Nut

A week of training in Tokyo has left me thinking about NUTs. How do I write a good nut? How do I in one or two sentences tell my readers why it is so important they read this story? What does this mean in a bigger scheme of things? Why should they read this story. While I am determined not to go out and eat lunch and use every minute I have to work on my stories, I went out nonetheless today, bringing with me two newspapers.

I started with WSJ, scoured for good nuts, found none on the front page. Then the story on Bruce Wilkinson abandoning his african project caught my eye, his story in two full tabloid pages. This is a story of Wilkinson, who has written a best-selling book called Prayer of Jabez based on a passage in Chronicles, teaching believers on how to unleash miracles with prayers like Jabez.

I looked for the nut and found it:

"What happen in between is a story of grand hopes and inexperience, divine inspiration and human foibles. Mr Wilkinson won churchloads of followers in Swaziland, but left them bereft and confused. He gained access to top Swaziland officials, but alienated them with his demands. And his departure left critics convinced he was just another in a long parade of outsiders who have come to Africa making big promises and quit the continent when local people didn't bend to their will."

Long nut. Well, it is a long story. Should the writer be forgiven? Why should I read this story because it is a yet another person who failed in Africa because he was too ambitious?

But I finished the story because I want to find out why this man who believes that he could unleash miracles by prayer like Jabez, not able to pull through his project in Africa? Why did he fail?

Only towards the end of the story that I found out why or I should say caught a glimpse of what could be the reason.

"One op-ed writer in the Swazi News wrote, "Why can't he simply tell us that he wants to be given the whole country so that he can gloat to his friends overseas that he owns a modern day colony in Africa called Swaziland?"

Such a powerful anecdote only appeared in the two pages in the last second paragraph or the last second column. Why? Possibly the writer was concerned about using "not invented here" material or he doesn't have enough proof to build the case.

I reread the story again. Does the writer have enough proof? Can he build his case? Did Wilkinson want to serve his vanity or the African orphans?

I could find a few.

Wilkerson said he wept and "is trying to come to grips with a miracle that didn't materialise despite his unceasing recitation of the Jabez prayer.''

Jabez was an honourable man, wasn't he? Prayers of honourable men are easily answered.

From whatever little I have read about people about life or lessons which I draw from my own life, I could see pretty clearly that the root of all problems really is Vanity. And that is my nut.