As an individual, I admire so much the qualities of a total man. Every creature by God has distinct qualities that differentiate him from the rest. The Woman is usually noted for her beauty, soft and tender nature. Some Women have wonderful attributes that when you come in contact with them, you cannot forget them in a hurry. In the same vein men are wonderful creatures. When you want to know the nature of God and how he (God) looks, you look at a total man. God is kind, handsome, strong and hard working. In creation, it took him just six days to put the world together, I mean six restless days. In those days, he created the day and the night; he created the Moon and the stars, the valleys and the Mountains, the lilies and the flowers and above all he created man in his own image and gave him every power to know and rule his world.
It is that sense of strength that a total man possesses. Virtually all tough and difficult jobs are done by men. Men have the natural tendency to handle any job no matter how tedious. That accounts for the reason they dominate tough areas like aviation, engineering, medicine etc. Some of them fly very high altitudes as pilots. There is no doubt that it takes the lions heart to do such jobs. I was surprised the other day to learn that there are only 12 female pilots in the whole Nigeria. Such jobs like being a mortuary attendant, security guard, tipper, tanker and trailer drivers are for men mainly.
Another issue that leaves me clapping for the total man is his ability to shoulder the numerous problems which surround him, both at home and beyond. He is the centre around which every home-needs revolve. He has the house rent to provide, the feeding money, the children’s school fees and shelter to provide for, that is why in the midst and in the bid to tackle these numerous needs, some run faster than their heels and in the process some have run into dangers.
God as a supernatural being took responsibility of all his actions and that is why every work of creation is credited to him. When man failed, God regretted making man but never denied that he created him. Irrespective of the follies of man, God still owns up to the fact that he created man. Even when Peter denied him, he did not deny Peter. That is the kind of God I am talking about. When he created man, he left every image of him in man. God knows that man is bound to make mistakes. He has no grouse with that but what he dislikes is not acknowledging your wrong. Instead of accepting their mistakes, some will prefer to create escape routes to run away from their mistakes, instead of acknowledging the fact that they are wrong.
Few days ago, my husband witnessed this weakness in man that makes him to run away instead of facing his mistake. Along PH Road in Owerri just by the GTB building by 7pm, a driver who was hastening to God knows where knocked down a young lady in her late 20’s and fled. The surprising thing was that this said driver knew quite well that he knocked down somebody but instead of stopping to know the welfare of his victim, he preferred to run away! Nobody solves a problem by running away from it rather a problem is solved when you face it.
The driver could have reason for his action of running away. He may have felt unsafe stopping for fear of being apprehended. He may also be asked to pay hospital bills and such related matters, so the best bet is to run away and pretend that nothing happened. There is one fundamental fact to this. One is that, no one runs faster than his shadow, he may have succeeded in running away from the scene but he has not run away from natural order or the law of God that states that whatever a man sows that he shall reap. When the time of harvest comes you can be sure that such a person will reap more than he has sown. Invariably the run away action shows that the driver is not human but has a beastly nature. The human nature would have made him realize that who he knocked down is a human being who has a right to life. He should also have known that such a person will be in pain so survival itself demands that he should stop and take care of his mistake. By so doing, the society will look at him with kindness and God himself will help him pull out from his mess.
The same hit and run experience happened to me a few days after, along the world Bank/Umuguma Road. A fleeing man, who was on top speed hit my vehicle from the rear and for some seconds, I saw myself battling with my steering. It was only Jesus that saved me from the apparent disaster. I was thrown off balance and found myself on the other side of the road. Thank God there was no vehicle coming behind. God in his infinite mercies rescued me quite on time. I controlled the vehicle but the man who hit me zoomed of, unmindful of what he did leaving me to my fate not caring if I was dead or alive. I however made attempt to catch up with him but the gap was too much for me to realize that. In that rage, I called the heavens to send down fire and brimstone to consume him for that heartless attitude.
Though God saved me from what would have been a fatal accident, the body of my car was damaged thereby leaving me to cough out huge sum to put my car in shape again. Wherever the man is, he will be congratulating himself that he escaped but has he really escaped? Not with all those curses I reeled out to him in anger. Did God not say in his Holy Book that “a broken and a contrite heart” he will not neglect. May be one day, some one will hit his car and run away for him to know how it feels.
In my consternation, I came to the conclusion that there are other men out there who like to run away from their mistakes instead of facing the problem and solving it once and for all. They prefer to shy away from it. I have had cases of those responsible for impregnating women who are not their wives, and when confronted have vehemently denied paternity of such children. They have often abandoned the women to suffer all alone because of their fear of being seen as irresponsible whereas in actual fact, they are really irresponsible since they can deny obvious facts of their blood. Most times in those rejected pregnancies when the babies are delivered, they become carbon copies of their fathers. What a shame! At such moments, with such obvious resemblances, I wonder where such men find the hiding places for their cowardly disposition.
I had rather think that what dignifies a man is his ability to take responsibility for his actions. In the olden days, our elders were recognized by the way they stand on the part of truth. When one man erred, the rest would be bold to tell him he was wrong and because of this, the one who erred did not wait to be asked what he did before he acknowledged it. Truth was the lantern that guided their path. It was difficult to get an adult that lied. I mean they just had no time and reason to lie not to talk of hurting another.
Today, people can spill blood, cheat, maim others without the courage to acknowledge they did. A man is not supposed to take part in any action he cannot own up to.
Some sneak into brothels to have a quick one, travel long distances to commit a crime. Some lie over little things. That energy you spend in telling lies and cheating, that energy you dissipate in perpetrating evil is a total waste and colossal loss of a valuable commodity if you cannot own up to what you have done.
A responsible and total man is that man who stands on the pedestal of truth, one who will say “no matter what it will cost, I must stand on the truth”. Our ancestors were known for that, even our own fathers too. Why don’t we all tow their foot prints? Remember that the dignity of a man lies on the strength of truth. When you are strong, hardworking, ready to take corrections, and
