Tuesday, 14th November 2023
Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 2:22 (KJV, CEV)
Memory Verse: It is good for a man that he should bear The yoke [of godly discipline] in his youth. Lamentation 3:27 (AMP)
In 1987, the Nigerian U-20 team were in camp preparing to leave the country in a few days for the World Cup in Chile. Etim Esin was the star boy of the team, a supremely gifted player who had something extra each time he was on the ball. The team was built around him because he had a lot of skill and had so much to offer.
He was the “Diego Maradona” in Nigeria because he can do anything with the ball. It was like he was born with the ball. The U-20 team were under strict instructions not to leave camp, but Etim Esin couldn’t resist the lure of Lagos nightlife. He broke out of camp with two other players to visit a nightclub. On their way out, armed robbers attacked them and shot Etim Esin on the leg.
He was thought to have died, but luckily he was found and given early medical attention. It was said that the robbers sent Etim an apology letter while he was in the hospital claiming that they didn’t recognise him the night before. The medical team had to rush through his medical process just to get him to the World Cup.
Etim was able to make it to Chile half-fit, and Nigeria crashed out of the tournament with the worst result since the team debuted in 1983. Etim Esin went on to play in Belgium for a number of teams most notably Lokeren and Lierse, but his hot-headedness and poor attitude made him get into a lot of trouble, which affected even his international career.
Apart from minor spats with his coaches, he got into major trouble in the 1990s when he was accused of raping and impregnating a white girl in Belgium. The case that followed that grave accusation shoved his career into a freefall and even his enormous talent could not halt the slide. He escaped home from Belgium and insisted on his innocence.
Although he was eventually vindicated when the white girl gave birth to a baby with no traces of black blood, the stigma never went away. His once promising career crumbled and the accusation of a crime as heinous as rape proved too heavy for Esin to recover from.
There seemed to be no way back for the stylish midfielder once fondly called ‘the African Maradona’ as he was not able to play at the highest level again until he retired. A good attitude is very important to success. Without it, even the best of talents can waste away. Village people are not always behind your troubles, your greatest enemy might just be your poor attitude.
Quote: Without the virtue of personal discipline and self-restraint, talent becomes a monumental waste.
Prophetic Decree: In the name of Jesus, you will not be loaded but wasted.
Prayer Focus
1. Thank you Father for your Word of caution.
2. I receive grace to bring my talent under tutolage and discipline, in Jesus name.
3. Any habit in my life the devil is capitalizing on for exploitation, die, in Jesus name.
4. I receive grace to endure divine discipline, in Jesus name.
5. Holy Spirit, please give me a listening ear, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Matthew 28, Mark 16