Christianity and national transformation (4)
We have been cowed (falsely) into believing that wanting to be great or famous is a bad thing and evidence of carnality and worldliness. Because of this fear, we have not prayed and asked God to give us great names and global influence so as not to appear worldly and carnal. We have left the business of fame to people in sports and the entertainment industry and related fields and they have used and are using this (fame) to influence people away from the Kingdom of God into hell. And we complain about them! We have forgotten that leadership is influence! People will follow those who are famous; they will follow someone with a name- a great name! They will follow those who are strong and adding value to their lives: people who give them hope, make them laugh, solve their problems, etc.
However a look at the Bible shows that one can be famous and have a great name for the right reasons and for godly impact. A name that has a national and international appeal and fame will command more influence and attract more people into the Kingdom of God than one that is unknown. A great name will command more respect and open more doors globally.
God promised Abraham a great name. Genesis 12:2, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing…” If a great name was bad why will God give it
Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) was a man of tremendous moral courage. Like Bonhoeffer, he too embodied the resistance of Christian faith to totalitarian regimes. Through his instrumentality, the walls of atheistic Communism crumbled in his home country of Poland in the 80s, largely as a result of his strategic infusion of Christian values into the social and political spheres. In his 26 years as a Pope, he cast a long shadow over world politics through his powerful writings and moral standing.
With the great civil rights activist and Baptist minister, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) we saw how Gospel principles came alive during a period of moral crisis. Rev. King became the moral conscience of the American nation on the most important question of human dignity because he chose not to be indifferent on an issue that was already settled in the Declaration of Independence, that “All men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.” His Letter from a Birmingham Jail is an indictment of the religious establishment in his days that would rather love him to keep silent than to upset the status quo.
The South African Anglican Archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Desmond Tutu (b.1931) stood fiercely against apartheid in South Africa and has continued to stand against injustice wherever it exists and whichever guise it assumes. Against his resolve to quit the global stage, only last week he to someone?
Joshua was famous. Joshua 6:27, “So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.”
The fame of Jesus attracted multitudes of followers. Luke 5:15, “But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.”
The Father himself gave Jesus a very great and powerful name.
Philippians 2:9, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth…”
A name sells if you have a great one.
The truth is everyone wants to be successful and famous and they look up to those who have made it as role models whether they are famous for the right or wrong reasons. It is the motive that matters Like money, like success, or any other good thing for that matter, fame could be pursued for selfish reasons and could divert a person’s attention and focus from the real issues of purity and piety and the Grace of God. The temptations are enormous! The responsibilities are huge but that’s no reason we cannot pursue greatness for the right reason. Jesus, Moses, Joseph, Mother Theresa and many other great people of wrote a letter to his Burmese Peace Prize compatriot, Aung San Suu Kyi, asking her to rise up and speak out against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims. We can also speak about the great Albanian missionary and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) who became the world’s symbol of love for the poor and destitute, or the Charismatic Filipino Cardinal Jaime Lachica Sin of Manila (1928-2005) who applied Catholic Social Teaching in his home country in the 1980s. He was instrumental in the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled the corrupt government of President Ferdinand Marcos, and in the 2001 EDSA Revolution that brought down the corrupt government of President Joseph Estrada.
These are just a few of the powerful Christian leaders of the twentieth century who became champions of social justice at different times, when their societies were in desperate needs of faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Their lives and ministries challenge our complacency, our lukewarmness, and our indifference in the face of oppression, violence and injustice in our own society.
If contemporary Christianity is to become a force for national transformation in Nigeria, then all Christians must begin by shunning the culture of indifference. We must feel really concerned about what is happening around us. In his 2016 Message for the World Day of Peace (January 1, 2016), Pope Francis says that the reason our world is suffering from lack of love and compassion is because the cobweb of indifference contemporary memory were famous not for bad or criminal reasons but for bringing liberation, help and succour to others.
Everything God created has been subjected to abuse but that should not stop us from getting it and using it correctly. Don’t be afraid to ask God to give you a great name that attracts crowds into the Kingdom of God; he promised it and we should have and use it well!
Fame could be dangerous if not properly handled. It can lead to pride and other temptations but God gives us grace to properly use whatever he has given us for the assignment we are called to carry out. One must constantly give the glory to God and be careful not to draw attention to oneself. A good and great name is a huge asset for the fulfilment of Kingdom assignment and Kingdom expansion on earth.
The irony however is that great people didn’t set out to be great; they set out to be valuable to society. They set out to add value to the lives of people they come across. They simply used their God-given talents to make life better for the people around them. They were not selfish or self-centred people who used others to achieve their selfish ends as most people tend to do. Great people wake up each day not thinking and asking ‘who can help me today?’ Rather, they wake up each day asking ‘whose life can I make a little better or easier today?’
Great people strive to become the best they can so as to help others is growing in our hearts. Many Christians are just insensitive to what is happening around them. We close our hearts to the needs of others and close our eyes to what is happening around us. We have no sense of involvement in what is happening to others. We don’t feel bothered. The sight of suffering never moves our hearts. If it does not touch us directly, it doesn’t concern us. Almost without perceiving it, we grow incapable of feeling compassion for others and for their problems. We have no interest in caring for them. We feel that their troubles and sufferings are their own responsibility and none of our business. When we are healthy and comfortable, we forget about others. Our hearts grow cold and hard like ice. Even the most touching sight of human suffering is unable to melt our frozen hearts.
Jesus passed a very strong message to us about this culture of indifference when he narrated the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. The parable contains a profound message about putting the needs of others before our own greed. There are many Lazarus-es before our gates, waiting to eat the crumbs falling from our tables. We cannot turn a blind eye to their needs. In the Parable, it was not so much the abundance of his riches that was the problem but rather the fact that the rich man could not see the need of a poor man who had been strategically placed within his reach. There is nothing in the parable that indicates that the rich man was dishonest in his dealings. Neither did the Bible say that he maltreated become the best they can. Great people see the potential in others and try to help them achieve it. There is absolutely nothing wrong in trying to make as much money as you can in order to help as many people as possible. Great leaders Great leaders see the problems in the nation and rally people to solve them. Great leaders are competent in solving problems, not for themselves but for the people they lead. They have great passion for making life better for the people they lead. They solve problems not for themselves but for others. Great leaders bring change; positive change to the lives of people.
In John 10:13 Jesus talked about the hireling who does not care about the wellbeing or welfare of the sheep. As a Pastor, how much do you care about the welfare of the flock you lead? What are you doing to solve their problems? How much are you doing to help them unlock their potential? How much time and effort do you put in in prayer for their pains to be alleviated? Do you have compassion in your heart towards their suffering? These are the things that greatly distinguished Jesus from other leaders in his time and even now and they will distinguish you also as a leader.
Great leaders make huge sacrifices for the people they lead. Jesus suffered the horror of crucifixion for our sins.
Great leaders endure criticism from those who might not understand what they are trying to do or those who think they have a better opinion of how to make things the poor man called Lazarus who was at his gate. There was also no issue about the source of his wealth. The main problem really was that he just could not be bothered about Lazarus or his plights. This is the reason why the rich man failed to make heaven. Whether we want to admit it or not, far too many people around us that we know are going through hard times but do we care?
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25-37), Jesus teaches us that our neighbour is anybody who needs our help, anyone we encounter on our way. My neighbour is that person who has no one else to help him but me. He is that person who may never get help if I do not help him. A neighbour is not to be defined by religious, cultural, or social origins, but by compassion for the other. Thus, Jesus teaches us to open our hearts and be moved to do something when we come upon someone in need of help. That person who needs my help, whoever the person is, is my neighbour. There is no question of nationality, tribe, creed, language or social status. He is simply a child of God. He is therefore my neighbour.
In the story of the Last Judgment (Matt. 25:31-46), Jesus highlights the crucial connection between attending to the needs of the poor and our eternal salvation. Those who enter heaven will be those who give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, and clothes to the naked; who shelter to the homeless and visit the sick and imprisoned. Those who will hear the words, “Depart from me,” will be those who fail to carry out these acts of love and mercy. better. They harness such criticisms to improve on themselves and the lot of the people. They also endure criticism from selfish people who attack them to distract them from their mission of making life better for others.
Moses was powerful yet meek. The Bible describes him as the ‘meekest man’. Not lashing out and bringing your full force to bear each time you are criticized is not a sign of weakness; rather, it is a sign of meekness; of maturity, discipline, confidence and inner strength.
Great leaders possess the character traits of humility, honesty and integrity. They are transparent and they keep their promise regardless of what it costs. This is what makes their lives attractive; this is what makes them famous! They are not driven by emotion but by character and strong values.
Great leaders never use their position or strength to oppress people; rather, they use their strength to liberate the oppressed.
My first question is how many people will go to bed today thanking God for your life for making life better for them? Your life will come to an end one day; my second question is what will you be remembered for? How many people will miss you?
Have a blessed week!
Sometime ago, I found a very inspiring video on Facebook. It was about the Albanian missionary, Mother Teresa. Speaking at her award ceremony for the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979, Mother Teresa narrated how on one occasion she brought a girl child from the street to her home for destitute children. Mother Theresa narrated: “I could see on the face of the child that the child was hungry. God knows how many days she had not eaten. So I gave her a piece of bread and the little child started eating the bread, crumb by crumb. I said to the child, ‘Eat the bread. Eat the bread.’ She looked at me and said, ‘I am afraid to eat the bread, because I’m afraid when it is finished, I will be hungry again.’”
This is the reality before us today. There is a remarkable quotation from Mother Teresa of Calcutta, which depict the criteria for our eternal judgment: “At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by: I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in. Hungry not only for bread but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing but naked of human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a home of bricks but homeless because of rejection. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them.”