THE DANGERS OF TAKING SHORTCUT

The dangers of taking shortcut

I will like us to start this episode by first having a clear definition about the subject of shortcut. Everyone is made to understand at this juncture that everything about life is built on process for purpose. If shortcut were to be relevant, God would have displayed that during the whole process of creation. If shortcut is vital, less than a day would have been enough for God Almighty to make the whole creation because He had the capacity. Yet, God abide in the process which took days for the completion of the creation including man.

Let us quickly have the definition of shortcut!
Shortcut according to Oxford languages: Shortcut is a method or means of doing something more directly and quickly than and often not so thoroughly as by ordinary procedure.

Cambridge dictionary puts it this way: Shortcut is a route that leads from one place to another and is quicker and more direct than the usual route.

Why do people take shortcut?
1. They are so lazy to accept to go through the required process.
2. They think they do not have the effort required to achieve one’s goal.
3. They think it will take longer time to accomplish a desired goal.
4. They lack the willingness to accept the due process.
5. They think they are under pressure to meet up with the deadline of a given responsibility.

Why you should avoid shortcut
1. You will not experience proper growth:
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mathew chapter 4 verses 19)
Proper following begets proper growth. It is in properly follow the due process that you will become an effective and influential person in the society. You cannot become efficient following shortcut. Shortcut is cutting and shying away from some processes will elude one from some vital information and experience to navigate through life.

2. You will not be fulfilled:
“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verses 11)
Going through the right process always deposits the right mindset and attitude and makes one to become better. When you are a person of shortcut, you cut off the real process and miss out in the true feeling of accomplishment.

3. You will not mature:
Shortcut limits one’s maturity. It is in yielding to the process that matures someone.
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mathew chapter 4 verses 19)
Jesus said, if you yield to the process, that is the only way you mature and become relevant, effective and efficient to oneself and to the society.

4. You could get hurt:
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs chapter 16 verses 25)
It is interesting to know that there is no shortcut in the path to fulfilling destiny. If you are the kind who believes you can always manoeuvre things to get through, some day you will be trapped. Never you forget, quick money without proper character formation will lead to disaster at last.

5. You can ruin your reputation:
“In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.” (Proverbs chapter 14 verses 23)
It is wise to know that it takes so much truth to build a trust but a lie can destroy it. Why will you want to ruin what you took all the years to build. You trying to cheat in the detriment of others can ruin your relationship and reputation. You are aware if you follow the due process, everyone will benefit from it but you chose to boycott things for your selfish interest. It is just a matter of time, the truth will be made known. Then you might lost great company.

6. You could miss out of vital details:
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Philippians chapter 1 verses 6)
Those who are not patient enough to follow the right process will always miss out of important information that may harm them in the future. Some time in life patience is all that one requires at a particular timing. Any vital information one fails to grap now for any reason will catch up with him or her somewhere in the future. Pay the price now to gather every information that you need to enjoy a beautiful tomorrow.

7. You might be rob to reach your true destination.
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs chapter 16 verses 25)
All the fraudsters who seem to must have made it in life, never get to their true destination of wealth creation. Yes, shortcut could seem to take one to the top faster but will not bring genuine fulfillment. Those who did not form the right pillar of character to their ways up will finally collapse when they think they are about to get established. Shortcut can cut one’s life short.

8. You might get deformed:
“In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.” (Proverbs chapter 14 verses 23)
Anyone who has stirs up the attitude to shortcut the process of life will get deformed. You cannot shortcut the process of being traines and get equipped with the necessary informations. You will know little or less about the right path to leave the right legacy. If you are not learning, you will suffer malnutrition; if you suffer malnutrition, you are not growing; if you are not growing, you will be stuck; once you are stuck, you are limited.

9. You could end up in regret:
“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verses 11)
There is no one who diligently followed the right process to acquire the right information and put it in action for a desired goal and result that ended in regret. It is just a matter of time, the desired result will manifest. There is no one who so much dwelled in shortcut who did not live to regret it.

10. You will not leave a good legacy:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah chapter 29 verses 11 NIV)
Whatever you are planning to do, have it at the back of your mind that it is not about you, but about the generation attached to you. Whatever you do today has a way of affecting them either positively or negatively. You need to ask yourself, what legacy are you leaving behind for the next generation to follow.

How to avoid taking shortcut
1. You have to make up your mind to hold and take yourself responsible: You must be responsible of whatever happens to you. You must take the blame of whatever it is if things did not turned out right. According to the book of John chapter 4 verses 34, “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”
2. You have to make up your mind to plan your day earlier: There is a popular saying that he or she who fails to plan, succeeds in planning to fail. The book of Job chapter 38 verses 12 said, “Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;”
3. You have to make up your mind to take the time and the energy to carry out each responsibility correctly: It is your responsibility to stir up the right attitude to do things the right way and do it correctly. Apostle Paul admonished his son Timothy in the book of first Timothy chapter 3 verses 15, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
4. You have to make up your mind to follow the process: Always have it in mind that life is in process. There is no hurry in life to shutdown process. You must abide to the process for a fulfilled destination. Apostle Paul testified in the book of first Corinthians chapter 15 verses 10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
5. You have to make up your mind to abide by the rule binding any policy or responsibility: There are rules and regulations guiding any process and one is made to stick to them for a glorious ending. Apostle Paul said at the end of his ministry in the book of second Timothy chapter 4 verses 7, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:”