Teaching others not to lower the bar
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches other to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 5:19). There is a beautiful story of a man called Eleazer in the Second Book of Maccabees, chapter 6:18-31. As a 90-year old man, Eleazer was an elder and a respected scribe. He was forced to eat pork against his Jewish belief but he refused and preferred to die rather than go against his religious conviction. His friends even tried to persuade him to “bring meat of his own providing, such as he could legitimately eat, and pretend to be eating some of the meat of the sacrifice prescribed by the king” (Verse 21). In his rejection of that offer to their great dismay, Eleazer retorted: “At our age it would be unbecoming to make such pretense; many young men would think the ninety-year old Eleazer had gone over to an alien religion. Should I thus dissimulate for the sake of a brief moment of life, they would be led astray by me, while I would bring shame and dishonour on my old age” (Verse 24). As far as Eleazer was concerned as evident in his words: “by manfully giving up my life now, I would prove myself worthy of my old age, and I will leave to the young a noble example of how to die willingly and generously for the revered and holy laws” (Verse 27).
The importance of not lowering the bar is illustrated in another biblical story about the encounter between Daniel and King Darius of Persia. Daniel’s values and integrity could not be compromised even with a threat of being thrown into the lion’s den (Daniel 6:1-29). When the supervisors and the satraps from the king’s palace tried to find fault with him, they taught to themselves “we shall no ground for accusation against this Daniel unless by way of the law of his God” (Verse 6). So the supervisors and the satraps went thronging to the king and said to him, “King Darius live forever! All the supervisors and the satraps, nobles, and governors have agreed that the following prohibition ought to be put in force by royal decree: no one is to address any petition to god or man for thirty days except to you or king, other wise he shall be cast into a den of lions (verse 8). Daniel stood his ground notwithstanding the malicious accusations against him, and also disregarded threats to his life.
In church history we have men and women we refer to as Confessors. The word confessor is derived from the Latin confiteri, to confess, to profess. Among the early church fathers, it was a title of honor. It referred to those individuals who had confessed Christ publicly in time of persecution and had been punished with imprisonment, torture, exile, or labour in the mines and who remained faithful until the end of their lives. The title distinguished the confessors from the martyrs who were put to death for their faith. Among writers, St. Cyprian is the first in whose works it occurs (Beccari, Confessor; 2018). Recently there is a video documentary of one Habila that has gone viral. Habila was recounting his ordeal of being shot at on November 28th 2012 at 11 o’clock, in front of his wife and six-year old son, because he refused to deny Christ. In his words “Their leader asked me, why do we preach Islam and you refused to accept Islam as a religion? And I told them that I am a Christian. And one of them asked me, are you ready to die as a Christian? And I told him yes, I am ready to die as a Christian. And they shot me twice through my nose, and I fell down bleeding profusely, I was just waiting to see the new home and the new heaven that Jesus had always promised us.” I know there are similar incidences across the world, especially in Nigeria. Rev Andimi in Adamawa State and Leah Shauibu among many others are just the few examples of confessors that we have. They have continued to raise the bar of faith in God and believe in the Gospel message and values. For the past ten years, radical Islamists have tested our wills and commitments as people of faith and as a nation. Thanks to the many great and silent people who have urged Nigerians to leave in peace and to avoid violence. We are grateful to those Nigerians who have not taught others to be brutish to their fellow citizens.
The words of Jesus and the action of Eleazer help me to appreciate the lives and times of great men and women who have refused to lower the bar. In the wake of the endless crisis in South Sudan, Pope Francis publicly kissed the feet of the two South Sudanese warlords and urged them to stay in peace with one another. That gesture of the Holy Father was a sincere action that issued forth from his heart. As a priest, I know how difficult that simple gesture can be, kissing the feet of fellow man. I have tried to wash the feet of my parishioners during the Holy Week ceremonies on Holy Thursday, but I have not been able to kiss it. I pray I get to that stage in my pastoral life. Teaching the world, the value of peace, love and justice is a bar that we must continue to raise,
In conclusion, when Eleazer looked at his age, he could not understand why he would want to preserve his life in doing the wrong thing. There is this feeling among Nigerians that many of us who have not tested the corridors of power are even more corrupt that those who are already in power. I totally disagree. It is cynical to assume that every Nigerian is waiting for an opportunity to steal from the commonweal. It is a rash generalization to conclude that all Nigerians are corrupt simply because there are some Nigerians who find it difficult to resist the temptation of “eating” what is naturally meant for the good and welfare of all. Each of us is called to make a commitment to God and to our country to always raise the bar and to equally teach others to do the same with regard to public service, family life and values, academic excellence and politics. Whatever is our profession, character and integrity remain supremely important and priceless in our collective resolve to succeed as a country.