Potentials Of Grace, Power And Pride: The Quoted Verse Of Song, Humility
10 March 2013
By Abdul-Warees Solanke
He that is down needs fear no fall
He that is low no pride
He that is humble
Ever shall have God to be his guide
I am just trying to make a meaning out of the above
verse of song that I learnt some 40 years ago at
Abadina School, University of Ibadan where I had my
primary education. Is it that we all must be down and
low when we have the reason and the talents to be high
and shine? Is it possible to be humble in an
environment that you must always show your face, raise
up your head and make your voice heard for you to be
considered relevant and not be dumped in the gutters
if you have the grace and the gifts to make a
difference or to be proud of?
Yet, each of us all has something to be proud of. It
is our grace. Our grace is in our individual nature
and worth, our skills and talents, our intellect and
accomplishments, our positions or stations in life,
the beauty of our spouses and the bounties of children
that are our blessings. But there is a saying that if
you have it, you flaunt it. That is, there is nothing
bad in showing off what we have, according to that
saying. We should rejoice or revel in our blessings.
Unfortunately, the more we celebrate our endowments,
the more we are considered to be proud or arrogant by
another person outside our frame. Pride or arrogance
however, might not be deliberate or intentional on the
part of the endowed or the gifted. It might not even
be innate in the one we see as proud. But because the
one seeing him in that prism is deficient in or lacks
that grace, he considers him proud, out of envy or
jealousy.
From this dialectics, it seems to me that the one that
shows off will always be a victim of some sort, if
showing off what you have is perceived by those who do
not have it as arrogance or pride. Or, if what or how
we celebrate or exalt ourselves denigrates the other
that is not as fortunate who therefore reacts to our
attitude in disproportionate and negative measures
that can clip wings or cut to size. Could this be the
reason for the saying: "Pride goes before a fall?"
So, when we are blessed or opportune, what should be
the right attitude? How should the accomplished and
the gifted celebrate their endowment and achievement?
Is it by exuding an arrogance of superiority? Is it
by partying in owambe way, making nonsense of naira
and dollar in the way some rain it on musicians as
they shower them with superlative praises? Is it by
publicity or promotion and undue exultation on the
newspaper pages? Is it by multiplying in the symbols
of success amassing all sorts of jeeps and limousines
or erecting jaw-dropping mansions that no one will be
able to maintain after their death, to the amazement
of others? Is it by stupefying indulgences and
revelries at seven star hotels, casinos and clubs? Is
it by imposition of unattainable standards on others
to prove worth or superiority? Or, is it by
supercilious attitude to humiliate the disadvantaged?
Is it by power show, power dressing?
Of cause, without adopting some of these ways, we are
not likely to be recognized for who we are, what we
have and where we are. We are not likely to be seen as
powerful. Unfortunately, there is just a thin divide
between pride and power. Therefore, if pride is
synonymous with power, there are other realities of
power, taken from the aphorism, power corrupts and
absolute power corrupts absolutely. The first of these
realities is that power accentuates ambition as man is
almost always insatiable in his quests. The second
reality is power tends to disconnect because the more
we grow in power, the more we are likely to look down
on others. Another reality is that power, as wine, has
intoxicating potentials if we are soaked in it or we
are unnecessarily showered adoration for it.
Similarly, it has the potentials to enslave the one
who wields it if it is so much and he dreads losing
it.
In all these, we do everything to multiply our grace
if we revel in the accolades that it brings us and
fashion all weapons to retain our power if we dread
losing it to someone else. But the tragedy of this is
that in multiplying our grace or protecting our power
and prestige, we may not know when we cross the bounds
of reason to crush the pride of others. Sometimes, we
consciously or deliberately suffocate and even
annihilate our perceived enemies and real
competitors. We scheme and dribble. We deploy all
forms of arsenals: intimidation and coercion and with
sleight of hand. We are blind to the interest,
survival and pride of the other. The end justifies the
means, we are likely to say.
In this immersion in intoxicating show of eminence, we
are however likely to forget that man does not really
have absolute power, nor is he immune from dangers
that deflate pride, daggers that stab dreams or
calamities that incinerate wealth. Many who are not
conscious of this reality actually play God! They are
almost always beyond reproach and are also
unapproachable. They are too tall to stoop low for
others. To them, humility is a human frailty. Meekness
is a weakness. Modesty isn't a virtue. Patience is a
feminine attribute. Compassion is a vice. Brashness is
a beauty.
But when these are the signals or the fine points that
signposts a man, he is pride or arrogance in its
extreme. So, if all sing his praise in his sight, they
all tear his garments behind. If all agree with his
views on all issues, they condemn his position out of
his sight. Unfortunately, the ultimate tragedy of this
character is that he finds no helper in his moment of
tribulation. "It serves him right", his detractors,
many of them his beneficiaries and praise singers, are
likely to say. Many men of conceit actually die
lonely, in penury and shame. There are kings who
committed suicide at the height of their glory and
presidents who were dragged and defaced when they slip
from power. There are billionaires chained and
imprisoned because their wealth could not redeem them
when they fell from grace.
So, what should be the attitude if we are gifted or
attain power and eminence? How should we conduct
ourselves so that we do not dissolve in infamy after
the grace that we have enjoyed? I think the answer is
contained in the quoted verse of song, humility. But
there is also the need to recognize that everlasting
grace comes from the most high, to whom the grace
should be dedicated through gratitude, praise and
service to Him and humanity. The manifestation of this
is in sacrificing for others, especially secretly, and
wiping their tears in times of need, consoling them in
their moments of tribulations and lifting the low high
so that more can have comfort and happiness as we
enjoy in our grace and power.
ABDUL-WAREES SOLANKE B.Sc. Mass Comm (Lagos); Master
of Public Policy (Brunei Darussalaam) Head, Voice of
Nigeria Training Centre, c/o VON Transmitting Station,
Ikorodu, Lagos. Formerly the special assistant to the
Director General, VON, he is the 2007/2008
Commonwealth Broadcasting Association scholar in
Public Policy at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam,
korewarith@yahoo.com 08090585723