Having zeal without knowledge

It is possible for somebody to point a man to a youth and then tells the youth that the man is his dad. The youth may, out of zeal, be doing his utmost to please the man. He may even learn to speak, walk and dress like him. The youth may even change his surname to reflect that of Uncle. His friends may be referring to the man publicly as his dad. All these things are good but it is the man, and he alone, that knows whether or not the youth is his son. The youth’s zeal towards him will not change anything.

I gave my life to the Lord Jesus on April 16, 1972, and on Sunday, April 23, I invited myself to the Christian Union (CU) meeting of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. I gave the testimony of my salvation. The following week, I attended the Scripture Union fellowship meeting in town. From that time, I started sharing the Gospel message zealously. I was ministering in various branches of the Methodist Church. Not long after, the election of the Christian Union was close. They told me to start praying as I was being considered as one of the people to be voted for. They were considering my zeal but forgot that I knew little concerning the things of God.  Not getting involved in sinful pleasures is good, but Christianity is far beyond that. Knowledge of divine things is vital. I declined the offer.

In 1976, when our beloved brother, now late, Prof. Francis Onofeghara, was joining the staff of University of Port Harcourt, I was one of the people the church nominated during the election for his replacement as an elder. I was still new, not only in that branch, but also in that denomination, ECWA. Of a truth, it was the church the lady I married was attending at Enugu and we wedded there also. An elder in that church, who was a member of our office fellowship, which I formed and led, made them to invite me to minister there. From that day, I started worshipping there. A very beautiful church, they saw my zeal and then put my name on their preaching roster. “My company, Texaco Overseas Petroleum Oil Company, doesn’t have any place to send me outside Lagos, I will be in this church till my retirement. Yes, one day, I will be an elder but not now,” I rationalized within before turning down their nomination.

Some years after, I realised that God does not use able men, but men that are available for Him to use. All the disciples of the Lord Jesus were not perfect men, but they were growing in the spirit day by day. I pleaded with God for forgiveness for refusing a leadership position in the university and also in that church. I determined that it would not happen again. And by His grace, it has not and will not. Knowledge, however, is still inessential in God’s ministry. Great impact is made when zeal is backed up with it.     

The zeal for God may compel a young convert to be shouting when praying at midnight, not minding that he may be disturbing his neighbours. Any complaint by anybody is interpreted persecution by him but it is not, until his landlord sends him packing from his room. There is nothing wrong with midnight prayers, but wisdom is required in considering its effect on other tenants. As the young convert grows in faith and gains also knowledge of God, he will know that God answers whether we pray aloud or silently. He will know that there is a time for the application of each. On retreat grounds, or on the church compound, we can shout as much as we like when praying. The Lord Jesus used both methods and so did the Apostles.

One of my cousins surrendered her life to the Lord Jesus in my house, overwhelmed by that, zeal drove her to throw away her musical set because she was using it in playing worldly music. She did not know that she could use it for playing Christian music. Zeal without knowledge! We recovered the musical set and later, she started using it for playing Christian music. Some people throw away all such things, including girlfriends, but will later go back, unfortunately, to their old life. Some people became great preachers of God’s Word when they repented, but today, their converts are preaching to them for living a compromised life. God forbid bad thing! I told God that when, like dogs, I will go back to my vomit, my convert preaching to me, that He should recall me back home.       

When I was young in faith in the campus, I visited a brother in his hostel and saw a sister placing her hand on his shoulder. I left immediately in anger and started weeping. How could a sister touch a brother? What I forgot to consider was whether the man was sick and since the two of them were medical students, whether the lady was carrying out medical procedures on him. Zeal without knowledge! At that time, we knew only very few married believers. Most of us, who were single, thought that we were more spiritual than our married brethren. We were looking down on them, often wondering what married brethren would be doing in their rooms with their spouses, when we, the saints, were standing on tip toes, waiting for the rapture! We were told how a certain brother’s hand started rotting because his brother’s wife held him once, by the hand.

During the burial of my Senior Uncle, his younger brother, who was still stinking for abandoning his wife and daughter, and eloping with another man’s wife, told the village people that he was no longer one of them because he had joined a certain church. Six months later, he passed on. I travelled home to inform them about his death. Their response was that our family should decide what should be done. I summoned the family and his only surviving sister said that he should be buried in Shagamu, where he lived with the lady he eloped with. God, and He only, guided me in handling the ugly situation. Thank God the way He guided me during the burial of his elder brother. Not compromising my faith, I refused to offer the alcoholic drinks they demanded. With divine wisdom, I related to them all through the burial and after. I ensured that nothing would prevent anyone from listening to God’s message that day.

With friendly posture and showering respect to the elders, the burial was thus by my own terms and conditions. I wrote a letter of appreciation to the Chief and the community for burying my uncle. That was why the Chief, in spite of opposition, ordered the community to dig the grave of my younger Uncle, who told the community that he was no longer one of them. They buried him without requesting anything. We served them tea curiously. 

For further comment, please contact: Osondu Anyalechi:   0909 041 9057; [email protected]