A lecturer stood out in my department when I was an undergraduate at the University of Ghana. He was the favorite of almost every student because of his unconventional approach to teaching. Unlike other lecturers, he would mark our exam papers and interim assessments and share them with us. He would go ahead and ask anyone who felt unfairly assessed to come to his office for a remark.
What made his personality even more unique was that most of our lecturers were his former students in the same department. He not only taught them but also guided them on their path of career to stand on par with him!
I was always awed by the greatness of this legend. I silently learnt what true greatness meant from him. Greatness was not loud. It was not self-seeking. It was a gentle masterstroke that always put others before itself.
Great people are not provoked by the greatness of others. They help them to be greater than they are. People who know their worth do not regard their subordinates as threats. They regard them as co-builders. They discern who they can be tomorrow and not who they are today. They empower them in every way possible because they are forward-thinking. They help them climb safely to where they need to be.
It is only cowards who find joy in seeing others never blossom in life. Witchcraft is not when a man flies at night. It is when a man hates to see others fly in life. Wherever life places us should be a place of lifting others, not an opportunity to look down on them.
In my short time on earth, I have been intrigued by the striking similarity between life and a relay race. I have observed that no one wins a relay race alone. It is teamwork ― either they all win or lose. Same as life. When handed over the baton in a relay race, one must find the next athlete and hand it over.
In life, kindness is that baton. The privilege to lift others is life’s baton. We are all products of other people’s help. No one has ever climbed the ladder of life all alone. At all costs, they received help along the journey. Just as a helping hand was handed over to us in our times of need, helping others is a mandate. Kindness needs to be passed on. No one person should hold on to it.
Everyone in life has a duty to lift others. We were not only born to receive. We can give, too. It is not how much you give that matters. What matters is how much it changes another’s life. Intentionally, we should be conscious givers. We should not wait to have everything to share or pass on a baton of kindness. Little is much.
The hands that wash dirty clothes get cleaned, too. In life, you will never run out of joy if your joy is to see others lifted. If you make it a habit to raise people from their lowly state, life will always find a way to compensate you.
When you pray for open doors, pray that you will be an open door to others. Until your life has made an impact on others, your doors are still closed. Pray that somebody will rescind their decision to take their lives because they met you. Be an open door of soothing words ― an open door of humility. When God answers your prayers, go all out and be another’s answered prayer.
We are channels. Through us, blessings ought to flow to others. Every new day is a new opportunity to lift people. Every encounter we have should leave them better and not worse.
God blesses men through men. For a man to receive an answer to their prayer, it can only come through another man…. and that man could be you. When you wake up each morning, be intentional about being a bridge that connects people to opportunities and not a wall that blocks them. Life expects you to hand over the baton!
You are lifted to lift. When life gives you privileges, do not enjoy them alone. You are blessed to be a blessing. You are not blessed to buy cars you will never drive. When life blesses you with material wealth, do not spend it on liabilities. We are raised to raise others. Whenever life hands over a baton to us, that baton is not meant for us alone. We must pass it on.
Until you have given others the opportunities you were given yesterday, your assignment is not yet done. Until you have opened as many doors for others as were open for you, you are not fulfilling your purpose.
Do not pray to be blessed. Pray to be a blessing. Pray to be a channel of hope for others. Life becomes better if we aspire to give as much as we receive.
Our career should be a tool for lifting others. Our gifts, talents, and skills must be a lens through which others have a relook at their worth. People should have a new meaning of life when they come your way. Treat them as who they could become tomorrow and not who they are today. When you are privileged, give others privileges!
An opportunity to lead is an opportunity to serve. Tomorrow, you may need the help of the one who needs your help today. Oftentimes, our destiny helpers walk into our lives as people who need our help. We may share the same office space with them. They may be our classmates or even juniors. Treat everyone with respect. It does not take long for the hands of time to turn. The master could be the servant and the servant, the master.
When life lifts you, do not remain up there alone. Pull others up there. Those you help today will be your lifeline for the future. When you are fortunate to be at the top, do not despise those at the bottom. Instead of suppressing them, give them opportunities. It is your turn at the top today. Tomorrow may be theirs.
No one remains in the spotlight forever. No one remains in the darkness forever, either. If you have the privilege to be at the top, remember it is your moment to lend a hand. Just as you were lifted, lift!
By Kobina Ansah
The writer is the Chief Scribe of Scribe Productions (www.scribeproductions.com) and Scribe Communications (www.scribecommltd.com).