FEATURE ARTICLE

Fr Pat Amobi ChukwumaWednesday, January 25, 2017
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SOMETHING MUST KILL A MAN

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ccording to Shakespeare, death is a necessary end which must come when it will come. All living things are mortal. Man is a living thing. Therefore he is mortal. By man I mean every human being. So woman, you are also a man. Biblically, woman means a person taken from a man. In the Biblical account of Genesis Chapter 2:21-22, God made Adam to fall into a deep slumber and from his side he took a rib, which He fashioned into a woman. As I said earlier, God moulded a man but fashioned a woman. This is why women are so much interested in fashion. It was this fashioned woman that was seduced by Satan to eat the forbidden fruit. She also gave one to her husband Adam and he ate. When Adam was alone in that Garden, he did not venture to eat from the forbidden tree. Marriage is good but problems accompany it. Adam's desire for companionship brought him the ruin of death. Hence it can be deduced that death came into the world through the instrumentality of a woman. The man Adam was also culpable. Why didn't he ask the origin of the strange fruit before consuming? If you want to please a man or kill him, it is through his stomach. Is it true or false?

Man is a composite being. That is, he is made up of body and soul. The body is material while the soul is a spirit. The body is corruptible while the soul is incorruptible. The separation of the body and soul gives rise to death. Death is the cessation of biological metabolism. As far as man is concerned, death is the end of earthly life. In other words, it is a transition from mortality to immortality. The Preface of Mass for the dead tells us that human life does not come to an end, rather it is changed. It is a change from visibility to invisibility; from temporality to eternity. Man dies only once and after that comes eternity in heaven or hell. Therefore reincarnation is out of place. Shakespeare maintains that cowards die many times before actual their death. Are you a coward? Are you alive or dead? If you are already dead, please rest in peace. Do not bother reading this write-up. Some of the people walking about the streets are already dead and are waiting for their burial. But if you are still living, kindly read this article in between lines.

Biologically, human beings need air, water and food to survive. In addition, those who smoke need fire to survive. Even though the cigarette advertiser warns, "Those who smoke are liable to die young." We can survive without smoking. But we cannot survive without air, water and food. Recently, the mother of a little girl of five years died suddenly. Her corpse was eventually brought home for lying in state and then burial. After paying the last respect by the husband of the demised young woman and his three children, the corpse was inserted into a casket and closed. The 5-year old girl of the departed woman shouted, "Daddy, please keep the box open so that mummy can breathe!" The little girl was ignorant that the dead does need air again. The living needs air to survive. We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Death results when breathing ceases. Breathe in! Breathe out! Hold your breath for some seconds and tell me your experience.

Water is also necessary for survival. While in the womb, the baby is soaked in moisture. It is by this liquid that it swims from its mother's womb into the external world. I learnt swimming for nine months in my mother's womb. Man drinks water right from the time of birth till the moment of death. One can survive for many days without food, but he or she can never survive without intake of water. The body is said to suffer from dehydration when it lacks water.

A certain foolish man went to hospital. After undergoing laboratory test, it was discovered that his body lacked water. Consequently he was given instant admission so that water can be infused into his body system. At night of the same day, he sneaked out of the hospital to seek solution by himself. He said he cannot waste his hard-earned money in the hospital just for water infusion, when water was available in his house. Immediately he arrived home, he drank three gallons of water. Then he filled water in the bath container in his bathroom. He laid himself down inside the water and slept off. He did not come out of his room when it was already 9.00am the following day. His wife and children broke into his room but he was not there. Then they opened the bathroom and found him stone dead inside the water with his stomach protruding like a 12-month pregnant woman. What a penny wise, pound foolish!

Some years ago, a three storey house with many inmates collapsed. Some died while a few survived. After one week of the bloody incidence, a young man was miraculously pulled out alive from the debris of the collapsed building. It was discovered that he survived for that one week by drinking his urine. So, in case of emergency you can drink your urine. I visited a friend one day. Being thirsty I opened his fridge to take a bottle of cold water. In the process I was taken aback as I saw bottles of urine inside the fridge. I shouted at him. He sincerely told me that he preserves his urine in case drought suddenly breaks out. Then he would be drinking those bottles of urine as water supplement. Because his fridge was emitting foul smell, I didn't border for the drinking water again. I forgot entirely that I was thirsty.

Food is another essential nutrient for survival. Our body needs not merely food but a balanced diet. A balanced diet contains the vital vitamins. When you take a balanced diet, you become a balanced person. If not, then you suffer from imbalance. The way you walk, speak and act can determine whether you are balanced or not. Another foolish man suffering from imbalance went to a mechanic workshop where car wheels are being balanced. At his arrival, the wheel balancer asked him, "Sir what can I do for you?" He replied, "Please I want you to balance my life because I am suffering from acute imbalance. I am feeling dizzy and I walk like a ghost these days. My shadow is pursing me. In fact, I can no more sleep. Whatever it costs I am ready to undergo the body balancing." The mechanic and others around couldn't help laughing at the man to stupor. The wheel balancer advised him to go and consult a priest in the church nearby for corporate healing. He told him that he deals with car wheels and not human body.

We need food for a healthy life. Man eats to live but he does not live to eat. He or she who lives to eat is not better than a brute. It is also popularly said that man is what he eats. Do you agree? If so, then it entails that one who eats monkey meat is a monkey. One who eats goat meat is a goat. If dog meat is your favourite, then you are a dog. I still maintain that I am not what I eat. As a rational being I am above the level of consumerism. I eat to have strength to work for eternal glory. It is suicidal to undertake hunger strike. Fasting itself should not be excessive. As God, Christ fasted for forty days. But as humans we may not undertake dry fasting for more than three consecutive days.

Now let me hit the hammer at the nail. Today we are advised to abstain from this food or that drink. Ulcer patients are advised not to fast. Diabetic patients are admonished to avoid the intake of sugary and starchy foods. I was terrified when I got a WhatsApp message which reads: "Any food you consume after 8p.m everyday is equally a poison to your body. If you can follow the water therapy for 3 months religiously, your skin, your body and your organs begin to function well. Do you know Breakfast is the most important meal of the day: if you must skip any meal, it shouldn't be breakfast? Do you know too much red meat is very dangerous to your health? Do you know people who smile always live longer, look younger and are healthier than their counterpart who does not? For every bottle of soft drink you consume, you have just taken 9 cubes of sugar, and it takes 7 days for it to wash off your body; men increase their likelihood of having a heart attack by 20 percent. Fried meat is a killer; it is damaging your body. People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. Drinking water only when you are thirsty is obtaining a license to damage your liver. Holding your urine when you are supposed to let go is another way you are damaging your live. Adding salt into your food when it is already served is another way of slowly poisoning yourself and vital organs. Observing the routine of proper eating: Eat BREAKFAST like a KING, LUNCH like a PRINCE and DINNER like a BEGGAR would help you live longer. Please take care of your health, for HEALTH is WEALTH. 7 Biggest brain damaging habits: 1.Missing breakfast 2.Sleeping late 3.High sugar consumption 4.More sleeping specially at morning 5.Eating meal while watching TV or computer 6.Wearing cap/scarf or socks while sleeping 7.Habit of blocking/stopping urine. Don't just read. Forward to whom you care."

My Reactions: Someone can slump and die after reading the above text. Some may try to vomit those poisons they have eaten over the years. A desperate consumer can even commit suicide because he sees his condition as useless. Fear of the unknown can kill. Some may develop High Blood Pressure after reading. Others may begin to take correction. The real author of the text is not known. Is it from a nutritionist or from a medical doctor? If yes, what are the sources and reasons of some of the recommendations in the text? After reading the entire text I exclaimed, "Something must kill a man!" Truly there are facts in the text that should be taken seriously. However, to be on a safer side, moderation in what we eat and drink is the ideal recommendation. Those who recommend total abstinence from alcoholic and mineral drinks, does it mean that all the breweries in Nigeria and all over the world should be shut down with immediate effect? Little alcohol is good and it gladdens the heart. Being drunk is madness. Let us eat and drink with moderation and sensibility. However, something must kill a man. A certain cautious man kept all rules and regulations about healthy living. Eventually he died in a motor accident.

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