The Hearts of Men
By: Deji Yesufu
“… The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, and try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings…” – Jeremiah 17:9-10
I am very sure that when the history of the period between 1980 and the year 2000 will be written, two musicians will be mentioned who had a great influence on the minds of young men all around the world – including me. The two of them are Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. Both men were killed in 1996 and 1997, respectively, in the same way – drive-by shootings; and one can look back now and understand that they reaped the reward of the fruit of their mouths and ways. Notorious BIG inspired my article “Ready to Die”; Tupac inspired this one. To write this article, I had to listen to the lyrics of the song “The Heartz of Men” by Tupac, and I cannot fathom the number of expletives I had to endure to listen to it. But I needed to listen to it because I felt there was something he was saying, beyond the expletives, that could explain the point I want to make in this article. He was saying essentially that no one can be trusted. Some people call you their friends, who in real life are your enemies; and some people might look like your enemies, but in real life, they wish the best for you. No one knows the deepest intent of men’s hearts, and since it is impossible not to associate with people in this life, you enter into every association in faith.
As wide apart as their life and ideologies were, Jeremiah the prophet agrees with Tupac Amaru Shakur. Jeremiah wrote that the hearts of men are desperately wicked. Then he asked: “Who can know it?” I have heard a lot of people quote this verse, and I wonder if they understand the point the prophet was trying to make. When you hear a person say “…the hearts of men are desperately wicked…”, it is usually concerning some bad experience that person might have had with other people. He had trusted somebody and had been disappointed, and to explain the situation, he refers to the biblical reference to the wickedness of the hearts of men. If this is the context in which one is making such a reference, they are not wrong. Except that when Jeremiah wrote those words, he was not thinking of the wickedness of other people’s hearts alone – he was thinking of the wickedness of his own heart, inclusive. He must have thought about situations where he also had to make decisions to justify his ways, even when it was apparent he was betraying the course of someone who had trusted him. He must have been thinking that God would be so kind to entrust him with such a gracious ministry, of being a prophet to a nation, even though his imaginations run wild from time to time. I understand that this would certainly have been Jeremiah’s train of thought because the New Testament tells us that when it comes to the subject of sin and the wickedness of men’s hearts, all of us are guilty. Therefore, when we enter into association with other men, we must make that little allowance for disappointment. We must understand that people are coming into business with you not because they care a hoot about you, but because they have something in that association to gain from. And that as long as you can give them what they want, they will remain with you. But the moment you cease to be relevant in their lives, they will ditch you. It is usually only one’s parents who give unconditionally to a child. But the children reach a certain age when the parents tell them to go and fend for themselves, too.
I have been thinking more and more about the state and condition of the hearts of men. I find myself between two epochs. The first epoch is the very life that I am living. I am a Nigerian in my middle age, with a sound education and a skill, I am sure that if I export to other countries, I will make a lot more money than I am making now. I confess to you that the Japa phenomenon appeals to me. Nevertheless, I love Nigeria. I know in my heart that I am called to serve this country. I know that this wilderness situation we have found ourselves in as a nation is only temporary; God will save this country eventually. I will also be happy to be among those who will welcome Nigerians back from the nations where they had gone to seek economic asylum when Nigeria gets better. I must also juxtapose this epoch with another epoch where the hearts of men were revealed, and which forms the foundation on which this country was laid. The time I want to talk about is between 1944 and 1966. It is the story of Obafemi Awolowo, and the points I will be making in this part of the essay are meant to corroborate God’s response to Jeremiah in verse ten of the scripture quoted above.
Sometimes in 1963, Obafemi Awolowo, as brilliant as he was, came to a painful realisation. He said that his biggest undoing in politics was that he trusted Samuel Ladoke Akintola for too long. There was very little reason why Awolowo should not have trusted Akintola. 1944 was the year Obafemi Awolowo left Nigeria to study law in the United Kingdom. Awolowo and Akintola were young men struggling to survive in Nigeria in those colonial times. In 1937, Nnamdi Azikiwe returned to Nigeria from the United States of America with a PhD. Zik was only four years older than Awolowo, yet his social profile was a lot higher than his because he was a lot more educated than he was. Awolowo knew that if he were to gain the social standing to speak in Nigeria and for men to listen to him, he would have to get a law degree. In those days, Awolowo and Akintola were both newspapermen. Akintola was the editor of the Daily Service. In 1946, Awolowo wrote an article where he analysed the John Macpherson Constitution that had just been published that year. Akintola published that article and got his employers to pay for the bloc that carried Awolowo’s face. That was the first time Awolowo would have his photograph in a newspaper. So, when people kept coming to Awolowo and warning him about the possibility of Akintola betraying his loyalty, Awolowo did not take any action. By the time he sought to deal with the matter, Akintola had grown into a monster. In January 1963, Obafemi Awolowo found himself in prison, and Samuel Akintola was restored to the seat of Premiership of the Western Region by the Tafawa Balewa government. In the days to come, I will tell the public what followed afterwards.
As Jeremiah thought on the state of the hearts of men, God spoke to him. He said: “I the Lord search the heart, and try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings…” God is saying that while all hearts are sinful and wicked, there are degrees of wickedness in men’s hearts. God searches the hearts of men and knows the deepest intent of men’s hearts, and then he returns to reward everyone for the condition of their hearts via the outcomes of their lives. What this means is that the state of every person’s life is a culmination of their thoughts and actions. Rather than going to a prayer meeting and spending all your waking moments in vigils, find time to know the state of your heart. Repent of your sins. Endeavour to reform your life. Make choices for good and not for evil. Join worthy causes. Separate yourself from evil men and their evil machinations. Defend the poor. Heal the sick. Help the needy. Speak truth to power. Stand by what is right, and separate yourself from what is wrong. You may not know the condition of your neighbour’s heart, but you must know the condition of your own heart. When you see wickedness in your heart, separate yourself from it. You will not be perfect in your ways, but endeavour, as much as you have strength within your will, to do the right things always. The fruit of your heart and your ways will determine whether you will have a good life to enjoy, or you will spend the rest of your life struggling.
When I became a Christian in 1998, I stopped listening to gangster rap. It was not because the songs were no longer appealing to me; I just knew that it was something God would no longer want me to do again. It matters what you watch, read, and listen to. A few years ago, I was watching “Blood Diamond” – a movie starring Leonardo De Caprio. It was the story of how the Sierra Leone crisis of the late 1990s was fueled by white men who pitched communities in that country against themselves, as they tried to mine diamonds illegally. Thousands were killed, and many others were maimed. In one of the scenes in the movie, a group of violent men were going to a community to raid. As they headed to kill and maim other people, they were playing Tupac Shakur in their trucks. In other words, as they sought to kill people, they needed someone to inspire them towards violence. I then understood why God wanted me to have a clean end to those destructive songs. What you read, watch, or listen to will inspire your thoughts and actions. Your thoughts and actions will inspire the outcomes of your life. If you will have life, you want to work on the content of your heart. You may not be able to determine what is in the heart of other men, but you can ensure that your own heart honours God and wishes the best for people. God, who knows the hearts of all men, will then reward all men according to their ways.
A good man will reap good in this life. And the wicked person will continue to struggle. I hope this inspires you. Thank you for reading.
Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at [email protected]
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