Mr. James Ebo White, the renowned Ghanaian playwright affectionately known as Uncle Ebo, once again shared a profound piece of wisdom on his social media handle today. I couldn’t help but pass it on here, hoping others may also enjoy and reflect on his inspiring words.
Below is the full article in his own words..............
The story is told of a young Ghanaian on a government scholarship in the USA. In those days, one of the few dependable things about the scholarship was how unreliable the remittance was! So, he was broke, hungry, cold, and frustrated. Instead of moping in his room, he decided to go for a walk. That’s when he saw a restaurant with a sign that read: “Free meals served here. Your grandchildren will pay.”
He thought, For real?! Before his surprise could settle, the door opened, and a waiter confirmed that, yes, the sign was indeed true. So, he went in and ate with a voracious appetite. When he finished and reclined, picking his teeth, the waiter approached with a bill folder. Alarmed, he jumped up: “You said the meal was free! You said the meal was free!”
The waiter smiled and replied, "Relax. Your meal truly is free. This bill… this is what your grandfather left for you."
Funny? Yes. Sad too. You see, when he realized the meal was free, he ate freely, without concern for the bills he was leaving for his grandchildren, just as his grandfather had done before him.
And that is exactly what is happening today. Many of us are enjoying “free meals” in the form of galamsey, bribery, and all sorts of shortcuts. Satisfied with today, we are blind to tomorrow. We don’t think about the debts our children and grandchildren might inherit. In fact, we really don’t care.
Yes, the Bible says a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children. Many of us think that legacy is about building houses or amassing wealth, so we do everything to accumulate physical assets. But I’ve seen such houses become uninhabitable by the very children they were built for. Our actions or inactions, have consequences for the next generation. Indeed, some of us think our immediate family is sorted, so we don’t care about others’ children, forgetting that our children will not grow on an island. Some of us are spiritually cursing our grandchildren, ransoming their future with our actions and inactions.
Life is not as linear as we imagine.
The best inheritance is a name that becomes a key, not a padlock. A name that, when mentioned, opens doors for your children and generations to come. That is a legacy that truly lives on.
Would your grandchildren have piles of bills to pay, physical or spiritual?
Food for thought.
This is a story I shared at the just-ended Registrar's Management Seminar at Legon. I thank the planning committee and the Registrar, Madam Emelia, for the invitation.
