The essence of life (2), By Sunday Adelaja

Whenever you possess something, but lack the understanding of its value, there are some consequences you suffer. We started with ‘You Neglect the Treasure’ as the first consequence one suffers if the essence of life is not known. Other consequences include:

2. Others Take Advantage of You 

Another consequence of not knowing the value of what you possess in this case the value of life is that, there would be some other people around you that will better understand what you possess. While you are playing Cinderella with your life, they will keep toying with your life. This happens mainly with ladies. To an ignorant lady, she wants to look attractive and beautiful while some conscienceless men prey on her life. Such stories abound worldwide. Girls dropping out of school because of early and unwanted pregnancies. The reason? They did not realize the value they possess in their body.

Today, human trafficking has become a modern-day monster. Nations and governments, don’t seem to be able to cope with the challenge. Close to a million people are trafficked across international borders every year mainly for sexual exploitation. Eighty percent of them are female. The menace of human trafficking continues to endure only because, there are some heartless men who are taking advantage of the lives and bodies of their gullible victims.

Unfortunately, most of the victims or their relatives in most cases voluntarily agreed. The challenge here is that, the families of these victims and the victims themselves have not realized the full value of the life they possess.

“For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.” 1 Peter 3:10

3. You Abuse Your Life 

Smoking is a worldwide problem, almost in every nation and culture. The fight against this menace is so comprehensive that even the very same package of cigarettes now carry warning to its potential victims. Nevertheless, nothing has seemed to work in the fight against smoking. More and more number of youths and adults get addicted to nicotine on daily basis. While the whole world is struggling to help people get their freedom from the dangers of smoking, yet the over five million people, who yearly die from smoking still voluntarily head towards that deadly part. It is not other people who make them to smoke, it is mostly a voluntary decision.

How do we explain such a paradox? The explanation is simple. When we possess something without knowing its value, we abuse it. When we as human beings, are trusted with life, but lack the value thereof, we are only left with one thing – Abuse!

In the case of these smokers, this abuse leads to death, sicknesses, cancer, amputation, loss of all kinds. To possess something without the corresponding knowledge, is extremely dangerous indeed.

4. You Suffer Loss 

Whenever you own something without a corresponding knowledge of the possession, you eventually lose it. If you give a five thousand dollar diamond ring to a two year old child, sooner or later, that child is going to lose the treasure. Even though you could have meant well, yet the child would misplace the diamond.

It is obvious because, that child doesn’t know the value of a diamond ring. He might just be seeing it as another playing toy. Besides, the child does not know the value of money yet, which means five thousand dollars does not seem to be anything to him. That lack of value sense would deprive the child from a protective instinct which could have applied in this case.

Instinctively we naturally want to guard or protect something we view as precious. But when we don’t see the value, we don’t put the protective edge. The same thing goes with life.  On a daily basis, people lose their lives, they lose their health, they lose their families, and they lose their children, only because they refuse to have a corresponding knowledge to what they possess in hand. POSSESSION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING LEADS TO LOSS.

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” – Charles Darwin

5. The Consequence of Death 

Death is another inevitable consequence of possessing something without its understanding. What you don’t understand you cannot treasure. What you cannot understand you don’t treasure. This explains the reason for suicide. It explains the reason for abortion. It explains the reason for drug abuse and overdose. It explains the reason for alcohol addiction. People kill themselves, people destroy their lives, just because they have not come to the full realization of the essence of life.

Too many people die early, either tragically or natural death, because they did not treat their lives with any sense of value. Most of the deaths before seventy years old in our world, could actually be prevented if the various individuals had only treated their lives with more caution and sense of value.

Too many people die in our world today because, they don’t eat well, rest well, play well and live well.

“For me, no ideological or political conviction would justify the sacrifice of a human life. For me, the value of life is absolute, with no concessions. It’s not negotiable.” – Edgar Ramirez

Sunday Adelaja is a Nigerian born leader, transformation strategist, pastor and innovator. He was based in Ukraine.