Our people say that wherever a child is crying and pointing at, if the father is not there, the mother must be there. The indigenous peoples trapped in Nigeria have for very many years, been crying and pointing at the oppressive Nigerian state with her corruption, injustice, murder and terrorism being meted out on them. Since the creation and supposed independence of Nigeria, it has always been on reverse with previous governments always rated higher than their successors. This is the sad reality starring us in the face.
In this era of darkness, The Light of the world, the Church, has refused to shine. Instead, she is busy building empires, auditoriums and creating wealth for herself from the sweat of her flock. If I may ask, who is the lord of these churches? Jesus the son of David? If Jesus were to be physically present in this age and time, would He keep mute as His flock is being feared on by wolves? Jesus looked at the Pharisees and called them “brood of vipers”. If it were to be this day's church, they would say that He is too harsh and not politically correct or accommodating to sinners. Jesus most definitely, would feed His flock and not the other way round unlike what obtains in today's church.
It is very disheartening that in this thick darkness that has enveloped Nigeria, the church have been complacently mute. The Bible which they read told them to “be as wise as the serpent and as harmless as the dove” and I ask where is wisdom in keeping mute while wolves feed from your flock? Jesus the true Shepard, laid down His life to save ours and yet, majority of the church leaders are afraid to stand with the flock for fear of death and oppression from the government, a development that has regrettably emboldened successive governments.
The church which must stand as a 'Watchman' of the society has lost her voice to Mammon and the gods of this world. Instead of holding the government accountable with her vast human and material resources while she focuses on the salvation of the human soul, she has resolved to make the lives of members a living hell. They have continually been urged to pray and fast for the miracle of economic salvation while the said salvation is the function of a workable government thereby, positioning God as unfaithful.
The church should retreat and ask herself if she is really living out her purpose. The Bible says “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place”. (Revelation 2:5). While the enemies of the church are planning and executing their plans, the church is still busy amassing wealth and striving for vanity.
Who has bewitched the church and rendered her impotent? Will the she keep watching while all her flocks are taken and slaughtered by the wolves?. These gods of men called 'Men of God', will wake up one day if they fail to address these ugly precedents and meet their worst fear happen to them. Their empires will crumble and their wealth and office another will take. They will be slaves to this raging caliphate if they are lucky to be alive. The church as the 'salt of the earth', have lost her sweetness and is about to be spitten out. The earlier the church begin to live up to her responsibilities, the better for her and if not, the fate of Turkey which was a predominantly Christian country, will befall her in Nigeria. Wisdom, the Bible says, is profitable to direct.
Written and edited by Chukwuemeka Okechukwu
For Family Writers Press International
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