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Doreen Hammond
Doreen Hammond

A bunch of Church goers or Christians?

I travelled from Accra to the Dormaa District of the Bono Region to celebrate the Easter with family . I could not make it to Mass on Sunday because of the journey.

But I was not completely left out because along the route, from every hamlet, town or city up to Accra were large concentrations of Christians having their Easter services.

What struck me most was the similarity, irrespective of the size of the town; the canopies with a sea of worshippers clad dominantly in white, the playing of  musical instruments, singing and dancing in praises to the saviour who had risen.

In some cases, the preachers’ voice could be heard on the loud speakers and the message was mostly about the significance of the resurrection which is salvation. They spoke about how Jesus Christ had made the ultimate sacrifice by dying to save us  and how his resurrection was our hope for eternal life as Christians.

Then it dawned on me that  even though Ghana is a secular state, the accolade that Ghana is a Christian nation still holds true. Putting statistics aside, the number of conventions I sighted on the road was a true manifestation that God must truly be residing with us. But as I pondered further,  I realised that this may not be entirely the case. If anything at all, we may be church goers but not true Christians in the strict sense of the word .

I began to look at some of  the things we do as a people which do not match the tenets of Christianity.  On my way back to Accra, I bought some tomatoes which were tied in a black polythene bag for me. After I paid, the trader asked for God’s blessings for me. But when I reached home,  She had served me rotten tomatoes different from what she had shown and what I had bargained for.

If we are truly Christians, how come corruption and deceit  have permeated every aspect of our lives to the extent that they are now being accepted as the norm rather than an exception which should be frowned upon?

As Christians, we know that cleanliness is next to godliness, how come we have allowed filth to engulf us? Can we be  true Christians and go around littering?  Or be engaged in illegal mining known as galamsey  because we want to get a livelihood and by doing so destroy water bodies for the whole community? Same goes for illegal loggers who have contributed to the deforestation we have been told is causing climate change.

Does Christianity not teach us to be each other’s keeper? So how come that in spite of the many wealthy people in our society, we still see many children begging for food because they are hungry? How come kidnapping,  defilement and child abuse is becoming so common among us?

How about the foul and intemperate language which inundates the airwaves? Is that how the Bible says Christians should behave? And how come at the least chance we display such violence as seen at the Ayawaso West Wuogon by elections? Does the Bible not teach us to be tolerant?

And where from this get-rich-quick attitude we have adopted as if we are in a  race, and whether by fair or foul means we must all own flashy cars and mansions? Was Jesus not modest and humble?

And how come a so-called Christian country is being characterised by more “ men of God” selling to the gullible and vulnerable everything from lemon to salt and olive oil claiming that it is only when such is bought that there can be  solutions to problems ? How come gambling has become our lot ? Was it not Jesus who whipped those who had turned the temple into a “den of robbers” by  taking advantage of  people and seliing exhorbitantly?

Dressing up, going to sing and dance are all good. So also are conventions. But if we really want to see the face of God, then we need to imbibe the true tenets of Christianity which Jesus himself declared as loving our neighbours as ourselves. Once we step out of Church, we do all the things that Jesus Christ has taught us not to.

For now, I am afraid, we have missed the road.

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