What Manner of Man

Around 1984, I became obsessed with reading magazines - Newsweek, TIME, TELL, NEWSWATCH, Ebony etc. I was 17 years old at the time. EBONY was my favourite. I loved black American history.

One book that was constantly advertised in EBONY then was WHAT MANNER OF MAN an autobiography of Martin Luther King Jnr) written by Lerone Bennet Jt.

An uncle of mine was travelling to the USA and I had the good fortune of him asking me what I wanted. I asked that he get me this book. I think this is one of the books that has made a profound impact in my life.

I hadn’t given my life to Christ by the time I read this book. But there was scripture shared there that has been one of the anchor scriptures in my life. Luke 12:15 -

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (NIV)

I’ve come to realise that we can’t solve all the problems in this world. But then if we are content and spend less on ourselves, we can be so much of a blessing. I’m not talking about feeding the appetite of entitled people. I’m talking about even genuinely seeking out people who are in need. They are all around us. The Lord is eager to open our eyes to see. But we would have to ask him. Would we?