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24.11.2009 Feature Article

CLEANING THE "FATHER'S HOUSE" FIRST( religion mixed with hypocrisy)

CLEANING THE FATHER'S HOUSE FIRST religion mixed with hypocrisy
24.11.2009 LISTEN

Africans and for that matter Ghanaians are really hyper-religious in every sense of the word. And even those who are not under the unbrella of chrsitianity are invariably in other recognized religions like Islam, buddism etc.Therefore, when it comes to the one of the nations in the world that are supposedly Godly, Ghanaian are touted and rated to reign supreme and counted as supremos and heavyweights. Almost every church have various meetings thrice a week, others have five days and worryingly some even go all the seven days, wondering whether they dont go to work.Take a critical look on sundays and almost houses are virtually empty, taxis and trotro have a field day of dubble packing like a trans-Atlantic- slave trade because that is the time the law enforcer are conspicuously absent on the road or just a pittance are found littered around.There is such a gregarious influx to church because the children of God are to seek the virtues and the principles of God so that they could prctically bee seen in our lives to move Ghana forward. And same is seen on fridays by the moslems and other religions. However, my emphasis will be on christians because they form the herculian and gargantuan part of it.

But the question that needs a sincere answer and a sober reflection is why do people go to church or moaque so much but sin and wickedness are on the ascendency and skyroketing crecendo? Are Ghanaians practicing christianity or churchianity and are the moslems standing for peace and purity as the word Islam depicts? Are not the same people in the offices, homes, streets, Parliament who fills the churches on sundays and mosques on fridays but come out and swim in all those nebulious, debauhery, skanky and nefarious activities? What has happened to the principles of homilects in churches?, that is, the style and the contents of preaching these days? Or the preaching has become be careful to keep your congregants and money,money and selling of oil as if now "kelewele" is fried in churches? Has'nt the castle the seat of the government also metamophosed into fire blazing prayer camp? So why all these evils miasmasting and enveloping everywhere even from those who sit at the christianborg prayer camp?

You see, I believe without mincing words that much needs to done n the father's house first if all these virtues that are purportedly poured at churches on sundays and at mosques on fridays etc are going to be drastically evident and pragmatically seen. Reading from the Bible John 2:12-17 the verse reveals something unique about what Jesus,the most incomparably outstanding leader did. Jesus never became a hypocrite like the plethora of spiritual leaders today who are sitting on a stinking stench in their churches and lambasting lampooning only the political leaders. Jesus went to His father's house( THE CHURCH) and when he saw the place was engulfed and eclipsed with filth of corruption and malpractices, never minced words and hesitated all, but did what jj Rawlings would selfishly called house cleaning for his own hidden agenda of transmogrifying from abject poverty into the zenith of opulence, but Jesus had a better intentions. Renowed and legendary pillars of the reformation like Martin Luther, John calvin, Zwingley and a host of them spoke against the evils in the church first which went a long way to affect the socio-economic fibre of the nations of their days.

Today, the church has lost its light and the cutting-edge and way evil is on its apogee, one wonders who are those people who fill the pews of the churches everyday and particularly on sundays and do the moslems also practise their koran. African and for that matter Ghanaians, we seemingly serve God so much but why are we not experiencing those whopping benefits and fruitful promises in the Bible? Africa is so poor but the bible in our hands says in the book of Deuteronomy 8:18 that I will give you the power and ability to make wealth. and here I believe working hard, good management and sincerity are inclusive and not just sitting in the church 24hrs, praying and buying oil. Why the continent that serve God so much is eclipsed, ravaged and enveloped with sickness? But the bible in our hands says in the book of Exodus 15:26 that I will take sickness out of you. why is the continent so dirty and engulfed with filth and dust? The bible in our hands everyday says in the book of Galatian 5:19 that uncleanliness is one of the works of the worldly people and therefore that should not be a commonality of those who read the bible so much.

And please this uncleanliness does not myiopically only implies fornication, adultery etc, it literally also means dirty and unhygenic practices. Recently a Ghanaian lady in europe visited Ghana for about two weeks and she was amazed and bewildered at the dirt and dust and she was lamenting she was compelled to change her dress and wash clothes everyday though she had a limited time. This is because the political leaders who are also elders and deacons in churches when a road contract is given to them they have no shame and conscience of supervising shody and shambolic work of the quake contractors of the same political persuasion in order to pocket a huge money at the detriment of the masses, which some of the aftermath is gluesome road accidents as a results of 3rd class roads they build. Why will these white lesbians and homosexual not call us third world? Because every project we undertake are in the 3rd class manner. However,his european political countrerpart who is a chronic atheist and never believe even in the existence of God will do their work first class and to the benefits of the masses. So what is the use of the bible in our hands? Then when we visit abroad we say abroad is beautiful, do you think it was an angel who came to do for them.? It was truth and sincerity without so much of the bible, even most are atheist.

Reading from the book of deuteronopmy 28: what is God telling the nations that serve him so much like Africans? "You will lend to nations and will never borrow". But what do we see is excruciatingly reverse happening. Which countries are always with their two hands behind their back at the doors of world finanacial insititutions like world bank, IMF etc begging for loan? Its the African nations that shout to God so much and they have been earmarked with the blessing of abundance in order to lend to less godly nations. Not forgetting another deporable and bemoaning commonality of African nations, always at the receiving end of old computers, old clothes, decaying food, second hand goods, money and even it has become a viable ground where other nation sadly dump their toxic waste. Because if you are poor and a begger every filth is poured on you. Do you know what the bible says in proverbs 22:7 "It says the rich always rules the poor and the receiver is always a servant to the giver". It is therefore not confusing and incomprehensible that continent that the peolpe who are supposedly the proponets and exponents of the "goodbook" are rather living as squalors and squatters and are humiliatingly and embarrasingly feeds on the crumbs of the purportedly less christian nations?

Studying the Bible from Genesis to revelation, a good student of the bible will conspicuousely realize one wonderful attribute of God is He is a God of order and beauty. Reading from Genesis1:2 about the creation it says that" and the earth was without form and void" And what did God do next? Bringing beauty, order, excellence, neatness, cleanliness. And Psalm 8 and several places in the bible typifies and portrays the God of beauty. In this vein, it stands to reason that since the simple aphorism says that "a bird does not give birth to a dog", the continent and for that matter the nations that profess to be the champions and front liners of christianity should have been exhibiting and demonstrating this beauty and order for other nations to come and admire as an exemplary. The part of the world that order, beauty cleanliness should have been dominant and a common scenario should have been the African contries for other nations to admire and cherish.

Conversely ,what do we see? visit African countries and the regrettable spectacle of filth, disorder, dirt and even worst of all the unplanned and disorderly manner we have built most of our houses and other amenities,but you happen to visit for the first time some of these western nations and you witness how their roads, buildings etc are immaculately in order and accurately planned, it then calls for nothing than weeping and wonder as to why? In your stupor and bewilderment the simple and legitimate question you will ask yourself is if even we putting christianity and this attributes of God aside, didnt our academic "hightowers" who are the political leaders see the beauty, the graceful roads and well-planned of these nations when schooling and visiting there splendidly built countries?

This is because African leaders are all liars, selfish, egocentric and arrogants, when they need your votes they come with mesmerising words which deceives the populace that they are coming to serve and after they are there they change and muster a nerve to tell the populace that they complain too much. What an affron and effussion! This was what decades ago, freedom fighters rastafarians in Jamaica called it " demockry you". In other words the political leaders just mock at us Yet all these leaders go to church, profess a particular faith and even as our president is hand in gloves with a prophet but a liar. He said I will not increase petrol but how many times has he increased petrol in just ten months? You know it yourself. So you see African christianity is mixed with lies from so called men of God, politicians and others, therefore the development, beauty, riches etc that epitomizes and are synonmous with God have evaporated from the people who should have been the custodians of those benefits. God told those who served him like Abraham that Gen 12:1 " I will bless you so that you become a blessing" Serving God and becoming poor beggers and a destitute is not what is in the bible. There is something wrong somwhere, which I believe that the very God's house where people troop in and out needs a drastic and dramatic house cleaning. The "goodbook" says " judgement should begin in the house of God"

Just a few days a go, there was a worrying revelation by Transparency international on the global most corrupted countries which gives credence and justification to Africans and worst still our leaders mixing christianity with horrendous corruption and other malfeasance. According to this global corruption revelation over 180 countries in the world, the less or seemingly none-existence corrupted countries are New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden and other european nations,but if you go there today christian practices are virtually none existnece or practically less dominante but the most seemingly corrupt nations were all found in Africa, where christian practices, all nights, revivals reign supreme. And in Africa and for that matter Ghana who does not go to church, mosque, shrine etc. I hope those Archbishops, Bishop, General oveseer, fathers and Pastors are listening, I say the house cleaning should start from them.

Studying the Bible, its an incontrovertible fact that the true and sincere men of God like Joseph (Genesis 37) administratively transformed a famine and hungry nation into a land of abundance and a cynosure of attraction where other neighbouring nations flocked to seek greener pasture and food to eat.The book of Daniel also gives a vivid picture of how the few men of God on that heathen Babylon land positively influened the administration of that land and affected every political fibre and spectrum of those lands that, new laws had to be made in recognotion of God. And believe you me, these were possible due to the peerless and pearly attitude, visibly moral excellence and moral rectitude, civility and christian ethics piognantly displayed, as well as godliness and sincerity overtly and covertly demonstrated like an infectious perfume that intrinsicly and extrinsicly affected all and sundry as a productive christianity worthy of emulation.

Those aforementioned like Joseph and a lot were not double-standard, were not holding Bible in one hand and corruptibly stinking practices with other hand, they were not shouting the name of Jesus with the mouth and taking bribes with the hands. Someone like Joseph had to be thrown into prison because of the unparalleled leadership and moral excellence of refusing to take what did not belongs to him even when it was forceed on him. But what do you see about the christians of Africa and for that matter Ghana? The same hands holding the Bible are smeared with horrible lies, just from all nights and revivals and indulging and imbibing in fraudulent and tracherous practices, literally holding the bibles, korans etc with deceiption. Somebody say they eat it nyafunyafu"

The so called spiritual leaders are no different in spite of their outwardly flamboyant preaching which pretentiously suggest that all is well, but in reality its not but a facade and "the father''s house" needs serious cleaning. Readers, you will be flabaggasted and bambozled as to the the leadership in-fighting in the churches, character assasinations, ostracsim due to divergence views, bullying and cowing into stone silence, who deserves certain amount of money and who does not, turning some junior pastors painfully into errand boys becuase "Elisha served Elijah mentality". Readers listen, if the practices on the political terrain could also be demonstrated within the corridors of churches, like churches would be empty for lack of confidence in their supposedly men of God.What do I mean? Due to different decorum,civility and professional ethics that go with the church practices, aggrieved and peeved pastors and members do not call a sea of journalist to hold press conferences to denunciate the untenables and the horrors in churches. Some things that goes on in some churches, to say the least is a shame and a sham.

Did you read about the recent trial of the former president of Zambia called Fredrick Chilubah? When he became the president, he was hailed and touted by the people of zambia as the most pentecostal and tongue speaker on the soil of Africa, a staunch christian, but at the end of this reign the untenably fraudulent and corruptible practices which is a commonality, synonmous and a common denominator amongst all the African leaders was found strangulated and eclipsed his administration. So where is the light and the exemplary conduct of christianity? where is development and the wisdom of leadership which is the fulcrum, the cardinal principles and a pivot of koran and biblical as a sentinel which are used to swear-in the African leaders all the time.? Most of the western leaders are sworn-in with neither bible nor koran but they are more faithful with their duties than african leaders, Why? Ironically, visit some of the western countries where christianity is seemingly none existent, most of their political leaders are atheists ,homosexuals and lesbians, yet they are those who have led and are still leading their nations into a great heights of economic, technological, social development and financial giants which have catapulted and skyrocketed them into first world and advanced countries. In this vein, what are the Africans and particularly Ghanaians doing with Bibles, korans etc in their hands, what is all about our longitudinal all- nights, mammoth and maranthon revivals and with all houses empty on sundays and fridays , who are those who fill the churches and mosques. Its pathetic that all our political leaders belongs to one religious persuasion or the other but they are the unarmed robbers who are unconscionably and shamelessly pulling Africa down with wontom impunity.

As for our preachers, they should descend from their lofty and hyperbolic sky which has turned the church into aristocratic infallible house of lords and house of commons. The time has come that all those super spiritual preachings like the humanity of christ, power of the Holy Ghost etc which makes people too heavenly minded yet they are living in dirt and filth be put on the shelf for a while. Jesus said thy will be done on earth it is in heaven. The beauty, integrity orderliness, sincerity, faithfulness, truth, transparency etc which are found in heaven should be seen among christians, moslems etc on this earth too. There is the need for simple and practical preaching like cleanliness, how to enhance environmental hygiene in your house and on the streets, which are all in the bible.

You see, visit some of the european countries and make a little compartive analysis and you will have no alternative than to wonder how those who have dont read so much about the beauty of God are immaculately and spotlessly clean in every nook and cranny of their environment. Those Pastors and politician who travel a lot will bear with me and they should feel ashamed of themselves for not encouraging the same here. Africa and for that matter Ghana is being swallowed and drown in filth, there is therefore no wonder that we get sick so easily and die hopelessly and hapelessly at young age. The Bible in psalm 91 promises those that serve God so much long life, but sadly the age expectancy of Africans is between 40-50yrs and ironically some of the western world who never call themselves children of God have the life expectancy at 70-80yrs. Because just your daily meals which is the easiest at the western world, will make an african think so much and look old at the age of just 40yrs.Please help me here, why have the whole promises of God eluded Africans whom Deuteronomy 28 says they are the head( first and developed) and not the tail( third and undeveloped), but the contrary is happening. Is religion not working for the African continent or its mixed with hypocrisy? Believe you me there is something wrong somewhere and the cleaning must start from God's house first.

EKOW WILSON-BAIDOO
(Crusader without violence)

Development / Accra / Ghana / Africa / Modernghana.com

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