Have We Taken Her by the Hand?

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own, she quoted Benjamin Disraeli as she praised her mentor. Like the leaper who came back to thank Jesus, she had gratitude bubbling in her heart. She had received praises and saw it fit to let the praises flow right back to the person who had guided her; back to the person who had given her a chance.

She took that chance and ran with it. She shone so brightly you couldn’t have ignored it. How can she be this young, yet be so mature in her delivery? How can she be this competent yet have little experience? Yes, it was through her sweat but she acknowledged that it took others, singling out this one person who had played a major role in it. Her name is Esther Ang’awa. I was part of the huge crowd cheering her on as she made her submission at the Court of Appeal.

Isaiah 51:18

18 Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand.

A fitting description of what a society can become if the flow of wisdom from one generation to the next is cut off. It once described the Israelites who had been oppressed by the Babylonians. God’s wrath had subdued Israel and among all her children, there was none to take her by the hand. Is it an obligation to guide others? Is it our duty to share the information and resources we have so that others can also find success? Have we taken her by the hand?

After a year had passed, one of my colleagues posed the question, “What have we gained after one year of being here?” What I wonder is, did I pass something beneficial to someone else within that one year? There was once a unique personality who modelled what He wanted those under him to learn. Each day those He had chosen would see how He dealt with emotions, how he communicated, and how he went about His work. He not only taught them but also lived out what He wanted them to learn. Jesus Christ gives us the blueprint to guiding others; one life being imparted into another.

I don’t know the back story concerning Nelson Havi’s mentorship of Esther Ang’awa; so I can only assume that Havi saw the potential in Esther and sought to mentor her. In the same way, Jesus Christ sought the disciples, finding them as they went about their lives. After finding these men who were not refined, He started the process of smoothening the rough edges. He taught them, corrected them, answered their questions, and poured His life into theirs. Jesus was preparing them for a time when He wouldn’t be around. He knew he had to leave them with knowledge, a helper when they needed guidance and work to do so that they can get a chance to also share what they had with others.

Do we have an obligation to enrich others with what we have? “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” Jesus told His disciples. Therefore in that statement was said after Jesus had spoken about His authority. So he wasn’t transferring His authority to His disciples so they can be the coolest kids on the block. He deliberately did, so they can transfer the knowledge to others, who would teach others, who would teach others, and so on.

Judges 2:10

After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.

I enjoy reading books; especially after I realized I don’t have to invent the wheel every day. I can borrow ideas and learn from mistakes that were done by those who came before me. What a tragedy when a generation fails to know what happened years past to their ancestors. How will they appreciate what they have if they don’t know how it came to be? How will they learn from the mistakes of the past if a light is not shone on the cracks in their society?

Values start to wither, ideas remain crude and society stagnates when there is no intentional transfer of knowledge, ideas, and experience. We have to seek opportunities to bestow unto others what we have in knowledge and in resources. This sometimes will come at the cost of our privacy when we invite someone into our space to help them learn firsthand. It will cost us precious time because that is the price that has to be paid when refining. We will have to be vulnerable so others can see who we truly are and learn from our mistakes. We will have to be patient because we can’t control how what we share will be absorbed. We will have to love because God’s love is the only way we can reach out to others with a sincere heart. We all have to ask ourselves, have we taken her by the hand?