A man in honor who does not know it, is like a beast that perish. That was the saying of a wise man. When a man is stripped of everything, the last thing you are left with is your integrity and integrity commands honor. Integrity restores honor and many other things. This is not a piece about a smart writer who has never flunked anything. It’s all about sincere expression of the heart. Many times, our losses are due to our own errors, ignorance or incompetence. Without an attempt to externalize several things, there are times; we lose not because we were poor, or evil. Not because we were bad or demonic but we lose because of external factors and interferences. Napoleon Bonaparte once loss a war as a result of an unexpected weather condition; yet he was one of the greatest warfare strategist that ever lived.
I know a man who had gone through a profitable business venture and failed. Rather than taking it against the people who seemingly impacted his chances of winning in this business; he did not. He refused to be bitter. He became better for it. He saw those folks some months after the event. He loved them. He respected them and celebrated them the more. There is an enormous power which flow from you when you do that. This man believed that it was all over with. He cannot change the past. He had to move on with his life. I know another man who failed in a great relationship. Rather than hating the partner who jilted him for another man, he loved her. He still prayed for his ex-lover. He sought for the happiness of the same.
If we live long enough, times and again, we will get into certain mess. We will be involved in some venture that will not work the way we envisaged. Certain things will not go as planned. You have probably heard of that saying that: It is better to plan and fail than not to plan at all. I add this that: it is better to act and fail than not to act at all. It is better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for who you are not. It is better to wake up and see yourself cheated than not to have risked at all.
So you are wondering: how do I lose without losing my honor?-It’s when I forgive and forget. It is when i count it all loss for the sake of the cross of Christ. Forsaking all that mattered to me so that I may gain the Christ and the essence of His resurrection. It is when i rebuke revenge and vengeful spirit. It is when i refuse to be bitter when I lose. It is when i refuse to go after the winners, struggling over their trophies. It is when i count my losses; accept them and move on. It is when i refuse to cut the jugular of my betrayers. It is when i celebrate those who are still in their own limelight. For life is not all about winning alone. It is as well about losing. It is all about seasons. We will all have our own moments... if we will wait for our own time and chance. The time will change. The tide will turn. And will be more... as we all age, there will be a tilt in the balance of things. Above all, there is no one who is ever forgotten in the very book of life.
