Monday, 15th November, 2021
Bible Reading: Proverbs 13:16
Memory Verse: The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it Proverbs 22:3 (ESV)
The law of unintended consequences states that actions of people, and especially governments, always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended. Here is an abridged version of a piece written by John Obili: “Prior to the ban of the microblogging app Twitter in Nigeria whenever something tragic or contentious occurred, the citizens would tweet about it, and the topic would trend – TO NIGERIANS. This meant that even though the complaints and agitations of the citizens were being posted to the public social media platform, the issues seldom ever registered as the trending topics of other countries. However, there was a twist here which leads us to the Law of Unintended Consequences.
The Nigerian Government banned twitter and this led the mammoth Nigerian youth population to download VPNs to bypass the ban. On most VPNs, the United States is the default or preferred location. And so millions of Nigerians who would normally tweet and register their discontent as the trending topics of Nigeria are now registering the issues on the trend list of the United States meaning if the Nigerian government had not banned Twitter, the displeasure of Nigerians would have been localised. In the wake of the ban, the displeasure of Nigerians was being broadcast to the centre of the world through VPNs, creating global awareness for a matter that would have otherwise remained local. Most Nigerian VPN users didn’t plan for this effect.
It was just an unintended consequence of using VPNs, albeit a welcome one. The Law of Unintended Consequences can be avoided by utilizing a thinking tool called Second Order Thinking. Second Order Thinking postulates that there is more than meets the eye when solving problems, and that by solving one problem, we may inadvertently create another problem. We must therefore rigorously apply Second Order Thinking and even third order thinking in order to arrive at an ecological solution.”
Similarly, back then on campus, you were the “happening babe”. Really, you just wanted to enjoy your youth and catch some fun. You know, it is a once in a lifetime phase in your life. One day, you met a guy who was super rich. You couldn’t resist the temptation of befriending him. You ended up having multiple abortions which rendered your womb destroyed. That’s the law of unintended consequences at work. Had you deployed the law of second order thinking, perhaps you would have enjoyed your youth strictly in the confines of God’s grace. Be warned.
Lesson: Always take a very careful thought before taking any action. Look at the end from the beginning.
Quote: Look before you leap.
Prophetic Decree: May the Spirit of God overshadow your mind and thought pattern, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. To the Lord who carefully planned the earth before creating Man, hallow be thy name.
2. Holy Spirit, please help me in my decision making, in Jesus name.
3. I shall not make a decision or an investment to later regret, in Jesus name.
4. I refuse to say anything that will later implicate me in Jesus name.
5. Holy Spirit, always help me not to act on the spur of the moment, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 24; John 20-21