The Church's Responsibility towards Societal Morality

The Church's Responsibility towards Societal Morality

[My Offline Bible] Malachi 2
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

In a discussion with the family doctor yesterday, Nigerian politics came to fore as usual with so many discussions these days.

The present scenario here in Nigeria projects a chronic fuel scarcity and an extremely low power generation in a matrimonial romance causing unprecedented hardship for a most resilient, will-broken and  passive populace in a land that flows with milk and honey inflicted by a greedy cabal in connivance with a vengeful outgoing administration.

Of course, the result is increasing prices of consumer products as the situation lasts in an economy that rolls on voodoo databases and imaginary economic reforms.

The discussion had drifted to how we got here and what to do to move away. Of course, we spoke of corruption and that's the common enemy. The general unconstitutional corruption and the legalized and the constitutional ones that, for an example, pays quite a non proportional percentage to just an arm of government in the National Assembly.

But why will it be difficult slashing the amount a senator earns constitutionally? The man had said what we all know; the expenses and the demand people place on the senators. Once they return to their constituencies, the visitors start coming and each must go with a financial package: from all the traditional rulers in the communities to the touts at the taxi parks even religious bodies aren't left out . How can anyone sustain on a regular wages that way?

This shows the state of the mind of the average member of our society.
While the fuel importing cabal rages on, the people too want free moneys and we are powered on by greed and so corruption has a root that mere legislation and enforcement will find difficult to handle.

Where does the morality of such a society come from? In those days, the African folklore communicated morality and generally accepted norms. It taught the virtues of modesty, hardwork, generosity, love and so on and the evil of greed, covetousness, hatred, laziness and such negative traits and it worked even without a constitution and elaborate law making and enforcement systems sucking the economic power of the communities.

Then the churches and the likes took over. Today, hardly do parents do anything in moral instructions particularly when they themselves are morally bankrupt. The schools too aren't better.

Rather our society receives a subliminal message that eulogizes and worships riches and wealth even if the root is rotten. The definitions of success and riches are warped and self seeking as defined by out drama and music videos made by the majority in the entertainment industry who had no place for morality or decency.

Where is the church in all these? Do we have any responsibility towards our society in this regard? Of course!

Every pedestrian knows that it's a shame for pastors to be caught doing what's wrong our society hasn't gotten to that point where it's expected of pastors to do as they like but we are gradually getting there.

We are gradually getting to that point as a church where everything that makes us different from non-believers is fast disappearing. Our mentality about marriage, sex, riches, charity, chastity, modesty and so on have become the same and lifestyles have actually merged. Today, everybody is born again and everyone has a pastor, even criminals have special pastors who keep vigils and fastings for them.

This has brought the church to its knees in irrelevance. If we ask if the society is feeling the church, the answer will be yes and no. Yes, in the sense that the noise is bigger from the church these days and no, because the impact on societal lifestyles has no commensurate effect.

Yet there's no other entity entirely burdened with the responsibility of moral moulding. That responsibility can't be absolved to schools, schools' primary role is to teach knowledge, the television is to disseminate information and entertain, and not primarily to mould character.

The church on the other hand isn't there to entertain though that's becoming more and more the preoccupation, neither is it primarily saddled with dissemination of information but that too is already taking a big share in church activities meanwhile that which the church should primarily give to the society in being the conscience and the moral teacher is lacking.

The definition of good and bad, the definition of success and riches, the cry for fairness and justice, charity and responsibility to the poor and the weak are things the church owes the society.

We have no one to push these responsibilities to. In such a corrupt society as ours, the church must tell the citizens how to be modest, hardworking and how to live within ones means without being ashamed or being envious of the corrupt rather than allowing the abomination of desolation in mammon to sit at holy of holies...

The church must redefine success and being rich and separate true prosperity from greed and covetousness.

The church must arise and fight poverty but fight corruption and covetousness much more. To preach a prosperity message that appeals only to the greed centre of the flesh is to encourage people to take more and more of what doesn't belong to them thereby causing more and more poverty amongst the weak in the society and increasing criminality.

In this, the church must arise, otherwise she might not be spared the corruption and decadence reducing everything to nothing and sending everything back to the earth.

Only doing the will of God on the earth as it is in heaven can save the church from the decay sweeping off everything corruptible.

It's time we stood for what's good and righteous! Good morning!