First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
(BY PASTOR MARTIN NIEMÖLLER)
All the ethnic profiling in Nigeria
should worry all of us. You may not be me but you may look like me and that may
make you me as far as the mob is concerned. Hence whatever they do to me, they
will do to you whether they are in positions of power or they are in the
streets. The explanations and voices of victims of the mob are heard after the
actions, that is, if they survive to be alive.
You may be getting some benefits from
the perpetrators of the ethnic profiling now, but when the mob action starts,
you may lose all those benefits just in one moment, that is, if you survive to
count the cost. Alas, for many, it's other people that count their cost because
they are no longer around to do the counting.
Religious leaders who don't speak out
against injustice are accomplices with the perpetrators, it does not matter the
reason they give for keeping silence. They are supposed to be like the
conscience of the society, but alas, many are tribalists and even perpetrate
the same ethnic profiling in their religious places. Pastor Niemoller was a
German Protestant Pastor but regretted after the World War II about the
complicit silence of the German Church that contributed to the rise of Hitler
and the Nazi regime. I encourage every pastor to check his history out and read
and watch documentaries on Rwandan Genocide and the role of the church.
This is a call to everyone
to speak up, not because you like the people whose lives, properties and means
of livelihood are broken and destroyed, but for your own sake or the sake of
your children and children children. For a people that are focused on building
a nation, responsibility, responsiveness, empathy and compassion are required
in dealing with the issues that concern the lives and livelihood of everyone,
for greater good, not vindictiveness
Affliction, The Sanctifier’s Crucible is a book written by Mark Nemieboka and published by the Scripture Union (Nig.) Press & Books Limited Ibadan, Nigeria in 2021. The book focuses on the concept of affliction, the challenges it poses and its benefits to the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. It has five (5) chapters and is made up of ninety-six (96) pages. It is arranged in a seemingly logical sequence starting with the meaning of affliction, the origin and types of afflictions, the benefits of affliction and what the response of the believer should be when in affliction. The author has dedicated the book to the school ministry of the Scripture Union (SU), where Christ was first introduced to him as a teenager and to Karen Barrett, whose testimony about her wheelchair experience, the author considers to portray the Christian’s story. Sir Mark Nemieboka is a seasoned teacher of the Word of God and I have the privilege of hearing some of his amazing testimonies on a personal basis. Affliction is presented to be, as it were, the crucible that God, the Sanctifier, uses to refine His people. The author makes bold to say that “no believer can rightly claim exemption, though the degrees may vary”. In fact, the picture is that the time of affliction is like a season in the life of a child of God. Hence, that one does not have affliction today does not mean it will not come tomorrow. The whole essence, I perceive, is to educate believers and prepare them for this undesirable and unpleasant but definite season of life. Today, people are taught that they will never suffer and that bad things happen to only those who don’t have faith or those who have evil foundations. Health and wealth theology is spread all over the place because it gives good feelings and brings in revenue to the preacher. The question is “how is the Christian, who is inundated with health and wealth teachings, going to face life and his faith in the face of pain, death, sickness and other ills orchestrated by the fallen nature and the fallen world in which we have found ourselves?”. The author posits that while some afflictions may be judicial, that is as a recompense for sin or evil, there are a world of other causes of afflictions that are beyond the control of an individual believer. Examples given in the book include natural afflictions, national afflictions, social afflictions and some afflictions orchestrated by God Himself for some divine purposes. In quoting from the Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, there is “the hatred and affliction that follow the witness and holy life of God’s people in a hostile world”. We must all bear this in mind as we relate with the world that is in opposition against God and His will. It is commendable to note that much of the pages of the book are dedicated to dealing with the benefits of afflictions. Affliction induces humility, makes us seek God, transforms us and proves our faith. The lives of the prophet Jonah and the prodigal son were illustrated and summarized with the words of Isaac Newton “affliction, though they seem severe, in mercy oft are sent. They stopped the prodigal’s career, and forced him to repent”. There are some typographical errors here and there, for example on page 28, instead of “hear” you see “here”, on page 35, “to” is omitted while introducing the quotation by John Grill, on page 95, Isaiah 26:3 is quoted but (Isaiah 56:3) is written and finally some mixtures of versions of the Bible when it is stipulated on the copyright page that all Bible quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV). Having said that, the book is written in contemporary English and is so interesting that once you start reading, you will likely not drop it until you finish it, like what happened to me. The book is short considering the topic dealt with but just like John Mark that wrote the Gospel of John, the author, whose name coincidentally is also Mark, seems to be rushing to pass across a fundamental truth which is a burden on his heart. One of the responses proposed by the author is “expect suffering”. This is not a popular recommendation but it is the reality of our existence here on earth. This book is a must read for every follower of Jesus Christ who wants to run and finish well. It will answer some questions of some people who may be looking for answers because of what they are going through. It can be purchased from any of the Scripture Union (SU) Bookshops nationwide. I wholeheartedly recommend it. I conclude this review with the biblical quote used by the author at the end of the book, “Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope…You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Psalm 119:49, Isa.26:3 NKJV).
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.
There must be a strong connection between the letters of law and the face or
presentation of justice. For societies to develop and progress, there must be a
link between what the makers of the law graft, what the interpreters of the law
decides and declares, and what the seekers of justice and the onlookers
perceive about what is grafted and interpreted. Justice, they say, must not
only be said to have been done, it must necessarily be seen to have been done.
There is no development and progress if the makers of the law claim to have
done a good job, the interpreters and declarers of the law claim to have done
wonderfully well but the wider members of society are seeing injustice. When
these makers and interpreters of the law claim to have done the right thing but
the average person in the society, including the intelligent ones, perceive
injustice because they suspect that someone must have removed the blindfold
from the eyes of the lady of justice so that the judgment given was done with
her eyes open, trust is eroded. Why will someone summarize a judgment with the
words of the late Russian Writer, Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn, “We know
they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we
know they know we know they are lying, but they are still lying”?
It is possible that the perception of the wider society is wrong. It is
possible that there is no such desecration of the temple of justice and there
is no such violation of the lady of justice. However, why is it possible that
the makers of the law and the interpreters are doing one thing but intelligent
people in the society are seeing something else? What is creating the gap
between what is claimed to have been done and what is seen and perceived to
have been done? What is causing this trust deficit? Is it because of what
someone has termed “implausibly undeniability”, that is, when a person
struggles to explain away something that’s actually true, because the truth has
suddenly become inconvenient or politically incorrect?
The danger of having this kind of unsettling situation is that it opens up the
ugly doors of oppression, suppression and autocratic tendencies. The reason is
not far-fetched, what the makers of the law have done and what the interpreters
of the law have declared are considered the letters of law, but and
unfortunately so, because it is entirely different from the face of justice,
what is seen, perceived and felt about the judgment by the wider society,
people will express themselves in different ways and the intelligent ones
especially, will make efforts to bring the declared judgement out to the open
court of public opinion for discussion, arguments and a “second trial”. They
will try to bring out facts missed either by the makers of the law or its
interpreters. This in most cases does not go down well with the executors of
the law because as Denise Diderot noted, “those who fear the facts will forever
try to discredit the fact-finders”. Efforts then will be made to silence those
discussing the judgment and connecting the dots with what is seen and felt.
Clampdown will set in and more actions, which the wider society will consider
as further injustice, will be taken by those who want to execute the
interpreted law. At the end, the conclusion will be that the government is an
oppressive government. The society retrogresses. How can a society where this
exists redeem itself?
There are no simple recommendations. But two things ae on my mind now. The
first is that there should be humility on the sides of the executors of the law
to listen to the discussions going on in the public space and engage with them
with the assurance of reforms that will correct whatever has been perceived to
be wrong. This will give hope to the populace that the future will be better.
The second thing is that truthfulness should be embraced in all the dealings of
the government with the citizens. Truth is the thing that can heal a wounded
conscience and sets the society free.
When God Wants To Drill A Man
When God wants to drill a man, And thrill a man, And skill a man When God wants to mold a man To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart To create so great and bold a man That all the world shall be amazed, Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects Whom He royally elects! How He hammers him and hurts him, And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which Only God understands; While his tortured heart is crying And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks When his good He undertakes; How He uses whom He chooses, And which every purpose fuses him; By every act induces him To try His splendor out- God knows what He's about.
– Anonymous More Recent Articles
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