Before You Scrutinize …

This past weekend has been power packed for staunch christian diehards in Kampala, Uganda. The popular song stars Pompi and Limoblaze were coming for a concert, arriving from Zambia and Nigeria respectively. There was a pre-show at Watoto Church the Friday before the concert.

Now Watoto has a larger audience than its carrying capacity. By 5pm, the auditorium was full, and the rest were to sit in the overflow. I was among those. At some point during the PowerSexMoney conversation, the two were invited to sample us.

As Limoblaze sang his latest hit ‘Desire’, I had imagined it to have a different dance style accompanying it. He seemed to match it with extra vitality, way higher than what was called for. The song was fire, but he seemed to be exuding excess energy!

Or so I thought…

Maybe I was jealous. Maybe I was biased for sitting outside the main building. I continued criticizing everything subtly unconsciously … until,

“Where are your songs?” God drastically cut me off.

He asked again, “How many albums have you released? … Has your presence ever summoned or commanded more than a thousand people in attendance?”

What a slash! I was all like 😳😵…

I had to shut up!

“Before you scrutinize…” He added, “Measure yourself against what you’re scrutinizing, and ask if you have achieved the same. If you fall short, then hold your tongue.”

Savage, right?!

But He’s God, and He had a point. He always does. What do I mean?

I was scrutinizing — or in simpler terms, criticizing — something I’d never achieved.

It’s funny telling a man he is bad at raising children yet you’ve never had or raised any! It’s foolish!

I was scrutinizing a young man who is two years older than me, married, with over 100 songs, lots of influence, a masters degree and other certificates. Now I have a diploma, and still pursuing a bachelor’s of architecture, but I’ve not recorded professionally any song at all, though I have written many.

It was a humbling experience.

This wasn’t the first time God had brought up the trite ‘before you scrutinize…’ though.

My uncle’s house is situated in such a way that the corridor is too dark and we need electrical light during day to see while using it. Being an architect, my analytical eye and knowledge condemned the building. I used to murmur about it—showing uttermost disdain at what the unqualified builders did, and in the middle of that tantrum, God walked through a portal and asked,

“Have you constructed a house before? Do you know the prices of a door? of a tile? of a toilet? of a sink? of a window? DO YOU?”

My lips were super glued. I had no answer. I was all sack cloth and ashes!

“… Before you scrutinize dear boy, measure yourself against what you are criticizing. If you carry no knowledge of the price of a mere handle of a door, I suggest you hold your tongue!” He ended and then vanished!

Abeg now! 🤒

God put me back in my place. And there’s wisdom in the act! He opened my eyes to see how I have no right to judge a thing I can’t even afford to put up!

Many of us scrutinize other people’s businesses. We laugh at people who’ve set up small start ups — small kiosks and salons. Amidst the mockery we forget that we have no skill in running a business. We laugh at self-employeds, and yet its their type that employs us.

Next time you mock, may that haunting voice come saying ‘Before you scrutinize…’

We attend other peoples’ wedding receptions, and scrutinize the low quality decor, the two-star food, the unprecedented microphone breakdowns, and yet we have never been to our very own weddings!

We criticise Abraham that he slept with Hagar… but none of us know how it feels like to be promised a child at 75 years of age! If any of you readers received a child late, I am sure it was before your 50th year of age!

A sister of mine graduated with a PhD last May. The doctorate took her 13 years to finish and when I shared that news paper headline with a friend, that friend scoffed ‘how can a PhD take you that long?!’ This scoffer didn’t know the story behind the delay. This critic hadn’t even obtained a bachelor’s degree!

On what level can you then judge or scrutinize something you’ve never achieved?!

Maybe you’re angry at a leader who has been in power for so long … but you do not know what it feels like to be in such a position or have tasted such great power that you can’t easily leave the seat…

Many scrutinize Job’s wife. She told him to curse God and die! ‘What a wicked woman!’ they say… but you do not know what it feels like to lose all your children in one day, and all your wealth on the other. And then, on top of that, your husband is laden with ugly boils too painful that you’d rather him dead than to be in such horrendous agony where he is using a shard to scrape his skin!

I have seen fellows on concerts who point fingers at singers on big platforms and say ‘I can sing better than that!’ .. but do they know what it feels like singing before tens of thousands of people. You’ll find them wetting their pants due to the overwhelming magnitude of observers, which would ruin their prowess to even sing, causing them worse shame!

…

I have no scripture to quote!

But in conclusion, I just come bearing a testimony of a question God asked me that put me back in check, enabling me to respect the achievements of others, to understand their stories, and not to be quick to judge or to criticize anything foolishly.

I leave you with that testimony and question.

‘Before you scrutinize …’

Happy week!

Wait I have a scripture;

Matthew 7:1-3 “Do not judge (scrutinize) others, and you will not be judged (scrutinized). For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? (Brackets mine)

For as you saw, when I criticized Limo, God criticized me too, to teach me!