Once we affirm the gospel truth that God is responsible for everything everywhere, even Christians are confronted with a dilemma. If God is the author of everything, how can man be held responsible for his actions? Is God also the author of our sins? Does the scripture not say: “Don’t blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn’t use evil to tempt others. We are tempted by our own desires?” (James 1:13-14).

As I was driving on a bridge in Lagos, I asked God a question.  When I looked up, I saw the answer boldly written on a billboard.  I was so flabbergasted; I wondered if what I saw was a vision.  Therefore, when I got off the bridge, I decided to go all the way round and back again on the bridge to see if the billboard was real.

Solomon says: “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). Therefore, when Femi-Kevin was a little boy, I asked him to memorise one scripture. It was the only scripture I ever told him to cram and it says everything we need to know about God: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36).

When you walk with the Holy Spirit, you know you are not supposed to feel like this. But I could not help it. I tried to feel different about beggars but without success. I just don’t like them. God knows I am a giver by nature. As a matter of fact, my entire life is consumed by giving. I give to family, relatives, friends and acquaintances.

In 1986, I was appointed Special Adviser to Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi. When I was offered the job, my boss at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Professor Gabriel Olusanya, advised me to reject the offer. When I decided nevertheless to accept it, he gave me a bad security clearance. He said I was too close to my West Indian wife and would not be able to keep national secrets away from her. As a result, my appointment could not be confirmed.