Metamorphosis
CHRISTIANS AS AGENTS OF
NATIONAL TRANSFORMATION
These
are trying times for our Nation, because we are confronted with many challenges
ranging from; insecurity (Boko haram and other insurgent groups), economic recession
(suffering in the midst of plenty), infrastructural decay, food insecurity, youth
unemployment and corruption just to mention a few. I believe the positive
change we desire rests in the hands of the Christians. I recommend that we rise
up to proffer solutions to these problems in ways which include, but are not
limited to the following:
Prayer: Daniel rose up to intercede when
his Nation faced trials. Men like John Knox who was a Scottish Christian won
wars on their knees. Mary, Queen of Scots said “I fear the prayers of John Knox
more than all the assembled armies of Europe “. Many of the problems that
bedevil our Nation have a spiritual source. Hence some of the solutions to
these problems are spiritual; therefore prayer plays an essential role in
solving them. Prayer can prevent and reverse evil government laws and policies.
Prayers push evil, irresponsible and clueless political leaders out of office.
In other words, prayer transforms the political, financial and economic state
of nations. Little wonder 2nd Chron. 7:14 says “if my people, which
are called by my name shall humble themselves and PRAY, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land.” Prayer brings down the hand of God; it causes
God to interfere in the affairs of men.
Collectively seeking God: Anyone who seeks God will find him. 2nd
Chron. 7:14 says “if my people, which are called by my name shall humble
themselves and pray, and SEEK MY FACE, and turn from their wicked ways; then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
King Uzziah was a man who sought God and by consequence became a great reformer
of his country 2nd Kings 26:1-15. His achievements range from extending
the frontiers of military technology & conquests, advancements in
agriculture, infrastructural development, e.t.c. The main secret of his success
is in the fact that he sought God. Vs 5b say “and as long as he sought the
Lord, God made him to prosper. So simple, yet so profound. Please also read vs
15.
One with God is a majority, many with God is a vast and powerful majority. We
will achieve much with God and little or nothing without Him. I believe
neglecting God is major cause of national tragedy. Ps. 9:17 says all the
Nations that forget God shall be turned into hell. The prevalence of sin is an
indication that a Nation has forgotten God, same is the adoption of morally
bankrupt laws. We must return to God for our land to be healed. See Deut. 28. Political
office holders must be prevailed upon to rule in the fear of God. 2nd
Sam.23:3b. George Washington said “Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality
can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to
expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” -Pat Robertson. The USA is such a great country today because once
upon a time devout christians were in control of the affairs of the Nation.
They were members of the senate; they abolished slave trade, prayed and waited
upon God for His promise on the transformation of their Nation. The rest as they say is
history.
Diligence: Daniel was so diligent in the
conduct of his business that the bible said his detractors could not find fault
in the discharge of his official duties; Dan.6:4. Our friends easily see our
faults since we are imperfect. It takes an exceptional degree of diligence and
commitment to work for enemies (especially those who are in the same line of
work with us) to be unable to find any fault with an individual’s work. Nations
such as India, Malaysia and China have been remarkably transformed within
relatively short periods of time. This was achieved by hardwork, discipline and
diligence, and not just prayers. Christians must work hard, rise to the peak of
their calling and careers, and then use this influence to transform the
societies in which they live. Most societies are controlled by a few influential people who often are also leaders of thought and captains of industry.
Believers
must be rightly positioned among these individuals and use their talents and
endowments appropriately. David was available at a time when Goliath had become
a nuisance to Israel. Joseph was an avid administrator who took care of his
brothers, took charge of Potiphar’s house, co-ordinated fellow prisoners,
became the Prime Minister of Egypt and saved his Nation by his diligence and
foresight. Esther used her influence to deliver Israel. Moses confronted
Pharaoh and kick-started the exodus, the list is endless. Everyone is gifted in
one way or another. It is surprising that we have so many Christians in our
nation today and in the world at large, yet the level of societal influence and
transformation exerted by them is less than that which is desired. Christians
should be actively involved in politics and governance. We have examples in men
like Daniel, Moses, Joseph, Mordecai. Politics can’t be left for the rogues, and
charlatans. We often pray for political office holders who are very evil people.
Sometimes, I wonder how effective our prayers are for people who plunder our collective
fortune! God will not do for us what we can do ourselves.
Integrity: I will define integrity as doing
the right thing when you really don’t have to!
Integrity lends further credence to the faith of a Christian. Unbelievers
are more likely to believe your faith and compliment your efforts for change if
they believe in your person. Individuals have been recommended to serve in
government on the basis of their integrity. Dr. Dora Akunyili is said to have been
appointed as the Head of NAFDAC on the basis of her integrity in returning
unspent funds to the government. I know of another man who was said to have been
recommended for the position of the Chairman of an anti-graft commission by the
same individuals from whom he refused bribes! By integrity, Daniel converted an
entire pagan nation. Dan. 6:26-27.
Another vital part to integrity is standing
up against evil. This is a major problem I believe Nigerians have. From the clergy,
to leaders of thought and the common man, Nigerians stand aloof and condone
wrong doing. Little wonder they have been coined people ‘suffering and
smiling’. Jesus (our role
model) often stood up against wrong doing and injustice. He overturned the
tables of the money changers, dove sellers and businessmen in temple and
whipped them out. “I've always privately
suspected that Jesus is in favour of revolutionaries, seeing as how he was a
bit of one himself.” - G.N.
Chevalier. Unfortunately the same scenario plays out today and the
reaction of the clergy is different from Jesus’. The businessmen steal and
bring the proceeds to the church. The church has been commercialised, and the
anointing is now for sale in certain ministries. Jesus confronted and condemned
the wrong doing of political office holders in his days. He called Herod a fox
(Luke 13:31-32), criticised the Pharisees and Sadducees for their hypocrisy
before a crowd! Matt.23:1-32(Please read). Nathan confronted David for his
wrongdoing. Elijah criticised Ahab openly, calling him the troubler of Israel.
We hardly see the same scenario re enacted in contemporary society. This
ungodly silence may be connected with fear, borne out of compromise on the part
of the Christians, and a dearth of integrity. The righteous should always be bold;
(Prov. 28:1) God has not given us a spirit of fear, 2nd Tim. 1:7. Launching
a turnaround takes courage. We must
boldly confront policies inimical to our own values. “We've got to make change our national pastime and hold protests more
regularly than weekend parties.” - Rivera Sun.
According to Hosea 4:1, truth and mercy are the antidotes to national tragedy
and these have to be established by Christians, but how do we spread the truth to
effect change when we do not speak it? “My
great panacea for making society at once better and more enjoyable would be to
cultivate greater sincerity.” -Frances Power
Cobbe. Evil thrives not only by the acts of the wicked, but also by
the silence of good men.
By selflessness: Corruption is a major
problem in our society today; it has its roots in selfishness. People steal
public funds to enrich themselves thereby depriving other people. Romans 12:10 affirms
that each man should prefer another to himself. Daniel in selflessness prayed
for his Nation, put in a good word for his friends before the king. God
was upset with Israel, He vowed to destroy them and make Moses a great Nation, but Moses declined God’s offer & interceded for Israel, he even offered to be
blotted out of God’s book if need be, for Israel to be redeemed. Ex.32:10-14/31-32.
What selflessness and patriotism! Israel may have been destroyed forever if
Moses did not make such a timely intervention. The decay we suffer now is due
to selfishness, where one man embezzles funds meant for refurbishment of roads, hospitals, etc. Then people lose their lives
because the roads are not refurbished and hospitals are not built! If we leave
our personal problems to solve for the majority, God will take care of us! Each
believer must act like the change depends on him alone, hence give his best.
Social and spiritual outreach: According to Matt. 5:16 our light
must shine, as Christians we should bring relief to individuals suffering
around us. The Catholic Church for instance gained much ground in Nigeria by
serving the people. They built schools and provided free education and
healthcare hereby impacting society and transforming the Nation to the best of
their capacity. As a result, many embraced Christianity. Every committed
Christian should have a strong sense of community responsibility. Nicholas Winton said “Don’t be content in your life just to do no wrong. Be prepared every
day to try to do some good.” Kindness will change more people than zeal and
spiritual fervour isolated. “Love is an
expression of power. We can use it to transform our world.” -Ericka
Huggins
God
often looks at a Nation as one entity. Separation of the church and the state
wasn’t God’s idea. The King in bible times was the political ruler of the
nation, while the prophet/priest was the spiritual leader, Luke 23:13. Both had
definite roles, in fact the prophet was more revered by the people, the king
was also subject to him as we see in the stories of Nathan and David, Saul and
Samuel. Jesus solved practical problems in his society, community leaders went
to him for help; Luke 7:2-10. Same as
Elisha; the community approached him for a solution to the problem of bad water,
2nd Ki.2:19-22. The church and believers should also do more of
corporate social responsibility. Jesus fed the multitude not only with
spiritual food, but with physical food as well.
The more righteous people a
Nation has, the better for it. Recall that the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah
would have been averted if God had found just a small amount of righteous
people in these cities. Therefore we must support the gospel with our resources and
preach it ourselves with words and lifestyle to increase the number of righteous ones, and transform our Nation.
The Apostles of Jesus preached the gospel and were said to have turned the
world upside down; Acts 17:6. Now, that is transformation! We must instil moral
and spiritual values in our society with the power of the gospel. Prayers in
our children’s school assemblies must not be treated with
levity. Some western nations tried to ban prayers in public schools and
instances of the students killing each other went on the rise. Christian
ministries hold a myriad of spirit based programmes while the nation is on
fire. We need to embark on sensitisation and reorientation of fellow believers
on values, by teaching social change and effective/efficient governance.
In
conclusion, if believers do not rise to save their country when tragedy looms,
the effects will be disastrous. Our children may grow as slaves and destitutes
in their own land after it has been ravaged by war and extreme chaos, inspired
by corruption and injustice. Another risk is that help may come from elsewhere
if we refuse to act; just as Mordecai said to Esther and if that happens, we
can be sure we will lose (or diminish in) relevance on the national level. This
reminds me of the Armenian Church Built in 1892, dedicated to St. Mary, the complex
has turned into a mosque after staying empty for years following the departure
of the Armenian congregation. Posterity will not forgive us if we refuse to
act. Play your part today.
“Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every
citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who
would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
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