline is part of sin, therefore one cannot and must not say that the neglect of our cultural values has immensely contributed to the indiscipline amongst the youth. Having established my case, let me show you the real causes of the canker of indiscipline that has eaten up the youth. WITHIN THE SCHOOL. 1. Visiting teachers like service personnel. In a case where the teacher handling the lesson is a supply teacher and so is not recognised by the learners as a figure of authority, indiscipline may prevail. Also the supply teacher may not know the individual names of the pupils - this may give certain kids the excuse to ignore the teacher while he/she is attempting to communicate with them (it is indiscipline for learners to ignore their teacher.). 2. If the teacher is foreign and cannot speak good English - the pupils can make fun of their teacher if he doesn’t seem to have a good control of the language of instruction. There may be giggles and fun making during the lesson and this is indiscipline. 3. The teacher may be late and so the first few minutes of the lesson were spent in an environment devoid of the basic classroom rules. This bad foundation for the lesson makes pupils more prone to rebellious behavior. And these points Mr. chairman are the leading causes of indiscipline according to the GES communiqué issued during the GNAT youth week celebrated at Somanya recently. Nowhere, I repeat, nowhere was the neglect of cultural values mentioned as a leading cause of indiscipline. Except may be my opponents just want to make a mountain out of an ant hill. Let me give you more. 4. Its the last lesson of the day. For any teacher, such a time of the day to teach is generally a misfortune. In anticipation of the end of the day, pupils take less care over their work and may lose commitment, as thoughts turn to what they have to do after the lesson like going to deal with an angry girlfriend or seeing a new catch. 5. Of course the standard of discipline is likely to go down even further if a lengthy holiday awaits the end of a Friday afternoon lesson. 6. Poor teaching. Usually a teacher who makes more of an effort to connect with the pupils is more likely to gain their attention. But reading in a monotone from a text book before telling the pupils to get on with some task in their books is just asking for the paper planes to take flight and shouting across the classroom. If a teacher does not know his subject well according to prof. Naana Jane Opoku, “there is no way he won’t meet indiscipline, he will meet it in red and gold and green with a black star on the forehead of his students.” 7. Another cause is an Outnumbered class or overcrowded class. It becomes quite difficult to control a very large class. “Teaching is a tough job and giving the teacher student ratio in our country one should expect nothing but an increase in indiscipline” says prof. E.N Abaka, UEW campus lens. Mr. chairman, these are simply managerial and pedagogical issues and have nothing to do with the neglect of our cultural values. 8. Some people are inherently indiscipline. According to Tim Lahaye, a temperament author and preacher, some people such as the phlegmatic and the sanguine are naturally indiscipline. This has nothing to do with cultural neglect. My opponents should check themselves up and come again probably after we have been adjudged winners of this debate. 9. Amongst higher ability groups, certain pupils may think that they know more than the teacher and their colleagues so they misbehave because if the teacher comes up to ask them a question about the topic under discussion, they would answer without a problem so they misbehave, without feeling any incentives to do the work. 10. Negative relations between pupils. There may also be unwelcome incidents that could occur between pupils at any time, causing tempers to occasionally flare. As you can probably guess, such emotions are likely to somewhat dim the awareness of school disciplines for the pupil(s) in question. Judge for yourselves, have these got anything to do with cultural values and neglect? Look! Even my opponents are responding admiringly. Do we need to continue this debate all? Well for formality sake, we shall proceed but we are winning anyway since our judges are very fair and loving. CAUSES OUTSIDE SCHOOL; this may possibly include the following: 1. The parents of pupils may have no interest in education and so this encourages their children to assume a similar attitude; provoking, rebellious behavior. Has a cultural abandonment got anything to do with this? You are the cause of your own problems. According to professor Kwakuvi Azasu, a senior lecturer at the university of education, “the attitude of a parent largely affects their wards’ conducts in public and in school.” Just as the saying goes like father, like son. A crab can never birth a bird. Period and these issues ladies and gentlemen, have nothing to do with neglect of cultural values. They are simply pedagogical issues. 2. Youths that are abused at home will definitely be indiscipline. Research has proven that children from broken homes tend to be more indiscipline than those from homes where the couple stay together. Daily graphic, Monday sixth January 2014, according to Harriet Baidoo, “children run away from home because of broken homes”. Why talk of the neglect of culture when all you have to do is to set the home right. Or is it only Ghanaian culture that encourages parents to stay together? After all, what is a pupil who is mistreated at home more likely to be thinking about, will he be thinking of what's the formula for the circumference of a circle or, will my dad get drunk again tonight and threaten me with that knife? To such Pupils, being tough is the way to survive at home, so why should they think otherwise when they turn up at school? According to Peter Kofi Afful a Lecturer at Pentecost University and the University of Education, “people are products of circumstances and the environment.” This implies that, what you see more and experience is what makes you. Joel Osteen says “you are the product of your words.” In effect, a student who hears profane words everyday will definitely produce such words most of the time. Why blame this on neglect of cultural values? Change your thinking, change your mind! 3. Home life for some might involve being overindulged by parents where they are criticized and harshly reprimanded any time they go wrong so they expect the same when they come to school. And these are the causes of indiscipline. Neglect of cultural values has nothing at all to do with this!. 4. Again in the domestic context, pupils may not ever have been set clear boundaries at home therefore they are not used to rules and regulations so its only natural that they are going to find abiding by a whole set of new rules at school a suffocating prospect which limits their usual freedom immeasurably. 5. The Ghanaian community is made of people from different cultures in which what is discipline in one may not be in another, so why then accuse the neglect of cultural values as the cause? In sum, though certain aspects of the Ghanaian culture have been omitted, we have not neglected the values because the values are still present with us, and though there is evidence of indiscipline in our youths, different factors have contributed to this indiscipline and we cannot and must not associate it with neglect of cultural values. So soon, I have brought my address to a close but I am glad our judges, dressed so beautifully and beaming with smiles will adjudge us the winner of this year’s debate. Thank you. (THIS IS A RESERVE SCRIPT)

AGAINST THE MOTION 2nd speaker Mr. Chairman, panel of judges, all protocol observed, I am Bright, from Ahafoman Senior High Technical School, the supporting speaker against the motion that “the neglect of our cultural values has contributed immensely to indiscipline amongst today’s youth.” My lead opposition member showed us clearly how the neglect of our cultural values has not in any way led to the imminent indiscipline amongst the youth. She spoke about the extended family system and the beggarly spirit Ghanaians call hospitality, as well as some primitive practices that have rather expanded the tentacles of indiscipline and widened the scope of youthful hooliganism in our country. her points were so strong and that is why I believe we are winning this debate. No wonder our opponents spent all the time making baseless argument that can hardly stand the test of time. To add to those points, obedience as a value has largely contributed to indiscipline. I will ask my opponents, if you think its so good to obey, why were you Ghanaians so happy with the former president JEA Mills when he refused to heed the caution from David Cameron who postulated that we accept homosexuals or risk any aid from the European Union.? If your father asks you to kill your mum for supper, will you do it just because obedience is a value? Education wise, honorable chairperson, our culture places more value on male education while the female was relegated to the kitchen. If values were that good, why are you girls not in the kitchen? Further more, the value that children do not speak when adults are speaking is an infringement on the rights and freedoms of these children and ones they become tired of this “imprisonment”, they begin to explode. This is what rather promotes indiscipline and not the neglect of it. The value we place on riches and wealth has rather increased the crave for wealth and power at all cost amongst the yoputh leading to “sakawa”, internet fraud and other social vices we are complaining about today. Conclusively Mr. chairman, to argue that the neglect of our cultural values has contributed immensely to indiscipline amongst the youth is a futile effort and we have successfully disproved that by filing ten strong points against this motion, and these points are: 1. Indiscipline is an inherent trait. 2. Even when the culture was at it peak, there was indiscipline. 3. Some of these practices are primitive 4. The extended family system enables the youth to outwit parents. 5. There is more to fear in friends than foes 6. The marriage system entails practices that foster indiscipline 7. The Ghanaian naming system promotes egoism which leads to indiscipline. 8. Leadership inheritance genders indiscipline. 9. Male child education is upheld which causes females to misbehave. 10. That children don’t speak when adult speak is an infringement. 11. Riches and wealth as esteemed in Ghana makes the youth to behave uncontrollably. 12. Obedience as a value permits foreigners to rule over us and let others infringe on our rights. 13. Society’s values are simply evolving and not deteriorating 14. Everyone has a different definition for values. 15. Change is inevitable With fifteen strong points against this motion, and with these wonderful judges, I am smiling because we are going home with this trophy. GOD BLESS YOU.

KILL IT

KILL IT NOW ©Agbenyo Yao E.A.R November 2012 Copyright © Agbenyo Yao E.A.R, November 2012. ISBN:1456768795387429 All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical whether by photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without prior permission of the author. All correspondence should be forwarded to the author: YOUTH AND FUTURE INC. Box TT191, Tema. Email: hon.agbenyo@ymail.com yaoagbenyo@gmail.com +233274864449 DEDICATED TO MY SENIOR BROTHER MR. AGBENYO DANIEL AND HIS WIFE SISTER MATILDA APREKU (MRS. AGBENYO) AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF THEIR DREAMS AND VISIONS. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee And before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations…be not afraid…for I am with thee sayeth the Lord. I thank my God Almighty Jehovah, his son Jesus Christ of Nazareth who died to save me from eternal damnation, and my blessed Holy Spirit for teaching me to write this book too, at last another one has been published HALLELUUUUUUUIAH. God bless all my lecturers at the University Of Education and all my teachers, the first being my mum, Madam Grace A. Amegah and all who have impacted my life till now especially pastor Alex Qayson of DCLM, Tema and Mr. Agbodzi Moses who returned me to school. Wise Dogbevia and Philip Amegagoe have been so helpful financially. God bless Mr. Francis Yao Dawson for his numerous support and encouragement. God bless my brothers and sisters; Mr. Agbenyo Daniel K and sister Dora for paying my fees till now, hon. Oliver Agbenyo-Ahiafor and sister Ruthvera cannot be forgotten but the family is more than extended, stay blessed. My gratitude to all the writers whose works I have been reading since I knew to read, I must say I gathered many ideas from them. And YOU! For purchasing. Or else I should be writing for no one. God bless you for the encouragement and support. Please help me bring out better books by sending any criticisms to: hon.agbenyo@ymail.com. TO ALL MY YOUTHFUL GENIUSES; “IN EXCELLENCE, YOU HAVE A SHARE GO FOR IT!!! FOREWORD Whether young or old, male or female, whatever our profession, whatever our faith and or beliefs we have all at least once in a life time come to a particular point where we feel that this is my time to do as I had wanted. Today is my right time to do as I had wanted. The secret admirer has once upon a time felt a particular moment that this is the right time to say it just as I feel. The evangelist has met it on his missions, the student has encountered it in his studies, the teacher, in the classroom, the laborer, the doctor, the farmer, the counselor, the mother, the guardian and the musician. The preacher, the drunkard, the broker, the lover and the grape vine. The Buddhist, the Christian, the Muslim and the Traditionalist. WE ALL HAVE AT LEAST ONCE IN A LIFE TIME FELT: this is my moment. We all have once in a life time known that feeling when something stirs within us and we know that a unique opportunity now available to us may never return to us the same way. Pathetically and sadly enough, we must genuinely say that we mostly let those moments slip by. We miss our moments only to cry, weep and curse later; “had I known”. Then it’s too late to repair. Psychologists tell us that if we do not act immediately we have this kind of feeling, we are less likely to act later when such moments present themselves. Each time we fail to act, we become more closed, more hardened, more desensitized, more emotionally paralysed. We are not able to detect and react to other such moments. We mostly trick and deceive ourselves by substituting emotions for actions. When we are prompted to pray for a friend, donate to a charity, help a needy girl or help that boy go to school, or giving the aged some helping hand, or appreciating what someone has done or telling someone how great you feel around him or her, rather than taking immediate action, we ignore that feeling thinking well that takes care of itself, I don’t have time now, later, or tomorrow or may be a better time will come next time. Some even say whatever will be, will be, someone else will do it and many more discouraging words and reasons for which we cannot act immediately. We deceive ourselves thereby closing ourselves to more opportunities. This book has been carefully written to help you gain a better understanding of the world around you and to discover your purpose for existence and how to live a fulfilled life. My sincerest prayer and hope is that you make the best out of this book. GOD BLESS YOU. EPISODE ONE Let’s start with a poem I presented at the convocation of students of English in the University of Education, Winneba. I call it the tragedy of not trying at all. YEN BO BIO Agbenyo Yao E.A.R. We drown in a river not by falling in but remaining there in. The tragedy of life is not that we die but that many people reach the point of death only to realize that they had never really lived. Once you’ve cared for none, and lived for none and worked for none and sacrificed for none but self and I, dearly beloved you’ve never lived. Once you fail to try and fail to risk and fail to dare in life, dearly beloved you’ve never lived. The tragedy of life is not that we die but that things die in men while yet they live. Somewhere along the way of life you might feel hurt or disappointed, or scared or even have your heart broken by someone. Do you resign to fate and decide never again to try? Do we say because my mum had not a good marriage and dad and neighbours are always at war with their spouses we shall not venture to marry? Or shall we say because I proposed and she disposed, never again to try? Shall we say because he came with lip and ate and left not buying, never again to sell? Or shall we say because dad had not a school climate of rosy and cosy life, never again to school? Or shall we say because one died in first year “unquized”, never again to school? Or shall we say because we took a course, sat an exam and failed or perhaps had some papers referred, never again to try? Or shall we say because I had a poor grade in a lecturer’s course; never again to take his or her course? Or shall we say because I sat some papers and had it all devils on the cross; we shall not strive to destroy the Ds? Or shall we say because we try to learn an instrument and failed, never to learn to sing or play a flute? Indeed! It is according to the contours of the old ropes that we build new ones, but if an earlier wine tasted sour, is that an excuse never to taste another? Or shall we say because we sponsored ten students to school and they all left the church never again to help our youth? Tell me, shall we say because we voted several times and not had what we wanted, never again to vote? Are there not different weather conditions every time? Bro., are there not times when it is super cold and the blanket pinches as pin and times when the sun burns like fire? Are there not times in life when the weather is fair and cool when we wished it were same all day? Ah! Are there not times when the moon disappears at night, the stars give way and it rains anyway? Are there not times, ladies and gentlemen even in the day when darkness falls? Have we not experienced rain while yet the sun shone as bright? Dearest dear, such and such is life! Why then do we nag and complain and curse and blame God, throwing in the towel, losing hope and calling it quits? To say “kekrereke yen boo bio”x3 when things go wrong, ladies and gentlemen, is a sign of immaturity. Why can’t we still hope in God and trust Him to do as He’s said, trying as many times as we may to change lives rather than resigning to fate and saying “kekrereke men boo bio!” Date composed: wed, 31/10/12 Franz kafta told the story of a hungry, jobless young man who stood behind a kingdom gate hoping to enter. He watched the door keeper for a long time like a stray goat spying on a cassava dough seller. This man wandered how he could get past the gateman who also had blatantly refused to look in his direction. He plotted and strategized, schemed and planned but was afraid to try. He remembered all the motivational messages he’d listened to, he recollected all the books he read on trying, but was afraid to try, he finally gave up the struggle, tired, disappointed and disillusioned. As he was dying, he lamented to the gatekeeper: why, why did you keep me out? The gateman replied: I did not keep you out. This is your door, and I am only here to serve you. Still not ok, the young man angrily retorted, why then did you stand in my way? The gateman again replied, I didn’t, I’d have been more than glad to let you in but you never asked to enter. This man died a foolish and miserable death out of hunger when there was free compulsory capitation grant, feeding just a minute walk away from him but fear, doubt, unbelief and that grasshopper mentality kept him outside till he died. The tragedy of the unseized moments. A beautiful young virgin had roamed the whole earth in search of a husband, had prayed all the prayers, done all the psychology and obeyed all the counseling, yet found no suitor. Disappointed she turns to God and confessed that she was tired and that any man who came her way at the time would she agree to. Unknown to her was the numerous suitors she had who could not seize any of the dramatic moments to express their love for her. One of her numerous suitors Arthur had also roamed, prayed and called on God and done all, even more than the virgin did , only to resign to faith quit while he met the virgin almost every day on his way to work. Another young man Richmond met this virgin for once and immediately his heart jumped up, he came back in a minute, commented on the attractiveness of the virgin’s hair and the flower on her dress and O! the battle had been won. That young man watched the episode sadly and disappointingly from afar while the virgin Grace followed Richmond to his home. The tragedy of the unseized moments. The worst thing that will ever happen to you is your inability to tell people you love that you love them until you lose them. Do your friends, male/females have any good character, why not appreciate it now that you have them around you? Have you got a morsel of food, why not share with your friends while he is alive with you? You have Christ and happiness? Why not share with people while you have them around you? “Men never realize the worth of others till they lose them” May this never apply to you. Do not hate anyone because of any difference. Love as much as you can, care as much as you can, share as much as you can. Do not wait for a friend to pass away before you say had I known, I’d have loved him more. Appreciate people while yet you have them for you may meet someone today and not the next day. When I moved to campus after becoming the hall chaplain for the biggest hall in the university of education Winneba, Ghartey hall, I expected to share room with the honourable council member Mr. Okra Ammanor but he did not turn up in time so a level hundred student was put in his place. I went down with him the very moment to the next block to help him convey his luggage to the last floor GTF28 where I lodged. I sat him down after packing and conveying his things: I took the very heaviest of them all, after which I sat him down to relate to him how many people I’d counseled with related roommate problems as is mostly the case in any human institution where two or more people happen to be living together. I told him of how we were different and from different backgrounds, temperaments and psychological make ups and different experiences and ideologies of life. He listened with attentive ears and concern, I swept the room all the time, he would cook and sprinkle oil on my bed sheet, I’d wash them without compliant, he’d wake up early and play noisy, worldly music which evidently does not befit my office as the hall chaplain, and which he knew I personally hated because I’d told him several times, he would sharpen pencils in the room, cook and untidy the place and leave all upswept, till I do it, and at midnight as late as twelve, my brother would be cooking and I couldnt sleep, yet amidst all these I sent a message to radio windy bay that he was the best roommate. I left him to arrange his things as he wanted, though they blocked the way, I entreated him to go to church which he wouldn’t do, I called him to morning devotion, to which he’d bawl at me; “I’m not that religious ooo why are you forcing things on me?” I lived with this brother of mine in fear, reverence and care, afraid of hurting his feelings, afraid of offending him, afraid of sitting on his happiness and afraid of infringing on his rights. I gave up all effort on helping him, I relented every effort aimed at helping a brother or even to comment on any action of his, rather, I left him to do as he pleased. On the day of his matriculation, Saturday 29th September 2012, I left for the reading room with a brother’s laptop to research for my next book INDELLIBLE PRINTS while he was still in bed, which was usual of him on Saturdays. I returned in the evening at about17hrs GMT, which is about 5pm in Ghana, he wasn’t in the room, at about 6pm I left to see brother John Jackson, a co youth leader from Tema who had come to occupy my former place in the church store, returning around 22HRS GMT only to be greeted with the saddest news of the moment, brother Francis has been rushed to the hospital after collapsing in a friend’s room about an hour ago. Little did I know that that was the end of the life story of my first roommate that I ever had while staying on campus. I cried, I wept, jumped up and down in despair and shock. What made me weep more is the fact that I warned him several times, I even went to the extent of writing and pasting a warning notice on the door post as well as many other doors, this he reported to his sister who is married to a lecturer that I was intimidating him. I heard this after his death. The point is this: I tried my best to help him realize that survival on campus was not by fitness, but by leaning on the everlasting arms of God, though he didn’t appreciate it, I didn’t disrespect him, but to the best of my ability, I respected him and treated him as a senior brother though I didn’t know his age and it didn’t look like he was older than me but I appreciated him while yet he was with me. Many co executive members advised that I report him to the president but I knew the consequence of that, his image would have been distorted and he would have been moved from the room. So I refused to let the president know. Real fulfillment is in helping others to live a better life. Before brother Philip Worwui died in level 200, I was with him every morning during his illness, I did all I could for him, we prayed, we sung together, we listened to songs and messages together on his laptop, some days before he left the school to the house, Regina Bilekyi and I visited him, he insisted that he brought us bread for us to take in some tea before we left, though we opposed to taking that tea, brother Philip, as was his nature to be generous, ensured that we took that tea before we left him. That was his life! He gave! He shared! He cared! Another day I had absolutely nothing on me. No money, no food, not even a little gari did I find in my things to keep me going. You may be surprised but it happened! Eventually the spirit led me to bro. Philip’s end. I could not ask him for transport to the north campus to attend my lecture but he fed me with the little that was left in his room. He did his best; he gave of his best to those who needed it. I submitted his last assignment before he departed to the house for treatment but never came back. We were at the liberation square evangelizing the matriculants when the news came that brother Philip whom I affectionately called Prof Worwui was gone never to return!!! I lost a great compatriot, advisor and friend, one who knew how to seize the moments to do good to people. MAY HIS SOUL REST IN THE BOSSOM OF HIS FATHER WHOM HE BELIEVED SO MUCH. Has it ever dawned on your sub conscious being that you won’t have people around you forever? Have you ever realized that you can’t have someone all day every time? Why not love them while you have them? Why not just tolerate that friend for now because we won’t have them around for ever? Think about it, if you have a grudge with or hatred against someone and without sorting and ironing out your differences, one party dies, how’d you feel? Settle that grievance before it becomes too late Some years ago in south America, a crew of Peruvian Sailors cruising up the Amazon river came across a weird spectacle: a Spanish ship was at anchor in the middle of the wide Amazon and all the sailors were stretched out weakly on the deck of the ship. As the Peruvians drew nearer, they saw that the Spanish were in a terrible physical condition. They looked like death itself, they were weak beyond description, their lips perched and swollen. They were literally dying of thirst “Can we help you?” the Peruvians shouted. In response, the Spaniards shouted “WATER!!!” “WATER!!!” “WATER!!!” “We need fresh water” the Peruvian sailors, surprised at such a request, told them to lower their buckets and help themselves. How could you be swimming in fresh water and be crying for potable water!!! Fear, doubt, apathy! They never tried but were so much afraid. That is what I call The tragedy of the unseized moments. The Spanish thought they were lost in the open ocean, that the water around them was undrinkable so they had given up hope, they quit trying, they just dropped anchor and waited helplessly to die of thirst. They had anchored in the middle of fresh water for days yet didn’t know it. They had not discovered it because they had quit trying. Did you say they are unwise? That how could they conclude that the river was undrinkable when they had not tasted of it? When you met that that Rasta brother smoking, did you not say in your mind that he wouldn’t listen to you if you spoke to him? When you met that worldly dancer, did you not say he was a sinner so i’d have nothing to do with him, did you not say that Muslims are not Christians you can’t talk to them, did you not blacklist that brother and decided not to do business with him because you said he wasn’t a Christian, have you not decided never to enter into marriage because you have once been in a relationship which wrecked on the way? Have you tasted the new once? How about you who have said in your heart never to marry or have anything to do with a particular tribe just because another member of that tribe treated you badly? Did you also not say that a member of that church did not live well with us so I will never visit that church? How then do you draw your conclusion so fast, so often, so abruptly without a try? That is the tragedy of the unseized moments that we all find ourselves in. Keep on calling until your voice is heard One problem that runs through all these examples above is the problem of apathy; quitting on life. The opposite of faith, contrary to hope, antonym of love, it is the other side of commitment; to be spiritless, heartless, sluggish, numb, paralysed, insensitive, unconcerned, unimpressed, unexcited, unmoved, unstirred, untouched, demotivated. Apathy is a tragedy. If I were unconcerned about anything, I’d really be upset about apathy. We all dread the thought of failure. Indeed failure is bad but worst than failure is not trying at all. Not trying at all is tantamount to apathy. It is the worst of all failures. It is better to try and fail than to remain unmoved. After all if you fall you can rise again it is when you remain there that is bad. As someone noted “you drown in a river not by falling into it but remaining there in.” Apathy, giving up on a task as a result of discouragement is a grave tragedy! Do your best to avoid it. The tragedy of life is that many people reach the point of death only to realise that they had never really lived. Once you’ve love no one, cared for no one, sacrificed for none, you’ve never lived! Once you’ve failed to try, failed to venture, failed to risk, you’ve lost it all. It would have been better if you had not lived at all. The tragedy of life is not that we die but that things die in men while yet the live. Somewhere along the way of life, someone might have hurt you or scared, or disappointed you. Do you resign to faith and decide not to try again? Do we just say because my mother did not have a good marriage, my mum is always at war with Dad, I’m never going into marriage? Or shall we say because Dad did not have a successful life at school, I’m also not going to try? Shall we say because someone died in university at first year we shall not attend university? Or shall we say because we wrote WASSCE and failed some papers, or wrote a university or tertiary exams and was referred in a course, we shall not attend school again? Shall we say because we tried learning violin or clarinet or organ and failed we shall not learn to sing or to play the guitar too? It is true that we build according to the contours of the old as postulated by an Anlo proverb but if an earlier wine was bitter does that prevent us from tasting another? Or shall we say because we sponsored ten youths to school and the all left the church we shall not offer help to our students? Don’t be terrified by the risks, pressures and demands of life, don’t run away from commitment, and don’t pull back into your shelves and hide giving up on life. Keep on striking and digging! You will soon hit gold. Are there not different weather conditions all the time? Are there not times when it rains and the sun scorches like fire? Are there not times when the weather is fair and cool and we wish it remained the same? And are there not times when the moon disappears at night and the stars give way? Are there not times even in the day when darkness falls? Have we not experienced rain while the sun shone? Such is life! We cannot use past experiences as excuses for not trying at all. Why then do we nag and complain and lose hope giving up on life and throwing in the towel and calling it an end? Can’t we still hope in God and work for changes in our lives by trying as many times as we can? Let us rise to the call of life and work assiduously to change our plights for better. We cannot use past experiences as excuses for not trying new ones. The world is waiting for you to make a hit! Don’t let anyone decide for you when to strike or when to speak. Make the best out of what you have now! There is a place for you at the top! EPISODE TWO APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE. JESUS Christ told the story of a business man who decided to take a trip, left his fortune with three men, upon his return, he calls his three business associates for a report. The first two who had made good use of the money by investing it, were commended for a job well done. The third that had been afraid of trying, not only missed out on a promotion, but lost all the money too. He failed because he didn’t appreciate what he had. Why didn’t I get as much as the others? Why do I always have to be given the least? This is not fair! How do you expect me to compete with them? How? Why? Ok. Fine. I know what to do. I’m not going to play the game anymore. I’ll show them! I won’t participate at all in the game. He is full of apathy and ingratitude. He didn’t appreciate what he had. Until we begin to appreciate what we have, until we realise that this is what God believes we can succeed with, there is no way we are going to make progress. We shall remain numb, unmoved, demotivated, unexcited, paralysed and unable to reach our full stretch. Look, there is far too much that you can do with your life regardless of where you are! There is far too much you can offer this world. Read wide, read good books and explore. You can go far, the world stands aside to let them pass who know where they are going. Appreciate what you have now, thank God for it and work to improve it. When I was taken from class four in a school that had just started: Graceland international in Tema to JSS one in Leonardo Junior School, a very high profile school in Tema noted for its academic excellence, I had to compete with pupils who had been promoted from class six, with a difference of two years experience! Yet I didn’t run away from there, by God’s grace I even toped them all in RME as well as a splendid performance in other subject areas except mathematics which had been my problem since primary, even there I didn’t fail!!. I was selected to participate in a quiz competition between forms one, two and three, yet we beat the form twos (A n B) and form 1A with a very minimal margin behind 3A. I was then in form 1B after I’d been moved from 1A. Aside, these were children of very wealthy parents, my case wasn’t so. I had to go home every now and then because of school fees. My sister Dora who was then caring for my fees was also in school, bro Dan too was in school, sister Ruth was also in school, sister Gladys who was given a sewing machine to help me in my daily pocket money never gave me any money! I had to sell “agbeli kanklo” every Saturday and public holidays and charcoal in the evenings after school (when my mates were having extra and special tutoring in their homes) for my mum to keep us going. I didn’t complain that I was being treated unfairly though at certain times I get discouraged, desperate and extremely worried, I didn’t give up. There were times I cried, I wept, I grudged and sometimes refused to go to sell but it all taught me lessons. Who knew that I could also make it to the secondary school let alone talk of vas? Be content with your current endowments and work towards a better future and not resign to fate and say I shall not participate any longer. Appreciate what you have. If you think your wife is not good for you, just leave for three days. I promise you, you will come to find another man proposing to occupy your vacated position. There are thousands of people just waiting for you to quit so they can come for your port folio. You think your job is bad? Go elsewhere and see if someone else would not come for it. Did you say you have no nice shirts? Remove the one on you and throw it away and see if someone else wouldn’t come for it. You don’t like the school you’ve been admitted to? There are thousands out there waiting to be called! Just quit now! Quit and you’ll realise how foolish and senseless, sorry to say you had been. JUST QUIT OK? QUIT!!! There are thousands of people just waiting for you to quit so they can come for your port folio. A farmer wanted to sell off his farmland and home because he thought he’d been there for far too long, so desired a new and “better” place so he sent for and enlisted the service of an estate agent to draw up an advert to be placed in the news papers. After preparing the ad, the agent read these words to the farmer: beautiful farmhouse, ideal location, excellent barn, good pasture, fertile soil, up to date equipment, well bred stock, near town, near church, near school, good neighbours....” “Wait a minute! Can you go over that again?” after a second reading, the farmer exclaimed “I’ve changed my mind! I’ve been looking for a place like this all my life!” How many times in our lives do we stop to count the amount of blessings we have around us before we complain? Do we ever realise the worth of things while yet we have them? Do we value and appreciate things while yet we have them? Do we make good use of the little that we have or we just sit down and fold our arms all the time crying; the leader, the leader, and the leaders! Someone else!!! This farmer was living in the paradise he’d for years desired to live in but never saw it because such is natural of humans, once the thing is close to us, we never see the good sides until we lose them! I drew up the programme outline for “WORSHIP THE LORD IN THE BEAUTY OF HOLLINESS”, a programme the Lord asked me to organise on campus in front of Ghartey Hall block B, a sister took this programme and all that she was looking out for, was what I didn’t do well and what I should have done her way! She complained my arrangement was bad! I agreed to what she said but that I’d already printed. Yet this programme was to be the talk of the day for weeks! The very arrangements she said was bad, was what others praised! It is better to listen to God than to listen to the selfish and egoistic critics of men. Why don’t we look out for reasons why this can be possible rather than condemn and damn everything? I have personally resolved never to refuse speech to anyone because of his or her character. If I think your character wouldn’t help you, I befriend you and try to introduce to you what I think. If you see any sanity in what I say and decide to go by it, fair, if not, I have saved my soul, period! Never under estimate anyone. Everyone I meet is in a way superior to me because I learn new things from them all. Appreciate what you have while you have it with you. Accept the fact that certain things at certain points in life cannot be changed. All the bitterness, nagging and sentiments in life cannot change the fact that the businessman in the story above had one talent, and his was smaller as compared to the others. That’s what he was given and he had no say in it! So also all the bitterness, nagging and sentiments in life cannot change the fact that I was poorer than all those children in LEOJUSCO, that they had better learning opportunities than I did cannot be disputed! That is what I was given and I had no option. Life has limits and we must learn to accept them: Adam and Eve had their own limitations; they could eat of everything in the Garden of Eden except the tree of life. We are not God! Only God has no limitations. We cannot call back evil words, slanderous words spoken about people, we cannot change our past, we can’t change the ageing process, and we cannot eliminate death. A mother can’t impregnate but the father does. How do we react to these “trees in the midst of our gardens that we cannot and must not eat?” people waste time running away from these ‘trees?’ They keep saying if this were that, if I were a little taller, if I were a little fairer, if that were this and so on! A young man who did not learn how to cook goes to vas and would cook today somehow good, tomorrow bad, the next, bad, the next medium and another worst! Whenever he cooks bad food, he either says the rice was not a good specie, or another time it was the burner, the next time he forgot to do this or that! If I were a little taller or if I were a little fairer. If not that I’m dark, if I were a lawyer instead of a teacher, if I were born in that family, or if I had this or that! WHY??????? HE SIMPLY could not learn to do it. Probably he kept telling himself “I’ll try tomorrow if I can do something” and that was it. He kept procrastinating till it was too late for him to do something. Here is a poem you can relate to: Remember the day I borrowed your car and dented it? I thought you’d kill me, but you didn’t. You remember the day I dragged you to the beach and you said it would rain and it did? I thought you’d say I told you so! But you didn’t. You remember the day I flirted with all the guys to make you jealous and you were? I thought you’d leave me but you didn’t. You remember the time I spilled strawberry pie all over your car rug? I thought you’d hit me but you didn’t. You remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance was formal and you turned up in jeans? I thought you’d drop me but you didn’t. Yes! There were lots of things you didn’t do but you put up with me and you loved me and protected me. There were lots of things I wanted to make up to you when you returned from Vietnam. But you didn’t. The point is clear! We don’t realise the essence of people until we lose them! Do it NOW!! All the I love you’s that you’ve not said, all the I’m sorry not said, all the thank you not said...SAY THEM NOW. We have no time. If you have a broken relationship that ought to be mended, don’t let the sun go down! DO IT NOW! You have something you should be doing, CARPE DIEM! Seize the moments. DO IT NOW!!!! KILL IT NOW!!!. EPISODE THREE LET’S KILL SOMEONE ELSE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn’t it interesting, when someone goes wrong, one of the first things we want to do is to find someone else to blame it on. Take the case of Asamoah Gyan’s world cup penalty miss. Moments ago, this was Ghana’s hero, fastest goal scorer in the Germany 2006, he was celebrated and became the talk of the year but when he missed that penalty shoot out, he became the enemy of Ghanaians. They insulted, cursed, complained and blamed the failure on Gyan, meanwhile the match was to end immediately, goalless! Hence, Gyan’s missing of the penalty, couldn’t have been a problem since it was all the same as not having the penalty kick at all yet they complained and insulted to the discomfort of this young man. I really like Gyan’s response; the next moment he was in a recording studio with castro. While he was thinking of what next to do with his life, the visionless and shallow minded were gathering in there caucuses to gossip and play their blame games. Years before him, Sammy Kuffour was Ghana’s number one defender! There was no match Ghana could play without him. He was celebrated, cheered, and carried everywhere but upon allowing a ball to by pass him in a match, he was insulted and blacklisted, tongue lashed and whipped until he called it quits. He resigned from international football just because of this let’s blame someone else syndrome. It is time we kill someone else now and face the real problem at stake and get a solution than look for someone else to blame it on. Look at the Israelites at the bank of the red sea, upon seeing Pharaoh’s army with full vim and anger marching and gallivanting towards them, they immediately run on Moses who moments ago, was their hero, their redeemer, their conqueror! But now when trouble reared its head, they went for the jugular: It’s your entire fault, a fine mess you got us into! Why did we even listen to you? You are to blame for this. It’s you Moses! Another turns the left finger, another turns the right and they all castigate Moses for causing them pain. When my campus fellowship was to host a programme at the south campus, I was the secretary to the planning committee, we delayed in the arrangement of accommodation for the brothers from Cape Coast until about three days to the programme before I was to write and submit a letter to the Ghartey hall finance manager for accommodation for these brethren. Upon submitting the letter, he complained that we were late but in the letter, I indicated that we knew that we were late and that he had the choice to deny us a place for our own people but since the milk is spilt already, he should just help us out and we would work on ourselves next time! This was an idea I gathered from Dale Carnegie’s how to win friends and influence people” he accepted not only to give us the place but to also subsidise the amount for us. We knew we caused the problem and the best thing was to admit being wrong and move on. When we accept responsibility for our own actions and lives, our communities will help us, our church, our families, our people and God will help us. LET’S KILL SOME ONE ELSE NOW AND START TAKING RESPONSIBILTY FOR OUR OWN LIVES. MOSES HAD a kind of never say die spirit though caught up between Pharaoh’s furious cavalry and the red sea, he did not call it quits, he didn’t throw in the towel, no he trusted God and went and went forward. He didn’t have all the answers but stayed in communication with God. He did go forward, he did trust in God, he did his best, he didn’t quit so why should i? When Moses and the children of Israel got to the Red sea, God didn’t lead them around or over, or under the sea, He led them through it. when we face the trials and difficult times of life and all seem to go from worse to worst, when the noises of life seem to bash on our doors and the warriors from the Vietnam war are singing dzadza ko dza kodzacommando gb)na lo’ when it seems as though all the worries wears and tears of life were discovered for us alone, when we seem not to know which direction to go, trust and look to Him. He will carry you through. Go, go through it! strive, fight on fight NOW! And have a tale to tell tomorrow. Go, go through it. Don’t wait looking for someone else to blame it on. Someone else has been killed, buried and gone! Look up to God. He alone has the solution to life’s worries. I hope and pray that when troubles and challenges come your way, you will remember Moses at the Red sea and strengthened by that, you will move forward trusting God to be with you and bring you safely through it to the end. When our hearts are broken, when we walk through the grief valley, how does God bring us healing? I don’t want to be morbid or sensational or overly emotional, but I’d like to be very personal, i am thinking about my own recent experience with shame and longfacedness. When I partook in that WHAT DO YOU KNOW QUIZ on GTV and GBC radio stations across the country I didn’t get even a single point! I just went blank, everything went empty, zero, as though I had not read anything about MAY DAY or the trades unions congress TUC, I didn’t answer even a single question! I kept saying pass it on and Dan Afari Yeboah, the quiz master, kept making fun of me and was growing furious about the performance. It is the fact that I was the youngest and with the lowest level (200) while others were 400 and 500 medical students and all that but that is no excuse! Someone said ‘you didn’t pray’ I smiled because I hardly do anything without praying. I scored zero. Back on campus, everybody heard of the mess and it was not easy. Everywhere, the name of Agbenyo spread with shame and disgrace. My closest associates did not want me anymore because if i passed by Ghartey Hall, anywhere, people threw sachet water, cooking pot covers and all sorts against me. A preacher of the gospel, a defender of the truth, a well known and reputed evangelist, I became the scorn of the whole campus. Everybody laughed at me! I normally say halleluuuuuuuuuuia when I came around. They have now turned it to agbeluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuia. I couldn’t learn, concentrate, do anything, I had to run away! My mum was seriously sick the same time and was dying! I had to go home; two troubles one god! Same time, news came that my sister Florence had passed away. It was as if the gates of hell had been opened on me. Prior to all these, I had a dream in which my mum died and everyone left me alone! To struggle with life but my mum didn’t die. It was shame that was on the way. In another dream, I dreamed that I was naked before the whole world I said Oh Lord your will be done. All these happened level 200 second semester 2012. I came to school in level 300 first semesters only to hear that I had been referred in teaching English. I quickly rushed to the lecturer which was not my practice when I have a discontent with any grade, but all effort and prayer proved futile, it didn’t work like that of the curriculum where the B I didn’t like turned to A. This time it was permanent and Mrs Sakyiama Antiri refused to do anything about the result though she admitted that she didn’t mark well. I cried, I wept, and I asked God why? I wept sore but nothing changed. I am to write that paper again. A well known figure coming for a re-write---only God knows how it feels. Needless to say that Agbenyo is the most popular figure at the south campus, this same 2012 first semester, my roommate died and I had several condemnations from the family. They threatened to imprison me; they insulted and created a black image of the boy! But it was not new to me so I kept quiet through it all and never uttered a single word. But now as I write, the first semester (300) has not ended but is almost done with the writing of three strong books for publication! The Agbeluuuuuuuuuuia that was a form of scorn and shame has now turned to fame and everyone wants to shake a hand with agbeluuuuuuuuuuuuuuia. My best critics are now my best friends and admirers and they wish they were like me. People now are ready even to lie down to defend this little boy. TO GOD IS THE GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GRIEF, pain, shame and awful experiences. It hurts! It is an intense feeling of loss and agonising experience of separation from someone you have loved so much! To lose your reputation, you’re hard earned reputation. Probably you are a man of God and a small girl has caused you to sin and it has come to the public domain. If this happens to you, if you aren’t a strong man with muscles and blood, you will kill yourselves! But should we stop living because of problems? Its painful! I know you didn’t intend to do something like that. Who on earth wants to tarnish his hard earned image just like that? But things happen to men that remain a mystery even to us all yet we don’t kill ourselves. WE CONTINUE TO LIVE! May be you have promised not to break your virginity until you are married but then you have done otherwise, don’t lose faith, don’t lose hope, you may weep, weep, weep, weep it out and cry out loud and grieve alone somewhere. It is a therapy; it cleans your heart of all the pain. Grief is the by product of love and as we always say, it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Yet there is much more to learn from grief and pain I walked a mile with sorrow and never a word said she. But o! The things I learnt from her when sorrow walked with me. -Robert Browning Hamilton Life is in stages and there are stopovers and obstacles. Let’s take for instance that I want to go to my hometown Dzita Agbledome and Anyanui where our family is based, from Tema, I’d have to go through various communities on the way, I’d have to get to the motor way round about, all the way to Dabala, Keta, Anloga... on and on till I get to Dzita, through to Agbledome then to Anyanui eventually. Supposing I stopped at Dzita(my dad’s hometown) where no one knows me neither do I know anyone, I wouldn’t get to Anyanui or if I stopped at Keta I’d have ended up elsewhere and not my family base. We need to understand that some of these circumstances are stopovers, we need not spend time thinking of these stopovers because we are dealing with time for time is money. In spite of all the obstacles, move forward! CARPE DIEM!!! THERE are times we need to weep them out, cry it out and pray it out loud. There are times when we need to be left alone to think it over and get over it. You need to ponder and advise yourself, another is the period of questioning; why this happened? Why me? Why did I not leave a minute earlier or an hour later? You may feel guilty, why did I not visit them? Why didn’t I pray so much on that paper? Why did I over look that action? Why didn’t I say I love you, am sorry, you are good, are you born again? Do you have Christ? It’s a moment of guilt when you know the situation now cannot be corrected. Finally we gain the strength to go on with life. Your ability to go on after a loss of a dear one is the finest tribute you can pay that dear one. Grief is a journey and journeys take time. We move through the valley, back to the mountains and forth to the plains and all the places of life, God anoints us in His own ways. In His own time, with the balm of healing from Gilead. Brethren, we need to keep up on all relations. Friends acquaintances and associates, our family, our parents, our brothers and our sisters. We need to keep up to date on our relations with our church and with God. We must go forward. When someone we love dies, we must go forward! Life is like a bicycle, the only way to stay balanced is to keep going forward1 if you stand still, you will topple over and fall, if you rest, you’ll rust, if you rash too you’d crash so just keep going to maintain your balance. When Jesus healed people, he mostly said; go your way your faith has made you whole” all he was saying is this; “go on with life, I’ll go with you and as you go, your faith will make you whole.” If you don’t go you won’t be whole! So next time when trouble crops up, face it! Don’t look for someone else to blame it on because they are all dead and gone and you are the only one left to do the work so what can I do? The prayers of Saint Francis of Assisi Lord makes me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me show love; where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt; faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness; light. Where there is sadness; joy. O! Divine master, grant that I may not so seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand. To be loved as to love, for it’s in giving that we receive, it is in pardon that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. So my dear, let’s kill someone else NOW! And start to live as if we alone must do for others. Summing up, If you are a student, the exams will be written by no one else but you! You got to prepare your mind for it, get ready for it, you cant blame anyone for your failure if it does happen, cover your topics, solve the past questions stop the gossip and aimless visits. You can go to the beach as many times as possible after passing your exams. You can visit and go on excursions as many times as possible, you can marry as many women as possible if you so desire after your most important aspects are tackled. If you are a teacher, work on your exercise books, mark them, save time! Time is not renewable! We don’t have extra time. If you have books to write, kill it now, if you have sponsors to seek, kill it now, if you have publications to do, kill it now! Have you got a soul to save, now is the time, clean that room now! Buy it now, save now, type now, pray now. Whatever you have to kill, please kill it now. May be you are sleeping too much. May be you are playing too much, may be you are resting too much. Maybe you have waited too long. Maybe you have looked down on yourself too much, maybe you are looking too much up to others. We don’t have much time. There is a lot God has deposited in you that you need to give the world. Don’t spend all your time watching videos and playing games. Those you are watching have put their best into what you are watching. Its time for you to be watched too. RISE UP AND SHOW YOUR WORTH!!!

PROFILE of YAO

ABOUT THE AUTHOR A prolific Writer, Poet, Novelist, Playwright, Preacher and Motivational Speaker. A staunch, revered and dreaded debater himself, Agbenyo Ebenezer Yao is an official debate trainer and adjudicator of the pan African Debate community and the National recruitment officer of the DEBATE GHANA ASSOCIATION, a coalition of tertiary and British Parliamentary debaters in Ghana. The CEO of five global Non-Governmental Organizations, especially the West African most celebrated leadership training group THE YOUTH AND FUTURE INC., GET A GIRL GHANA FOUNDATION, BOYS ONLY INC., B and G Ghana foundation, YOUTH AND MISSIONS INTERNATIONAL. Agbenyo is the author of the bestselling KILL IT NOW, Literature Genius, Essence of Decency, Spontaneous Overflow, What A State!, Daily Disaster, Guiding Gadgets For Gold Getters, To Whom it May Concern, English in the Golden Basket, Indelible Prints, Escape from Prison, etc. As a panellist and critic, he has written extensively on Education, Politics and Governance, Religion, as well as other life pressing issues aside speaking on radio stations like Windy Bay in Winneba, jubilee radio in Keta, and other media houses. Bro. Eben as he is affectionately called, speaks every year to over five thousand youths and leaders across the globe. A product of Tema Methodist Day Sec. school (GREAT MEDASS), where he served as a senior prefect, SRC vice president and the Precentor of the MEDASS choir (the official choir for UNESCO-Ghana) amongst other roles. At the 25th anniversary, he was awarded the Best Behaved Boy, best literature and best French student. He is also a youth leader of the Deeper Christian Life youth Ministry in Tema, and a graduate of the University Of Education, Winneba (UEW) with B.A (English Ed) Agbenyo has passion for youth empowerment and development and believes that excellence is for everyone. “You have your share, GO FOR IT!!!!!” he always tells his geniuses. ABOUT THE BOOK "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." - Mark Twain (1835-1910) This is a good book to help you, so read it! This new release is about seizing the moments and making the best out of the little you have. If you are downhearted, if you are losing hope, if you feel rejected and neglected, before you say quit, please stop and read KILL IT NOW

ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL

ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL Upon the pillars of the land I beheld the break of the band, The coat of arms. Though I looked with hope and cares, They came with lips and sowed in, tares. The mother is weeping Nkrumah is wailing And the fighters of freedom are frowning And the makers of history are mourning. (Wailing is heard from far) You hear that? Those are wailings from the wells of hell. Mother Ghana is weeping Why have you thrown away the values? Why has good ran from the land? Who has taught you to fight another? When did you create the tribal barriers? Where is the crocodile? Why have you burned the baobab tree? And you have planted in stead A broken pitcher of immoral, senseless craving for materialism? Mother Ghana is calling. If you can backup and bring back the baobab, Return to the lost glory of blackness, And bring back the love for all, All for one and one for all, Then there is hope. Oh where is Hayford? The Congress of British West Africa is broken! And the spirit of oneness has grown wings. There is none that love, no, not one. (The voice of Nkrumah) “This decade, is the decade of African liberation. Forward then to independence. Independence now! Tomorrow, the United States of Africa” Where is that hope? When all seek none but self and i? Where is the faire man? And how is the head damaged so soon? What happened to the love of the people for their land? Oh where is the Junior Jesus? Oh, how I long for the good old days How I yearn to see the hope brought back. The days of singing and chanting, Longing and craving to live and die for love. Will all for one and one for all ever return? www.yaoagbenyo.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/yafinc 17/11/14

Malachi 3: 7-10 Every person on earth has some time to live on earth, talents to make him live successfully on the earth and treasure to sustain his time and talents on the earth. In other to live a life to count for eternity with the creator, the time, talent and treasure must be profitably use. The problem is that many people are not aware of this. Those who are aware also do not know how to use it effectively. As these gifts are made available to us it our responsibility to give our tithe and offering to the glory of God. From our text God is demanding that from us. He wants us to give tithe and offering of our time, talents and treasure so that we do not be considered as thieves. Tithe and offering are not only taken from our money as many of us think but also from our time talent and treasure. As students of the Bible it suppose of us to learn these and practice it. THE TITHE AND OFFERING OF OUR TIME Ecc. 3:1-8 Eph.5:16 Col.4:5 Every thing has its time and season.Men are exercised with labour. Every thing is beautiful in its season, Men should enjoy thankfully the gifts of God,.What God does is for ever,There is nothing new, The corruption of judgment; but the judgments of God are right,Man is brutish, and men and brutes die in like manner, Man may enjoy the fruit of his own labours, The word redeeming, means, to purchase; to buy up from the possession or power of any one; and then to redeem, to set free--as from service or bondage. Redeeming means, to rescue or recover our time from waste; to improve it for great and important purposes. Because the days are evil. Because the times in which you live are evil. There are many allurements and temptations that would lead you away from the proper improvement of time, and that would draw you into sin. Such were those that would tempt them to go to places of sinful indulgence and revelry, where their time would be wasted, and worse than wasted. As these temptations abounded, they ought therefore to be more especially on their guard against a sinful and unprofitable waste of time. This exhortation may be addressed to all, and is applicable to all periods. The sentiment is, that we ought to be solicitous to improve our time to some useful purpose, because there are, in an evil world, so many temptations to waste it. Time is given us for most valuable purposes. There are things enough to be done to occupy it all, and no one need have it hang heavy on his hands. He that has a soul to be saved from eternal death need not have one idle moment. He that has a heaven to win has enough to do to occupy all his time. Man has just enough given him to accomplish all the purposes which God designs, and God has not given him more than enough. They redeem their time who employ it (1.) in gaining useful knowledge; (2.) in doing good to others; (3.) in employing it for the purpose of an honest livelihood for themselves and families; (4.) in prayer and self-examination, to make the heart better; (5.) in seeking salvation, and in endeavouring to do the will of God. They are to redeem time from all that would waste and destroy it--like recovering marshes and fens to make them rich meadows and vineyards. There is time enough wasted by each sinner to secure the salvation of the soul; time enough wasted to do all that is needful to be done to spread religion around the world, and to save the race. We should still endeavour to redeem our time for the same reasons which are suggested by the apostle--because the days are evil. There are evil influences abroad; allurements and vices that would waste time, and from which we should endeavour to rescue it. There are evil influences tending to waste time (1.) in the allurements to pleasure and amusement in every place, and especially in campuses (2.) in the temptations to novel-reading, consuming the precious hours of probation to no valuable purpose; (3.) in the temptations of ambition, most of the time spent for which is wholly thrown away, for few gain the prize, and when gained, it is all a bauble, not worth the effort; (4.) in dissipation--for who can estimate the amount of valuable tune that is worse than thrown away in the places of revelry and dissipation? (5.) in wild and visionary plans--temptations to which abound in all lands, and pre-eminently in our own; (6.) and in luxurious indulgence--in dressing, and eating, and drinking. Help us to number our days using the personal timetable. THE TITHE AND OFFERING TALENTS matt25:15-46, Exo31:1-6, Eph 4:11, Act20:28,Rom12:1-9, 1cor12:1-10,27-31, 2cor.5:10-12, Rom14:12 His several ability; representing the various gifts which God bestows on different individuals. All our blessings we receive from God, and to him we are justly accountable for the use of them. He does not give the same to all, and he requires only according to what a man hath. Of course, no one will be condemned for not having received more. The spiritual meaning of the parable may be thus summed up: (1.) The servants of God are not all endowed with equal gifts and talents. (2.) They are bound to employ their talents in promoting his honour, and in a proper improvement of them. (3.) By employing their talents in a proper manner, they improve and strengthen them. (4.) They will be judged according to the improvements they have made (5.) All sinners look on God as a hard master, and as unreasonable and tyrannical. (6.) They will be judged, not merely for doing wrong, but for neglecting to do right. (7.) If the servant who kept the talent entire without injuring it, and who returned it to his master as he received it, was nevertheless judged, condemned, and cast away, what must they expect who abuse their talents, destroy by drunkenness and lust the noble faculties conferred on them, and squander the property that might be employed in advancing the interests of morals and religion! THE TITHE AND OFFERING TREASURE Matt6:19-34 Prov.15:6,16 Prov.20:21 1Ti.6:6 21. For where your treasure is--that which ye value most. There Will Your Heart Be Also--"Thy treasure--thy heart" is probably the true reading here: "your," in Lu 12:34, from which it seems to have come in here. Obvious though this maxim be, by what multitudes who profess to bow to the teaching of Christ is it practically disregarded! "What a man loves," says LUTHER, quoted by THOLUCK, "that is his God. For he carries it in his heart, he goes about with it night and day, he sleeps and wakes with it; be it what it may--wealth or pelf, pleasure or renown." But because "laying up" is not in itself sinful, nay, in some cases enjoined (2Co 12:14), and honest industry and sagacious enterprise are usually rewarded with prosperity, many flatter themselves that all is right between them and God, while their closest attention, anxiety, zeal, and time are exhausted upon these earthly pursuits. To put this right, our Lord adds what follows, in which there is profound practical wisdom. If God be the treasure of our souls, our hearts, i.e. our affections and desires will be placed on things above. An earthly minded man proves that his treasure is below; a heavenly minded man shows that his treasure is above. Listen to the conclution of the whole mater. God requires at our hands to give one tenth as well offerings of our time talents and treasure for the expansion of kingdom. 2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation.) b