Cane or Candy?

 

I remember what it was like many years ago in Airforce Primary school when I dreaded my class teachers’ painful cane (popularly called Pankere) so much. My wonderful teacher Mr Essien would ask us to buy a cane and bring it to school with us on resumption day, imagine after having a wonderful holiday, what a way to welcome children back to school. He would have about 40 canes in different sizes lined up behind his desk. It was a dreadful sight to behold, and he didn’t hesitate to use any cane at will on us, I dreaded that cane.

We had to cram our numeric tables because if Mr Essien called anyone to the front of the class to recite it and they missed out only a number, Ah!!! It was doom for that person. It was a dreadful sight, seeing the faces of my classmates change to a mask of pure shock, their eyes suddenly got huge and, their faces became red. I can never ever forget my numeric tables now because of my experience with Mr Essien I can probably recite them while sleeping. The reverse was the case with my lesson teacher Mr Andy he often rewarded me and my siblings with candy for a job well done, I loved doing extra lessons with Mr Andy it was so much fun mainly because of the candy.

By the time I got into Queens College thankfully we didn’t get flogged with a cane but I was very skilled in the act of avoiding trouble and removing myself from any type of trouble that might lead to me getting punished. Well, you can call me a coward or whatever but whenever I sense cane, punishment, danger, trouble, I will always take special care. Who would have known that season of my life in Airforce primary school would be so fundamental in shaping my thinking.

Romans 1: 19 NLT ‘They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God’.

From a young age, I understood the truth about God’s word but as I grew older I gained a better understanding of the Word and I realised that living a sinful life would lead me to eternal damnation. I also had the privilege of catching a glimpse of heaven and missing it because of sin in my life. I decided then that I wanted to spend eternity in heaven, I asked God to help me and my life has never been the same again, I have never looked back since then.

I often wondered why some of my classmates got the most strokes of the cane, some of them just constantly got flogged, maybe they found the table difficult to grasp but I tell you only a foolish student would not memorise his/her numeric table if they were in Mr Essien’s class. Only a foolish man doesn’t acknowledge God Romans 1:28 NLT ‘since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behaviour, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them too.’

We don’t have to die when Jesus already paid the price for our redemption, He died on the cross of Calvary for our sins, He died so that we may have eternal life, if we die without a relationship with Jesus, the next phase will be intense pain and suffering in hell. If we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour today, we can live with Him eternally in heaven. Why choose death when we can choose life. Which do you prefer? Cane or candy?