“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”- Rev 2:4 (NKJV)

I still remember. It was February 9, 2012. I was listening to Rainbow FM Comedy Happy Hour hosted by The Don. Listeners were asked to call in and state the professions they are into. And from the profession The Don deduces the kind of prayer that person prays in the morning concerning his business. So, if the caller was a launderer, it means he prays for people’s clothes to get dirty quickly so he will have a viable business. That was the fun in the program.

In the course of the program a nurse called in. Now you get the drift. Believe it or not I can feel the chuckle on your face right now. What kind of prayer does a nurse or a doctor pray in the morning based on the premise given? I got curious to know what her response would be when The Don told her that her prayer would be for people to get sick when she wakes up in the morning. Believe it or not her response was “na so na” (it's like that). I really did not listen to the rest of the program because those three words, “Na so na,” got me thinking. But it did not take me long to realize that she had fallen into the danger of routine.

I have a total of 66 months working experience in the corporate world. And every single working day of those 66 months was in the manufacturing and production industry. First one year was during my industrial training. While the other four and half years was after graduating. Before I finally called it quits with the corporate world. And I started from the very bottom of the ladder: From being a Line Technician, operating a production line, to being the head of my own team, to being the head of operations overseeing an entire shift during production, to being a Talent Developer training other employees, to being a Safety Program Leader responsible for the lives of everybody in an entire department during production. I went through the whole nine yards.

When it comes to accidents that happen on the production floor, I have seen it all. I have seen fingers chopped off. In one case we had to use a flashlight to look for the chopped off thumb in the machine. I have seen legs crushed in forming drums. I have seen steam pour on a member of my team. I, personally, have been caught between a suction box and a corrugated steel table at 80 degree celsius where for the next 15mins colleagues were unable to decide who should come into the machine to pull me out.

I have seen sights too horrendous for me to even write about. Sights that if I narrated would make you puke over your next meal. I have seen sights that I better not tell you about. When it comes to industrial accidents I have seen it all from near-misses to fatality. What I have never seen, however, is someone who, on his first day on the job, got involved in an accident. Every single accident I have witnessed happened to people who were already good at their job, people who were already familiar with the routine and neglected one small detail. When you become too familiar with a process you increase your chances of having an accident.

I have also been privileged to work with project teams as a Safety program Leader. And if there was any one lesson I learnt while working with these teams, it is that more injuries or accidents occur during the close-out phase than at any other phase of the project. When project members become so familiar with the project that they unconsciously violate safety rules.

Why would a nurse admit to praying for people to fall sick on an on-air radio program? Because she has fallen into the danger of routine. When you have seen so many deaths, especially with people who are not related to you, you become used to seeing deaths. And the next time someone is wheeled into the ER fighting for life, you no longer see a person. You see just another person. You have lost your passion to save lives because in your many previous attempts to save lives, many died. Death has become the norm to you rather than an anomaly.

When you no longer commend your spouse when he or she does something good you have fallen into the danger of routine. When you no longer dress well to remain attractive to your spouse you have fallen into the danger of routine. When you can no longer interpret the body language of your spouse you have fallen into the danger of routine. When you no longer say the words “I love you” to your spouse you have fallen into the danger of routine.

You see, in relationships, “Yesterday,” does not count. “But I told her yesterday,” “But I hugged her yesterday,” “But I bought her a gift yesterday,” “But I took her out yesterday.” Yesterday does not count. And even if you are the type that works by a calendar, you have everything planned out. Every last Friday you go to the movies. Every six weeks you eat out. Every three months you lodge in a guest house away from the kids. When all these and more becomes a routine to you, then you are missing out on the whole idea.

The idea is for you to do it everytime like it was the first time. And that makes a lot of difference. This difference is called “glow.” There is this glow in your eyes when everytime you see your spouse you treat him or her the same way you treated him or her when you first fell in love. This is what Jesus means by “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

I have, also, seen women who would answer "Yes sir," "No sir," "OK sir," to men who are not up to their husbands at the office while they show not even the slightest respect for their own husbands at home. They, too, have fallen into the danger of routine. They've become too used to their husband that they start treating him like just any other person. One may say "but 'sir' is not necessarily a sign of respect." No it is not, but when it is a mark of respect to your boss because of the culture of your community, then it is to your husband. Never get used to your husband.

During my days as a Safety Program Leader, when my job was to ensure that the same number of people who came to work that morning should go back home to be with their families, one admonition I never ceased to tell them during team meetings was, “As you go into the production floor today, don’t assume. If you must assume, let that assumption be that you are going into that floor for the very first time today. If you do this, you will go back home to your families.”

When you take things for granted you fall into the danger of routine and before you know it you may end up losing everything that really matters most to you.

Mute Efe, [www.facebook.com/mutehimself]
+234-803-874-9796

N.B
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