It was quite a great coincidence for the Independence Day, October 1st, to fall on a Sunday this year, 2023. It offered many churches the opportunity to pray and declare many good things for and over Nigeria. I was in church and participated. But that was where my heart was stirred up to write this piece. A question kept disturbing my heart throughout the session, “is a nation built by these declarations or by doing what is right?”
I think that the answer is that a nation is built by doing
what is right by the leaders and the people and not by declaring what we think
is good to happen. Declaring what is good to happen does not make those good
things to happen, no matter how loud we make shout. Good things are not
somewhere hanging in the air. Good deeds are done by men. They are actions that
are seen, actions that impact and actions that have consequences.
Doing what is right is like applying principles. Principles
don’t look at the faces of those applying them. When they are applied, the
results follow.
The nation of Israel was not built by the declarations done
by the high priest on the days of their annual convocations. A nation is built
by human beings that decide to do what is right and just. It is possible for a
priest to conclude his declarations and yet go home to do violence to the “wife
of his youth”. This was one of the offences God accused them of in Mal.2:13-17.
In fact, God’s complain in verse 17 is that they have wearied Him with their
words but the people asked, “how?” Look at God’s answer, “By saying, "All
who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them"
or "Where is the God of justice?" Mal 2:17 NIV. The people have
become so corrupt that they are saying that those who do evil are good in the
eyes of the Lord. The priests and leaders say that even God is pleased with them.
Yet because of their experiences, they are also asking “where is the God of
justice?”. What an irony! Does the picture look like Nigeria?
When we call evil good because of ethnic bias; when we
support evil people and clean them up with spurious reasons because of gains,
whatever it may be; when we keep silence and shy away from speaking out against
evil because we don’t want to offend someone in power even though he or she is
an evil man; when we as church leaders are perpetrating evil even within the
church hierarchy against our subordinates, sabotaging the system to favour our
ego and hold on power, enriching ourselves and loyal associates to ensure we
live the good life even at the expense of the poor both within and around the
church, dishonoring the marriage bed and living as settlers on this earth; when
the wickedness some politicians do does not concern us as long as we parley and
have access to their generosity whenever we want; when we participate in the corruption
in our offices and market places because we think, “am I the person that will
correct Nigeria?”; yet we look at how the country has become like a laughing
stock in the comity of nations with the increase in the sufferings of the
masses almost on a daily basis and you still ask “where is the God of justice?”,
are we being truthful to ourselves? We shout and declare these good things, feel
good in ourselves and yet we leave the gathering to go back to our corrupt lifestyles,
do we think that that is the way a nation is built?
Righteousness builds a nation. Doing right is the only thing
that will bring a change to our nation. Every nation that applies the right
policies sincerely, does the right things for the benefit of their people,
whether with religious declaration or not, will see results, no matter their religious
leaning. Principles are blind, they don’t have sentiments, emotions, or bias. They
are just there. Anybody can apply them and get results. So, while shouting and
declaring good things over the country may make us feel good and stir up
wonderful expectations, what will bring actual results is doing the right thing
wherever we are.
