Happy Appreciative New Year: 2025; Here We Come, All Glory Be to God!

By Benjamin Pulle Niriwa. In Religious Peace. 01.01.2025.

Introduction

Ending every year successfully is a blessing and a victory! Never end any year without thanking God, the source of all powers, favors and everything. In the same way, always start every new year by acknowledging God whose grace has brought you victoriously into the year. Never start any New Year with an old bad habit and always appreciate those who touched your life/heart. This article touched on how objectives, accompanied with others can help in every New Year’s preparation. 

Figure 1: Happy New Year, 2025, Flee Hatred Resort to Love!

Body, the Main Issue.

Planning for accomplishment has no age limit. Having one’s objectives or aims being achieved is the most beautiful feeling on earth, it can be likened to one’s proposal being accepted by his/her dream life partner. All the beautiful plans of people would be nothing but mere dreams; if there is no peace, but violence. Journalists though sometimes maltreated by people with power perceiving them as “threats”, are important in peace-building. They report various kinds of news that expose the goods and evils in societies. Their news encourages people to continue with their good conducts that help in promoting societal peace, as well as, encourage those involved in evil practices to change (Pulle a, 2021; Riaz, 2017).

It does not matter how one starts: start every New Year with new SMART objectives and add prayer! Using objectives that are; “specific, measurable, achievable/attainable, realistic/relevant, and time-bound”; with small hard work, the story will change (Bailey, 2019; Mallon, 2019; Bjerke & Renger, 2017). The person can still have a happy end, depending on the determination to self-building; though there might be some obstacles to deal with (Arampatzi et al., 2018; Bou-Karroum et al., 2019). Do not wait until fifty (50) years to start planning for retirement, this can be best achieved by self-assessment and using result-oriented New Year resolutions which have worked for me.

The saying that “wealth is health” (Pulle et al., 2024c; Pulle et al., 2024d) also indirectly tells readers how entrepreneurship can also promote healthy and peaceful lives for economic development. How? To get the wealth that you need to be healthy and happy; you must do something or engage in daily economic activities (do business or businesses) that can be exchanged in return for financial or material wealth. These economic activities or businesses that people do daily for financial and material wealth are what make them “Entrepreneurs” (Pahwa, 2021; Duermyer, 2020).

Peace is the foundation of everything on earth! Without peace nothing can go on smoothly as revealed by the painful example of COVID-19 pandemic too. If any nation has never experienced a curfew/lockdown, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns (Palmer, 2020) have painfully helped almost all nations on earth to experience it (Graphic, 2020; Crabbe, 2020). There were video circulations of soldiers giving disciplinary actions to flouters of partial lockdown orders laws (Ayamga, 2020; Crabbe, 2020).

The behaviors that were associated with even partial lockdowns in some nation like Ghana (Ayamga, 2020; Crabbe, 2020; Graphic, 2020), were indirectly explaining how important peace is and why there is the need to protect it. Those behaviors that were seen, like soldiers asking people to “walk” on their “knees” (Ayamga, 2020), are mostly worst when the peace of a nation is lost and a curfew is imposed! Infections from violence are also mostly made up of many different pathogens like in the case of “sports-accidental infections” (Pulle et al., 2024c; Pulle et al., 2024d). In the same way during this season too, infections are similar to the ones that can similar to the ones that can accidentally infect people doing sports. 

What used to be normal and not a crime, like marriage ceremonies; can suddenly become criminalized, as seen in the COVID-19 pandemic (Dapaah, 2020). Life is both physical and spiritual! In a violent environment, both physical and spiritual activities come to a standstill. So, when there is no peace; it affects every activity of a nation and therefore mostly leads to serious economic hardships that can also negatively affect the health of her citizens.

Irrespective of the differences in our faiths, most humans on Earth believe that God really exists and He is actually our source of everything in life. Divine favor to be victoriously end December or the year 2024 into a new month “January” or year 2025 is a testimony that; “to God everything is” really “possible” (Matthew, 19:26; Luke, 1:37). The truth about life is that; people understand and interpret “divine affairs” differently (Shtulman & Rattner, 2018), with the majority believing that, “To God, all things are possible” (Smith, 2021).

This optimistic feeling is something that can give people positive expectation(s) about life and, therefore, serves as a source of hope to carry on with life whilst trusting Him. Jesus has proven the possibilities of God by healing all kind of diseases/sicknesses whilst on Earth and there are sixty-three (63) verses in the Holy Bible that talk about these real possibilities; that there is nothing that is too difficult for Him to handle (Smith, 2021; Mc Tavish, 2018).

Since I started going to school, with the exception of from primary 1 to primary 4; I have been taking care of myself and others up to now. So, from that time up to now, only God has been my everything! Despite this, I have still been able to help others, most of whom do not even remember me again. Yet, I am doing my PhD and still taking care of others. This could not have been possible if I do not plan my life with SMART objectives and prayers for divine interventions (Stupart, 2020; Smith, 2019). Though I live my life as a journey without seeing others as negative competitors, others have tried to spread falsehoods against me but failed. At the end I got to know about their wicked plans, but I never hated them, I have never hated anyone since I am borne!   

Hatred originates from unhealthy competitions (Pulle, 2022)! But from realities of life, the fastest “horse” can never do the work of a slowly moving “donkey” (Combe, 2024; Merkies et al., 2020; Figure 1). Comparing one’s achievements in life unjustifiably with what others have achieved is the flame that ignite hatred. People can never be the same even if only twins are now borne to fill the earth. This is a life time reality that can easily be observed using the toes and fingers which can never be equal in sizes or strengths (Oki, 2018)! These realities can also be seen using people heights, their body sizes, colors, voices, facial looks and so on. They can never be the same, but that must not be an excuse to hate someone (Figure 2). 

 Figure 2: Personal Differences in Life Must Not Be the Cause of Hatred!

When others hate you do not reciprocate, hatred is like a tree that bears beautiful fruits and people are throwing stones at it. So, rather love them for helping you to self-assess your life to identify what you have that make them hate you (either good or bad). Whatever you self-assess your life to identify and solve, whether good or bad, makes you a better and peaceful person than before.

In most cases we hear people pass comments, like: “I was better than this or that guy in class” but being better than someone does not also make your family likewise better. Some people by nature are already born with “silver spoons in their mouths”, you might be academically better but it does not change one’s birth right (Wikipedia., 2021; Oppong, 2008). As you might be the first person who is laying the foundation of your family; others are not. A tractor and a bull can never work at the same speed, but what is done by the tractor can also be done by the bull with time! Hatred creates division: refuse to hate anyone in your preparation this year and above (Shults et al., 2019).

You can be better than someone but that on itself is not what puts food on your table, it is what you do with what makes you better. It would be helpful for everyone to know that if you are better than someone it does not stop God from blessing that person. God blessing that person than you as most people wrongly perceived, must not breed unnecessary hatred! But this was why Cain hated his brother Abel and assassinated him. Hatred or envy was the reason why the first murder crime and mortal sin was committed by Cain (Genesis, 4:1:15; Hebrews, 11:1-6; 1John, 3:9-15)! 

God did not accept Abel’s offering because it was a sheep, He accepted it because of the demonstration of faith and love. Abel used the fattest sheep amongst his flock for the offering! It is obvious that Cain’s offering too could have been accepted if he presented them with faith and love, like his broth did. God did not reject Cain’s offering because of the faithful and lovely presentation of Abel’s offering. Cain has demonstrated faith but he did demonstrate strong faith and love, by using fresh fruits that are nicely parceled after being washed (Gen 4:1-15; Hebrews 11:4; John 3:1-18). If that was done and he presented them with a pure heart, God would have accepted both offerings.

Every human being has two types of friends in life: friends who are like angels to bring blessings and “friends" who only smile with the person in their presence but are full of “hatred” (Radhakrishnan, 2021; Shults et al., 2019). To enjoy this year and benefit from every blessing of God, flee hatred; but love all, hate none. Do not just live your life like the lower-class animals, always use self-assessment to assess yourself for encouragement, improvement, and changes in your life (Taylor et al., 2020).

Never feel too big to say sorry to those that you might have stepped on their feet! If you help others and they did not show any appreciation, take no offense, you have done what you ought to do as human. Do not try to also hate people who hate you, just be careful about them. Do not hate reciprocally, love! Hating people is not sign of maturity; you can hate someone’s behavior but not the human being (Pleasant & Barclay, 2018). Nana Acheampong said in one of his songs that he “does not have time” or “Adaagyee” to be backbiting others (GhNation., 2022). To reduce the number of people who would hate you, devote your time for something that would benefit you and others.   

 

Conclusion

Hatred is the product of competing badly with others! Flee it for healthy competition! A healthy competition does not lead to hatred. This New Year is not for haters: it is a year for people with loving hearts who respect and treat everyone with dignity and respect without discrimination. Heal hatred for health and healthy hearts to have peaceful minds for daily economic activities!

Thank you for Reading!

 

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