WORKER'S DAY IN NIGERIA; FOOD FOR THOUGHT
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May 1 is Workers’ Day in Nigeria and in many other parts of the world. It is a time to emphasize the dignity of labour and praise the workforce of our nations. Using the Egyptian Nurses as our take-off point today, we salute all workers throughout the world especially the military and paramilitary working day and night to secure our lives and properties. We remember the medics, journalists, administrators, scientists and technologists, agriculturists, factory workers, entertainers, clerics, teachers and those in logistics, environmental sciences, astronomy, oceanography etc. May God bless your contributions to our Father’s world.
The story was told of a shoe mender who had a very meticulous master; reputed for mending shoes to last, as if it must be used for ever. One day, this apprentice shoe mender visited another cobbler’s workshop where he saw a fast action. They waste no time in mending shoes, and expectedly, the mended shoes don’t last. Our apprentice cobbler asked why they work this way in the new cobblers’ shop. He was told, “They will soon come back.” And sure enough, the shoes are so quickly spoilt and the customers are back too soon. This means more money for the careless cobbler! Our apprentice cobbler, thinking he has learnt a new and greatly profitable trick, suggested this to his meticulous master only to be told, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” Colossians 3:23. This sense of commitment and devotion entered into the apprentice cobbler’s mind. Later in life and for many years, this apprentice shoe mender, Dr. Frank Charles Thompson, saw the need for a well organised reference Bible, linking almost every verse of the Bible and would be practically useful to church laymen and ministers. With no computer and word processors, he painstakingly produced the Thompson Chain Reference Bible which is blessing several lives even today.
As we look to God for His special protection over us this May, do we have such a dedicated mind in our works? May we go into our duties with a greater level of commitment and sense of responsibility. Proverbs 22:29 says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” May God answer for you always this month, perfect all about you and all yours in Jesus name. Amen.