“______________ is a great (or any good adjective) person, but ___________” – Adeolu Akinyemi

Before you read further, I’ll advice you to fill in the gaps above as sincerely as you can with your name. It’s a self assessment, and trust me, you owe it to yourself to be downright straightforward with yourself. Don’t use a not so bad but, search deeply into your habits, your character defects, your vices or whatever you are sure is strong enough to be a significant but. You should have found quite a number now, don’t stop at just one…:)

Let me shock you a bit. These buts that you have discovered about your life are going to eventually destroy you, if you let it grow unhindered. That might sound harsh, but let me quickly intimate you with why I know without a shadow of doubt that that “but” will destroy the lives of anyone that has it, and doesn’t deal with it. I’ll try to intimate you with the origin of but, and what we need to do about the buts in our lives.

Have you heard statements like this before? Segun is a very talented youngman, but he is unreliable. Titi is a great person, but she lies. Usually no matter how good the first statement is, a small “but” can wreck the great achievement positioned by the first statement. You may have come this far with your buts, you were expected to, but how much further can you go without taking care of it?

The Origin of Buts

I believe strongly that the creator of the universe wires us all with different giftings and potentials. We are all destined for greatness and possess the makings of greatness in good quantities, not just in drops. God put this potentials there, and sees what you can become if you harness the latent talent that you possess, however in the same vein there is a negative force in the universe, the devil. The devil doesn’t know clearly the potentials each human possesses, only an idea of the fact that there are chosen people in each generation with specific assignments. He doesn’t know who, so he uses a blanket method. Let me give you examples.

Moses – In the story of the birth of Moses in the Bible (also supported by history and other religions), the ruling power pharaoh who is a type of the devil, feels threatened by the generation of children born in the days of Moses, and sends forth a blanket decree that every Hebrew child less than a particular age be killed. Not forever, but for as long as that blanket can cover the threatening generation. He didn’t know where Moses would be born, but he had a fair idea of the fact that if he tackles all, he’ll be safe.

Jesus – Similar scenario. Herod gets wind that a king was born within the same zone not of his family. He sets a decree to use the blanket method to wipe out the generation of possibilities.

Lesson. The devil doesn’t know enough to attack particular people when they are young, so he inflicts the entire generation with similar problems. He either wipes them out, or places in their hand a remote controlled bomb a BUT – Bomb Under Time. So while a but isn’t something you should have, if you have one today, it’s a good sign, the devil is petrified about your generation.

How the Buts Play out.

I have observed, that a man or woman can become great with a but or two. Your but is irrelevant when you are not yet significant. You do not command sufficient attention when you cannot be identified. Nothing is gained from falling a fallen man – he that is down needs fear no fall. The moment you begin to approach the place of your dreams however, the little but in your life gains power. Remember it’s a bomb in your hands, and the control becomes useful only when the example you will be is good enough to drive a point home. That little unknown and unpopular but in your life holds in it’s grip sufficient power to destroy you… it’s just waiting for the right time. Think about it, that popular guy that got wrecked by this scandal or that wasn’t doing that for the first time, he/she was just getting caught at the time when the news would reach far and wide.

Let’s lay some of them down

Values – If you cheat on the basic true north principles of integrity, honesty, fairness, equity e.t.c. it’s a big but, and it will catch up with you sooner or later.

Bad Habits – Now this is a list that could be very subjective, if i put a list here a lot of people will beg to disagree and create all sorts of excuses for the ones they are in. Well I have only one question to help you create the list yourself. If you had a 1 million dollar race horse that regularly performs and creates passive income for you, will you allow it to indulge in that habit of yours?

Lack of Self control – This is also a big but, it’s usually the starting point of dangerous bad habits. Anything out of control is bad and that includes, food, wine and sex. Interestingly there are proverbs that are a bit direct on these 3.

What to do?

Begin to work on those buts now that you are not known. I like a statement that is attributed to Jesus, he said the prince of this world has come and finds nothing in me. In other words, when his time of limelight came and he was big enough to be made into a public scandal, there was no bomb in him for the devil to control. Nothing in me! No place to rest his foot, no issue to grab, nothing to make a case with. I believe that should be the height of great living, where you can reach the top and still stand tall. Knowing that there is nothing in you that can be used to blackmail you or reduce you to lower standards.

The buts in your life are lurking, waiting patiently for you to become. You are the one, you have what it takes, you are a wonder to your generation, but…