The Burden of Favors

This was originally shared in the Forum – I am moving it to the mainboard.

When favor comes in your life, expect a huge burden associated with that favor. A young lady was informed she would “carry” the Messiah. That was a favor every young lady of her era had wished. But do not ignore the huge burden associated with it.

In the Bible, the Annunciation is narrated in Luke 1:26–38:^[5]

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

In families and careers, favors come with burdens. The challenge comes when you expect favors without the burdens associated with them. Out of all the entry level staff, the CEO had asked you to work with him. That is a favor but never miss the huge burden as your performance is no more filtered.

To be a grown-up, not just a grown-old, you must understand the Burden of Favors.

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The same young lady carrying the Messiah couldn’t even get an accommodation in a one star hotel, let alone five star; even during the Child’s presentation in the Temple, the prophecy given to the lady wasn’t a sweet one, but they all add up.

It is ridiculous to yearn for testimony without a test, something has to give in, else what you hope to reap becomes fraudulent. So when men and women are genuflecting and prostrating before you, just know that there’s a huge burden that goes with it; you must live up to that.

Same goes for answering ‘His Excellency’, with all the subsequent long titles that follow it, especially for a president, that’s the amount of burden you are meant to carry. So when citizens blame you for their misfortunes or lack of success, they all add up, you do not need to be agitated or angry; that’s part of why you are ‘His Excellency’. Even a man whose car refuses to start could still blame you.

Again, if you are wealthy and keep whining on why people cannot allow you to enjoy your wealth, for asking for help, well, you can as well become poor, let’s see how many people that would disturb you. Even nations that are favoured have a burden too, no one is queuing up to emigrate to Somalia or Afghanistan.

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