Stress of Modernisation – “the Overnight Success Syndrome”
Proverbs 21:5, 2nd Thessalonians 3:10, Proverbs 12:24, 2nd Peter 1:10
The above are a few of the scriptures that talk about diligence relative to one’s success in his or her endeavor.
Seemingly, success has taken a different kind of social twist that man by nature always aspires to succeed in whatever he does. It has also ‘moved’ from the Godly principles or biblical principles of success to our own definition of SUCCESS.
The ‘world’ celebrates you when you have cars, especially luxury or custom-made cars, own a lot of houses or mansions or have a lot of investments.
I personally think ‘blessings’ of such magnitude if it was as a result of hard, smart work or the reward of labor through due diligence and based on Godly principles is a ‘perfect blessing.’
Proverbs 10:22 says ‘the blessings of the Lord make a person rich, and add no sorrows to it.’ But what do we see now? Everybody wants to succeed overnight without work or effort. Surprisingly, this negative phenomenon has unfortunately taken over the society, the elites, religious leaders, politicians, and especially the youth.
This overnight success syndrome is now reflecting in our political dispensation; almost every outspoken person thinks he or she can be a politician not with the sole aim of serving his or her nation but to amass wealth as we see these days.
This trend has caused a lot of tension and political ‘enemies’ between friends because one belongs to a different political party or believes in their ideologies. It has resulted in character assassination and contract killings. This syndrome is really becoming an epidemic that even in religion, there is a ‘silent war’ between churches because of power, greed, and fame.
Society doesn’t question one’s source of success or ‘supposed blessings’ and rather accords them the respect and noble treat. Some politicians within a few months or years of political position suddenly afford luxury cars and build mansions at the expense of the electorate.
They receive all the accolades at social functions, including funeral grounds, and are adored.
Very sadly, the police, other security agencies, and even the judiciary seem to be hooked to this syndrome that is putting innocent people behind bars. As a result, our prisons are congested without much character reform for the inmates. These prisoners also become victims of ‘overnight success syndrome’ and cultivate bad habits and come out not reformed.
The entire society suffers as a result of this.
Overnight success syndrome has also caught up with the so-called prophets with their billboards mounted across the nation claiming religious supremacy over the other and claiming to have ‘powers’ more than the other. Some claim to be superhuman in their spiritual prowess. With this desperation to succeed at all cost and overnight, these prophets and spiritualists use all means available to them to get innocent victims as church members to give money and sometimes their properties in the name of God’s job and rendering them even poorer and more frustrated. (Church victims).
