“Pastor, I’m a young man that is about to start life, what advice would you give so I don’t destroy myself?”

Well, there are quite a number of things to say, but I’d just touch on a few important ones. Ready?

1. Beware of extravagance

I know someone who once told me that when he leaves his parents house and moves to his own apartment, he was going to furnish it with everything you can think of.

Apparently, he said that to spite me because I had just moved out of my parents house into a rented mini-flat. He expected that I’d have an air-conditioner, flat-screen TV, and all the beautiful things you can think of in a young man’s house. But no, I didn’t have an air-conditioner, and even the TV I had was a CRT – which was gifted to me by a well-meaning person. The floors were not tiled, so I used rugs. The only chair in my sitting room was this long brown chair which was also gifted to me. Come to think of it, almost everything I started with was gifted to me.

I would have thought that he was just jealous of me, but knowing that he was doing his own business and making his own money – even while he lived with his parents made me conclude that he just had an extravagant mindset towards life.

That’s the very mindset the prodigal son had. He wanted to start life with extravagance. Surprisingly, the word “prodigality” has been added to the dictionary to mean extravagance.

So, instead of getting upset about it, I advised him that whenever he was ready to start, he should start small. His reply was, “I can’t start small. Why would I be suffering myself?”. In other words, I was suffering. Anyway, that’s where we ended the conversation.

Years later, he moved to his apartment and I had to pay a courtesy visit. Ofcourse, his house ALMOST had that touch of extravagance. At least he had an air-conditioner, but the gas had finished, so he couldn’t turn it on for me. The last I heard of him, the situation had gone really bad.

You see, I didn’t tell that story to mock him, but to let you know that there’s a difference between discipline and suffering. Just because your parents lived in a mansion doesn’t mean you should start your life by renting a mansion. In your parents mansion, you only slept in one room. So renting a room and parlor self-contain is a reasonable start.

If you’re just starting life, extravagance is a trap that deceives you into believing that you’d never have problems. Meanwhile, even if you’re the most righteous person on earth, you’d still have problems.

Starting small prepares and equips you to solve problems. If you start life big, small problems can destroy you. If you do your research, you’d find out that the challenges that destroy most extravagant people are not big problems, they’re small problems they didn’t know how to manage. It is always little foxes that spoils the vine.

2. Be contented with what you have per time

If you must avoid extravagance at the early stage of your life then you’d need to practice contentment.

One of God’s strategy for advancing His people is “little by little”. Exodus 23:30 says, “By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land”. That’s right! Don’t rush, go little by little until you are increased.

Personally, I’ve never known a better last year. I’ve moved from glory to glory since I began to practice this principle. Everything I couldn’t afford in my first apartment are now available, and I’ve never had to struggle to maintain them.

As much as I’d like to do and have all the beautiful things in this world, I’m not in a hurry. I’d move at God’s pace, little by little till I possess my possession. Why should I rush to have what will eventually be mine?

I admire all the people that already have the things I’d love to have, but I don’t lust after them, I’m contented with what I have per time.

I’ve lived with these two principles for many years now, and my life has been greatly impacted by them. Just in case you feel you’ve made a mess with your life, it’s not too late to retrace your steps. God permitted me to write this as a show of mercy to you. He’s opening His arms wide to receive you just as the prodigal son’s father did to his son. It shall be well with you!

I hope this has brought deliverance to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

#EmekaAnslem