Edwin's Corner

I love history, and once believed the stories I read were accurate and true, until I studied the personal accounts of those conquered.  The conquerors would seek to destroy the religion, texts, language, and monuments of the vanquished and replace these with their own. Retelling stories of old to capture the psyche and identity of a people. Many ancient civilizations, nations, and clans were silenced, never to be found except in tombs or scrolls secretly hidden, revealing truths that had been altered or distorted over time. Some stories were carried down from parent to child through narration, preserved like precious metal carefully stored in the catacombs of memory. Yet, the script of the colonizer has become more refined over time, replacing language and culture with little resistance.         Africa lost its proud identity, one that had been present for eons. Our identity was replaced by ruler measures of tribes, and boundaries created in...

Jesus had been in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. The limitations of the body were evident. He was alarmingly hungry. This body he had was flawed; he needed to eat something after forty days of being in his thoughts, emotions, and the frailty of the human body. Just as he was about to step past the fortieth day, the devil appeared. I am not sure if Jesus would have done more days, but what we know is that the devil appeared at the right time and tested if Jesus would immediately gratify his hunger pangs. “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ‘If’ is a strong doubt creator. If you are an exceptional accountant, if you are a gifted singer, if you are a talented speaker. This tags at our desire to be seen, appreciated, and acknowledged as unique and special. Doubt has always been the devil’s tool of choice. If you don’t know who you are, you will do everything to get others to tell you who you are. Satan had always wanted to be superior t...

When I was six years old, I joined class one, and was so excited to begin a new year away from home, at least away from the bosom of my nanny. I found myself among hundreds of older children, in a school that was beyond my comprehension. Prior I had attended a small, intimate neighborhood kindergarten, where swings, tires, and dirt mingled with porridge, mattresses, and classes. I particularly remember the mind-numbing repetition of numbers and alphabets drilled into our essence. The constant: “Again,” “a..e…i..o...u.”  “Again.” And so, it went. I was happy to be done with that life. This promised to be a whole new world of experience. I loved being free, bubbly, and happy. I was a plumb happy child. All I wanted was to break things, jump over things, and move around unrestricted.      My class one teacher thought otherwise. He preferred me to be docile and obedient. And unlike in kindergarten, where we sat on a bench, he wondered why my backside w...

The hardest years for me were my early 20s. I wanted to own, possess, and call something mine. I had placed many expectations upon myself. Dreams that I wanted to attain. It was common for me to work myself to a mild headache, and celebrate that as a mark of having worked hard for the day. I didn’t know what my purpose was, but I wanted to be a billionaire. I believed that title would give me freedom. This idea had been placed unintentionally in my mind by a fast-talking, awe-inspiring entrepreneur I worked for. He was, in all intents and purposes, my mentor. And even though I never once asked him to be one, what I did was observe his addiction to making money. He inspired us; he felt like the big brother I never had. And in a room full of like-minded young people coming straight from university, he was an all-knowing oracle who hired us.                 I wanted to amount to something. And carried a deep d...

Few things speak louder than words. Words create worlds. In the beginning, the world was formless, but then God spoke, and the world took shape. We are His image, and our words, like his, can create.    God deeply loves those who have faith in him. The faith of a mustard seed, we are told. A mustard seed has two qualities. One, the potential to grow, and secondly, transform into something totally different in awe-inspiring ways.     For these two qualities to show, there has to be action. Without action, faith is useless.   "Show me your faith, and I will show you my action." We need faith, but faith is made real by action; two sides to a coin.    Becoming a person of action requires that we have faith . Faith that the thing you believe in will come to be while trusting and having confidence without evidence. To have exceptional success in the things we do requires that we step forward in faith. Life has many obstacles. Many fea...

By the time Alexander the Great died at 32 years old, he had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. Some say he died from a drunken stupor, some say from disease, and most say from poisoning. Alexander had never been defeated in war; he was an unstoppable force, and whatever he set his sights on became his. Considered one of history's greatest military strategists and commanders, Alexander spent his last days in a drunken stupor.  Frustrated by sickness and the sting of mortality. Alexander was beloved, yet his demise brought relief to his soldiers and generals, who had endured the ravenous desire of a young man to conquer the world. At first, his men had followed, his charisma and leadership sufficient. But as they did the impossible and their numbers started dwindling, the slaughter, mayhem, and extensive plunder became meaningless. They wanted out. One of his generals pleaded with him to change his opinion and return; the men...