Over the weekend, I had a chat with one of my favourite cousins, Esther. It’s interesting that we get along so well because she is one of the relatives I found later in life. Not in the sense that I discovered the presence of a thing that already was- she is not America- but that I came to appreciate the value of a privilege freely given yet largely ignored. Anyways we were having a discussion about the will of God, you know me…real light conversationalist. Lol. Random aside, the other day Saze was visiting Port Harcourt and as we drove along discussing the idea of owning yourself as a woman she said to me, “Do you realize that all our discussions are serious?! Like no gossip, no ratchet, just deep deep stuff!” We laughed but I said to her, drama is a dish best served with popcorn. In other words, let’s leave the ratchet, gossip and draining friendships for our TV girlfriends.

Anyhoo, so Esther and I were having a (light) conversation on the will of God and I was telling her how I think that everything in a Christian’s life is actually purposed to bring God’s will to earth. As anyone who reads me knows, prior to my current role I lived and worked in Lagos. My church there, The Waterbrook, is a part of the House of Freedom which is an organization that houses different ‘expressions’ of worship and charities. Incidentally Esther also went to the same church when she lived in Lagos. The ethos of the various arms of the House of Freedom is the same and is this; the Kingdom of God is not a place we arrive at following death, the Kingdom of God is here now…if you allow it. A lot of what happens on earth happens because people either don’t step up to the plate to stop unkindness, stand up for someone else, to align their lives with their conscience, or because people step up to the wrong plate consistently. I’m toying more and more with the idea that perhaps spiritual forces aren’t really responsible for things; that neither God nor the devil really make things happens. Sure they make suggestions and recommendations, but ultimately human beings determine the actions which will lead to the destruction or elevation of another.

So this idea of the Kingdom of God can come now if everyone does as they OUGHT, not as they WANT. And the reason the world is in its current state is because even Christians are unwilling to do the work that our faith recommends, which is perhaps the real tragedy. But that’s not necessarily where I was going with this, I’m rambling a bit today because I’m just trying to sift my largely unsolidified thoughts so please bear with me. The Psalmist says that the earth is the Lord’s…but look around, it doesn’t look like THIS earth can belong to THAT God. Our God. Why? Because, the people charged with the responsibility of enforcing God’s directions on earth are failing in this responsibility. And its not the pastors. The pastors are actually, to be really fair, doing their bit in the sense that the number of pastors with a multitude of brain washed followers is consistently on the rise. The pastors have taken control of their own tiny sphere of the earth and are heavily influencing it to reflect their desired outcome; yes their message is corrupt and listen to me I’m not in support of that at all but what I am saying is that in comparison to bad pastors too many good Christians have ZERO control, NO impact at all on those around us particularly and on the world in its entirety. We literally make NO difference because we don’t really stand for anything and our laissez-faire attitude makes it hard for people to even identify what exactly we represent, not to even begin to talk of respecting and emulating us for our stance. So if we are the ones responsible for upholding goodness and love on the earth and we have stopped interceding for others because we are bogged down by our own worries, or have stopped showing kindness to others because they perceive our goodness as weakness, or are just not interested in the business of others, then who exactly are we talking to when we ask during the Lord’s prayer, “Your kingdom come, thy will be done on earth.” Uhm, by whom though?! Beyonce and Britney?

The Kingdom won’t come by fasting and hosting vigils. I’m sorry, it won’t. It cannot logically arrive like that, think about it. It’s not in vigils alone; it’s in enforcing those commitments made at vigils on Friday night, in the boardrooms on Monday morning. So essentially, more Christians have to be in boardrooms. Simple. More of us have to be at the helm of crucial affairs. That is how whole nations will be transformed. People think the role of Christians is not necessarily in business, but in charity.

Ok.

But, let’s look at charity properly. A lot of charities are right… but are they righteous? Are they actually sustainable? Do they dignify the spirit of the person you’re giving a hand out to (while announcing your kindness)? Are they filling wants…or satisfying needs? We need Christians in charity because the wisdom of God gives incredibly spot on direction to ensure the real issues at the base are treated and people’s souls are filled in addition to their stomachs. But where we really need Christians is in politics, it’s in heading industries, it’s in entertainment, it’s in the market place; so that the rules that govern the world are made with the fear of God and love for people. Christians need to be relevant or this thing cannot work. I hear you ask now, so how do we become relevant? The bible says be as gentle as a dove…but as wise as a serpent. Yet we have somehow interpreted the instruction as, “Be as gentle as a dove and …and be as gentle as a dove”. Errr, no. Relevance, that is what we need. And if you’re striving for relevance, it is impossible to not have success or not be impactful and influential because being relevant means being needed, useful, indispensable, ‘unignorable’.

I can’t answer for anyone else but perhaps in 2015, we need to individually decide and work towards what it takes to make YOU relevant.

#2Cents