Actually, that idiomatic expression as often employed in our prayers " Ise kekere, owo nla" can be understood from different perspectives. This is not to decry our elders. They have given varieties of proverbs to suit needs and moments beyond what a motivational book can condensedly give. 'Ai'ni arojinle ni mu iyawo pe oko re ni were nitori pe omo re omo were ni, oun gan fun rare iyawo were ( It's only a lack deep reflection that will make a wife call her husband a mad man because as such her child is the child of a mad man and she is a wife of a mad man).
The focal point is the effect this idiomatic prayer has wrought on our social mentality like the musical cliche that has also turned into another idiomatic expression: " Mi o lè wa ku, mo ti gbiyan ju, Moti se iwon ti mo lè se, alubarika alubarika nikoko" ( I can't over-exert myself. I have given it my best shot. God's blessing is significant). That rendition always lowers determination to forge ahead in a struggle or work that people are needed to push further. Unlike a situation where you have given your true best and employ that expression as a measure of comfort. Two different situations where same cliche has different effects. That's where semantic-power succumbs and becomes altered by situations.
Back to our expression, "Ise kekere, owo nla" (Less work, more pay) could be said to be positive, but what of the effect it's having on contemporary users, in their perception of the society, and creation of a desire to scour for opportunities that will fend money with a less commensurate work or no work at all. Less work; more pay portays a kind of inverse relation between work and pay ( an imperfect market in economics). Work should be commensurate with pay ( more reward is not bad. Given that you do not reduce your work rate).It's a compounding difference, you want work to reduce and you want pay to increase. There is the lacuna.
In social macro-economics, all daily micro-economic activities summed up to a larger reality. If many citizens work less and get more pay, there is bound to be issues like famine, recession, corruption, etc. There should be a balance in economic work and reward-- a commensurate balance but never a perfect one. That's why 'Ise alalubarika ati owo alalubarika' is a preferred prayer-diomatic expression to ' Ise kekere owo nla' that is pushing our society to the brink of capitalist vices.
An enabling Yoruba proverb:
'apo ole ki wu f'owo' A lazy man's pocket is always light.
Bible verses on Hardwork:
"You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
Quran verse on hard work:
The Quran says “Man will not get anything unless he works hard” (Surah al-Najm, 53:39).
Dear Reader, may God bless our work with abundant reward.
---toonday
Toonday's Perspectives
25-10-2017
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