WHO SHOULD I RESPECT, MY MOTHER OR MY GRANDMOTHER?

"If your grandmother tells you something, you don't run to your mother to ask if it's the truth"

There is hierarchy in everything in life. And, in the family tree, grandmothers occupy a higher echelon than mothers. The reason is simple: mothers are descendants of their grandmothers, and not the other way round. It is against the order of nature for mothers to beget grandmothers.

The grey hair are always respected for their wisdom and wealth of knowledge. They exist before their offsprings and, definitely, they have something unfamiliar to hand down to their offsprings. Most of these things handed down become their heritage or their heirloom.

The proverb says, " If your grandmother tells you something, you don't run to your mother to ask if it's the truth." Of course, you don't. Your grandmother is expected to know better than your mother( though this is not usually the case). She gave birth to your mother. She existed before your mother. She must have had a firsthand information of the thing she told you about, while your mother just heard or read about it!

This is applicable in life's situations. There are people who are experts in their field. For instance, you don't doubt a surveyor's estimate of your proposed building just because a lawyer says the said estimate is faulty. For crying out loud, the surveyor is supposed to know better than the lawyer in building and construction matters.

In the proverb, 'your grandmother' represents those that are experts in certain fields, while ' your mother' signifies those that are not experts. In the blockbuster seasonal movie, 'Merlin,' the eponymous character, Merlin, is sent by his mother to Gaius, an old physician and a magician, too. Merlin's mother believes Gaius would teach her son the art of sorcery very well. Merlin, on his part, obeys the old physician and magician. He does not doubt his abilities and start rushing to his mother to ask her if what Gaius teaches him is the correct way of learning magic.

Those who are better or experts occupy a higher echelon in the hierarchy knowledge. They are not only respected---- they are trusted. Their findings are sacrosanct, not because they are flawless, but because people trust their expertise. Now, if your grandmother told you she used to walk to the stream and fetch water and fill all her family's empty barrels of water, before she got married, will you rush to your mother to ascertain if it's true? Of course not. Your mother was not even born then. She has no knowledge of it. If you really want to know whether it's true, kindly go and ask your grandmother's parents, even if they've joined their ancestors ( laugh).

Some people have special knowledge of a fact or a thing. That should be respected. Let us never shy away from seeking knowledge from the right source. For instance, if you want to know God and His ways, read your Bible daily and meditate on it. Don't just accept everything a self-professed man of God tells you. The Bible is there to guide you. It occupies a higher echelon in the hierarchy of spiritual knowledge than men.