Nothing saintly in social injustice
Fmany years we have witnessed the bifurcation of the mighty and the weak in the kingdom. The mighty are parading their prowess by denying the powerless their rights to free assembly, association and worship. The recent uprising has added to the ever widening division between the few rich and the many who are poor. Just as water from the driest parts of the earth ultimately flows into the oceans where water is already plentiful, so wealth flows from the poorest hands into the hands of those who are already wealthy, leaving the poor to suffer from varying degrees of poverty and deprivation.
The minority whose wealth is distinguished from the poor by the cars they drive, the houses they live in and their adoption of the Christian religion, the very religion which appears indifferent to the nation’s injustices. The church acts as if humankind’s development is a personal and spiritual matter which can be alienated from the society and the political arena which that individual lives in. The church seems to be primarily concerned with tithe and free- will offering than liberating its congregants from all the forces which oppress them.
In the words of the late Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere; “The church has the obligation to fight for a society which will enable every person to live with dignity and well- being, and to work for the eradication of exploitation and for the sharing of wealth.” However, our church is neglecting that obli
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gation to involve itself in the political and social problems of our life. Instead, it has assumed the habit of stepping aside when its congregants begin to grumble and rebel against political and economic injustices. The church must be the voice of one calling in the wilderness to eschew a situation where it becomes irrelevant to the people’s needs.
It must avail itself as a force of social justice. We should not be going to church to tithe and for alms only but even for support against injustice, for there is nothing saintly in social injustice.
The off- hand way in which our leaders ignore or spurn the Constitution when it seems to suit their immediate selfish purpose is but one of the most hurting tendencies the church should be vigorously attacking. Every liSwati can attest that we survived the recent years of political, economic and social instabilities more by good fortune than good management. Therefore, to once again depend on fortune to survive the gloomy days ahead will seem somewhat unreasonable. I urge the church to step in and be heard because even those we see as our oppressors barely seem satisfied.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said it may help to recall Christianity to its vocation to be concerned for the poor and the oppressed, about people’s need for liberation from all kinds of bondage to enter an authentic personhood which is constantly undermined ... by a political authority which has whittled away much personal freedom without too much oppositions from the church.
By this I do not mean that the church should identify itself with political parties but I am saying only by its involvement in the fight against injustice can it justify its relevance in today Eswatini.