About a month after Hilda Baci uploaded the evidence of her marathon cooking, she was officially recognised as the new record holder. Here is the official pronouncement: “Following a thorough review of all the evidence, Guinness World Records can now confirm that Hilda Effiong Bassey, better known as Hilda Baci, has officially broken the record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes.” Even before this official recognition, another young lady from Ekiti State, Damilola Adeparusi, (simply called Chef Dammy) had started her marathon cooking to break Hilda’s record. Indeed, she surpassed Hilda Baci’s time, but could not be recognized officially because she failed to follow laid down procedures.

The question is: What is the craze about wanting to make it into the Guinness World Records? To be sure, Guinness World Records does not provide cash prizes or a monetary payouts to those who set or break records. What the organization does only “offers the prestige of being a record holder, a certificate of achievement, and the potential for global recognition.” I think the catch for many is global recognition.

As good as that seems, there is a better recognition that each of us must seek; that is, recognition by God.

Again, there is a better record book into which we all should strive to etch our names – the Book of Life. It will be inconsequential to make it to the Guinness World Records and be missing in God’s Heaven Record.