Emmanuel Mushosho's Blog

Have you ever stopped for a second and thought, “Why am I doing what I’m doing?”

That moment came to me today when I reviewed my plans for an ideal summer:

1)       Build projects

2)       Launch businesses

3)       Get certificates

4)       Train to dominate tournaments

On the surface, these goals look great. They make me look like someone proactive and ambitious, but underneath, I had different intentions. I was aiming to look good and trying to impress others with what I was doing. In my mind, I was thinking :

1)       LinkedIn post – Look at these certificates that I got and how I used the knowledge to create this project, while at the same time working a full-time job and launching a business

2)       Instagram – Look at my big performance at this international tournament on my return home

All hoping someone connects the dots from seeing both my posts and says – “Wow, this guy is amazing, look how much he has done!”

But that is shallow of me. Seeking validation makes me wonder if the life I’m living is truly my own. Is it, if what I do is to impress others? Life shouldn’t be that way. Unfortunately, in the age of the internet, life is heading in that direction. It’s becoming harder for people to do things without sharing on Instagram. Life is rapidly becoming artificial, but don’t get me wrong! There are a lot of people who do things with the right intentions, and I want to be one of them.

We are all on our own journey, and we should create the life we want. Each of us is in this world for a reason; the fact that you are alive right now means you still have a purpose on this earth. We have one life and shouldn’t waste it trying to impress others or being someone else. We all have unique gifts and talents; we are all special and different. We are lights, and we should shine, as the Bible says – What good is a light if it is covered? It’s useless! Don’t hide yourself; the world needs you.

We live in a dark world. I’m sure you have heard that, and the reason is that not enough people are shining their lights. There is a famous quote that says, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” That is profound, and so is the concept of light.

One of the greatest sources of light we know is the Sun, and it’s amazing how just one star can produce so much of it. Mother Teresa once said, “Few of us can do great things, but all of us can do small things with great love.” Don’t underestimate the power of your good actions! Light triumphs over darkness every time. I plead with you to live a life of meaning and use what you have to help others. Imagine a world in which there was no good; it would be chaos.

In physics, we have two main types of circuits – series and parallel.

In a series circuit, there is one pathway through which electricity flows to power the lamps; if one of them blows, then they all go out. While in a parallel circuit, there are multiple paths allowing electricity to power each component independently, so if one light blows, the others still stay on.

            What am I getting to here? You see, if there was one pathway to life, one possibility, one way to live it, it would be easy for darkness to prevail. If people keep trying to be someone else by copying others’ paths in life, not their own, it becomes easy for darkness to prevail. Stop one, you stop everyone similar. But what happens now if, like a parallel circuit, there are multiple pathways to live life? That people can be different. Unique individuals, not duplicates. What happens now? It is hard for darkness to prevail. Each pathway must be cut individually; you must find different ways to stop people. It is much harder, and even if you stop one, there are still many more lights shining.

Let me make this more vivid. In a parallel circuit, there is strength against darkness. I think of a business. How successful would one be if, for example, they only had accountants? The accountants doing the cleaning, product design, manufacturing, marketing and all other business operations? Not very right. And if you add more accountants, do you become more successful? No! What do you need? People with different skills and ideas – new product designers, new engineers, etc. Then you will have a strong company by joining together different skills and people with the unity of one goal. The company is hard to stop.

You see, there is a unity in numbers, not just in the sheer size of them but also in our different personalities and skillsets uniting towards one goal. It’s the power of the church; it’s how we can shine so bright that darkness flees. That’s why the world needs every single one of us to shine our light, your own light! Remember, a company with all accountants won’t be successful. We need people with different unique skills to work towards the same goal. That’s why we need you! Shine your light!

What’s the goal, you may ask? I will direct you back to the circuits. For the lamps to shine in the first place, they need electricity, which comes from a power source. In the parallel circuit, they are different pathways, but the electricity flowing through them comes from the same power source. Our uniqueness as individuals all comes from the same source. We are like the moon; Jesus is the Sun. He is the ultimate Light – our power source. We reflect his light just like the moon reflects the Sun’s. So, what’s the goal? It is the greatest commandment:

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks the Sun; similarly, trying to live life without Jesus, ignoring or blocking Him out of your life, will lead to darkness. Let the love of Christ be seen in you. Use your gifts to serve others and let Christ guide your steps. Fight the good fight and remember the world needs YOU!