Your car and when you lose your job

Wisdom demands that people know how to adjust in life. Apostle Paul said he knew how to enjoy when there was abundance, and adjust when there was little.

When I saw in the news some days ago that there were protests in Lebanon about the level of poverty in that country, my wife and I laughed because the level of poverty in Lebanon is nothing compared to that of Nigeria. Anyway, this write-up is not to compare Nigeria (which has been named the world’s headquarters of poverty) with other countries. But a country where nearly fifteen million children, who should be in school are out of school should expect that when some millions of these children become adults, they are likely to fight society more than what the present generation of bandits, Boko haram, kidnappers, armed robbers, ritualists, area boys, cultists and yahoo boys, among others, are currently doing to the Nigerian society.

Oh my God, why am I writing about these, when I am supposed to be writing about how Nigerian families can cope during hard times? Sorry about the digression, which has taken so much space.

Anyway let’s come back to the matter.

When some people who own cars lose their jobs, one thing they never let go is their car. Wisdom, however, demands that the car should be one of the things to sell early or park it in the compound, never to be used unless perhaps during Christmas and Easter celebrations. If you feel that selling the car is equal to selling your honour, you can as well park it in your compound and clean it and warm the engine everyday without driving it out. With this, when people ask, “Where is your car?” you can reply, saying, “It is at home.” Selling the car or parking it permanently at home until things get better or using it during Christmas, Easter and one, two or three other occasions are among ways of reducing expenses. A car never brings any income to the family. You keep spending on it, repairing it and buying fuel and just wasting money, just because you want to be seen as a car owner. I call such people “artificial big men”. They are not real. They are building that temporary phase of their lives on sand, and there shall surely be a collapse.

Another mistake some middle class earners and other people make when they lose their jobs is to use their cars to do “kabukabu” (public transport). From what I know, the cost of maintaining and repairing the car drowns any income they make. Many end up selling the car at a give away price, much lesser than what they would have made, if they had sold it earlier. Moreover, do not borrow money to maintain your car after losing your job.

Finally, instead of fighting to retain your car, I would suggest you stop wasting your energy on your car’s survival. Rather, spend your spiritual, mental and physical energy on how to solve the immediate foundational problem, which is how to get another job or how to move from looking for a job into discovering and doing the work God gave you talents to do. Many have used the period of job loss to move from job to work.

As you put your faith in God and as you are ready to be hardworking and want to succeed in life, God will surely provide better days for you and your family. Do not lose courage when hard times come. It is during such periods that God makes those who REALLY know Him “to be strong and do exploits.” (Daniel 11:32) Love you.