About two weeks ago, I was driving home after Ministering at a Conference. There was some traffic on the highway. Then I observed a truck, at my 2 O’Clock, swerve dangerously away from his lane towards the left side. He then moved past the saloon car which was previously in front of him. Then went to the front of the saloon car whilst leaving enough space on his right for the car to attempt an overtake… The moment the car attempted to overtake the truck, the truck brushed and almost crushed the car to the divider on the highway. The entire driver side of the car was written off, while I’m sure the wheel alignment and tires will be a complete write off.
We witnessed all these in broad day light at about 3pm in the middle of a traffic. A lot more people saw it happen live.
The shocking part of the whole incident was the impunity with which the truck driver drove off after carrying out such a sinister act. He certainly drove off with the satisfaction and delight from knowing that he had fully executed on his desire. He wanted very badly to hurt, maim and maybe even kill that car driver, he did just that and left, pleased with himself. The crash may not have been enough to kill the Driver, but it may have been enough to trigger a heart or respiratory attack if the driver had any underlying condition.
People after witnessing such height of wickedness in open display, left their cars and ran after the truck. Thankfully we were all in traffic, so he could easily be apprehended. By the time we drove past the truck, the glass on the driver side was broken and an angry mob demanded he came down from his “fortress” and “high horse”. But for the intervention of a LASTMA official, that truck driver may have been lynched.
As we drove off, I couldn’t get the picture out of my head. Why would a fellow man choose to hurt, maim and possibly kill another human being? What could the Car Driver have done to him? Stop him from overtaking? Honk at him? What could possibly have caused such capitulation to lower instincts?
Then I remembered three verses of Scripture;
Jeremiah 17:9 KJV The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
John 10:10 KJV The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:
Ephesians 2:2 KJV Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
It’s easy to point the accusing finger at the “wicked” dude. Why would he want to kill someone else? But he was only mirroring the true state of a man who is yet to receive the Life of God in him. Yes, for some it may not be attempting to run over another person in traffic. It may “just” be ruining another person’s reputation or opportunities with a seemingly forgettable lie. It may be to siphon public funds meant for impoverished masses and using it to send your children to schools abroad. It may be to reduce the quality of the materials you use for a building, a building that will collapse and kill people 3 years down the line. It may be to reduce the hygiene in your production factory because of its implied cost, and continue producing food that may cause sickness in the customers who keep you afloat. All these are manifestations of the same condition; Wickedness!
The word Wicked is best described by its root word; Wick. The same Wick used for candles and lamps. What you do to Wicks is to Twist them together so they can be functional. So, to be Wicked simply means to be Twisted. The verse in Jeremiah said the heart of man is deceitful, and desperately wicked. Deceitfulness is twistedness, not being straight in thoughts, words and actions.
When it comes to the Devil, John Wick himself is still a learner. The Devil is the ultimate Twisted Wick. Deceitful, Wicked and extremely Sinister in motives. He wants to steal from you, kill you until he destroys you… for absolutely no reason. Talk about the height of twistedness!
Now here is the catch; for every person you refuse to preach to and give a chance to receive the Life of God, you keep at large, hundreds, thousands, millions and possibly billions of twisted people carrying out the mandate of the devil in stealing, killing and destroying other lives. We are the ones with the answer. We are the ones with the Light. For every dark spot we see, a light refused to shine. Rather than curse the darkness, how about we turn on the Light of the glorious Gospel? How about we bombard darkness with the ever-increasing Light? At some point, it would no longer be about the common rhetoric of blaming the devil for the situation of the world, it would be about the believers who refused to straighten out the Wicks around them. It is truly left to the Saints not to get the world Twisted!
Imagine that Truck Driver’s neighbour had preached to him and gotten him saved, somebody would still have his car and health in good condition.
Jesus Christ isn’t just a solution to a spiritual problem, He is the answer to social ills too. Injustice, Inequity, Poverty, Corruption, Depression, Deteriorating Mental Health, Suicide, Divorces are dealt with by the power in the Light that comes from His Face.
Friends, this week, preach the Gospel. Preach the Gospel. Don’t be ashamed of what got you saved. Preach the Gospel! Use every means you can harness, but by all means preach the Gospel. When we consider the many scourges, imprisonments, stake burning and unthinkable crucifixions that sponsored the Gospel’s reach to us, we will nail every surviving excuse to the Cross and just Preach the Gospel.
And if you’re reading this and you need to receive the Life of God, reach out to anyone at the PowerPoint Tribe and we would be super excited to walk you Home.
Have a productive week ahead.
Dami Oguntunde
@damioguntunde