WHAT ELSE WE NEED TO DO TO BE CONFIDENT

 




“It can’t be done for you; it must be done by you.”

Frank Sonnenberg

 

I remembered, two days ago, this incident from the life of Jesus… One day, a very wealthy man approached Jesus and said: “Master, I have followed most of the  commandments of God; what else need I to do to enter the Kingdom of God?”

Jesus told the wealthy man this: “Give away all your wealth, and follow me.”

Obviously, the rich man got disheartened and walked away from Jesus. Jesus, then, looked at the crowd and said: “It’s as difficult for a rich man to walk into the Kingdom of God as it’s for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle.”

Two days ago, I remembered this incident when a 25-year-old young man approached me asking, “Sir, I am graduate… I go daily to my family’s business outlet… I speak fairly well… and I live in a caring joint family… But, I lack self-confidence inside me… What else need I to do?”

I had asked this young man to see me at 9 a.m., the day after. At 8.45 a.m., I called him to check if he was on his way. He didn’t pick up the phone… At 9.30, he called me back to tell, that he was fast asleep when I had called. “Can I come in an hour, Sir?”, he asked.

“No need,” I said, without wasting each other’s rime. “All that you need to do to build your self-confidence, my young friend, is this: Get up early every morning; and keep your commitments.”

The rich man had walked away from Jesus Christ, for he had found Master’s suggestion to be wild and impractical. I do not know about this young man… If he, too, would find my suggestion wild and impractical, and walk away from me…

“Everybody wants to go to heaven; but, nobody wants to die.” I, often, display this poster, prominently, in my classroom… The message is loud and clear, you see…





Then, there is another kind of young lot (mainly boys)… They are constantly spoon-fed… Their parents, particularly mothers, do all the thinking, planning, talking, decision-making for their young ones. Remember, they are ‘young ones’… not ‘babies’. “Ma’am, you need to let your son do the thinking, planning, talking and decision-making for himself… Don’t do it for him, don’t shield him, don’t talk for him every time… It will make him weak, and, you exhausted. Let him realize how important self-responsibility is, and how it makes him self-confident.”

In last few weeks, at least three mothers have taken my suggestion seriously… Now, I don’t receive constant messages from these mothers… “Sir, please do this and do that for him… His test is on this  date… His portion is this… Yes, this, that etc. etc.”




It’s okay to be involved in the school and other growth activities of your young ones. But, hovering over their heads all the time, like a helicopter, would only make them weak and less confident in life.

The early the young ones learn to get out of their beds, and the early the parents learn to get off their young ones’ backs, the better it will be for all…

Else, the Kingdom of God will only remain an illusion …

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: Pixabat.com

Video: TheDoughsVideos101

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