Written by Prof. Mannixs E. Paul, PhD, FCFIP, FCIML, FCECFI, FFAR
Life has an order. You may try to bend it, ignore it, or exploit it, but you cannot escape its consequences. The principles of nature are set to maintain balance, and whenever they are violated, a time of reckoning always comes. It may not be immediate, but it is inevitable. On that day, power shifts. The strong may become weak, the masters may become servants, and those who once oppressed may taste the very struggles they forced on others.
This reversal is not only punishment—it is a lesson. It stands as a warning for generations that no one is above the law of accountability. Every action has a ripple effect, and every privilege misuse carries a price. Justice in its purest form is about more than retribution; it is about preserving order, integrity, and humility for the sake of the future.
We see this truth around us today. Many individuals, families, and even nations are living with the consequences of wasted opportunities and abused privileges. Doors that were once wide open are now firmly shut, not because opportunities disappeared, but because they were ignored. Some people had grace extended to them, yet they treated it lightly. Imagine standing before a train ready to carry you to your destination, and instead of boarding, you turn away, distracted. Later, you find yourself running desperately after what you once had within reach. That is the tragedy of missed seasons.
Grace is real and available to everyone. But grace must be recognized, valued, and acted upon. To take it for granted is to lose it. That is why it is essential to understand our times and make wise use of them. Time wasted can never be regained, and seasons missed cannot easily be recovered.
The decisions we make today are not just about us. They shape our children’s lives, communities, and the generations after us. To live carelessly is to place unnecessary burdens on those who come next. But to live with wisdom and responsibility is to hand them a gift: a future with hope, dignity, and opportunity.
Let us choose wisely. Let us guard what has been entrusted to us—our resources, our values, our heritage—and use them in a way that honors both God and humanity. Let us live to leave behind more than wealth or titles, but a legacy of integrity, service, and wisdom. At the end of it all, we may say with peace, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
The next generation will one day look back on us. History will record whether we lived as faithful stewards or careless spenders of grace and opportunity. When that story is told, let it be said that we did not waste our time, rose to our calling, and left the world better than we found.
Courtesy of MEFoundation