I saw on the Bio of a young guy, an undergraduate where he wrote “Life Coach”. I was wondering if he ever knew what he wrote because the last time I checked, he was still under his parents. From our interactions, I knew he still had a lot of confusions in his life that need to be sorted. He was trying to brand emptiness.

Friend, life is not just about branding. It is about ensuring that you have what it takes to deliver when destiny calls. I am not against branding, neither am I writing this to disparage the whole idea about branding. I am writing to let someone out there to know that, we don’t start out life with branding. We acquire substance and then brand it.

You need to start out life acquiring the right substance rather than looking for the latest branding style to project your worth(lessness). This was the problem of the Pharisees in the days of Jesus. In fact, Jesus called them “whitewashed tomb”; meaning that they appeared good on the outside but on the inside they were full of rots (Matthew 23:25-27).

We have been taught that the way you dress is the way you would be addressed. It is good to dress well. But you need to understand that people won’t know how to properly address you until they hear your address. Of what use is a nicely looking guy who is speaking trash or communicating ignorance? Beauty without brain is another definition of emptiness.

There were some guys in the days of Paul who were speaking Christianese, but in reality, they had not the life. It only took some little demons to reveal their true identity and made a public spectacle of them (Acts 19:13-17). They were trying to say what others like Paul were saying without having the authority that he had. They had a form of godliness but not the substance (1 Corinthians 4:20, 2 Timothy 3:5). They were trying to brand emptiness.

Don’t brand emptiness. Don’t call yourself Life Coach when you have not even seen or started life. I know there are people who have that role or assignment, but you need to be sure that you are not just saying it out of branding. It is not about what you say but about how you live. David did not brand himself as a champion, it was the right opportunity that revealed the stuff he was made of (1 Samuel 17:32-58).

© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria