Features
Go your way and tell John
A movie I watched on TV drew my attention to some realities of life so I decided to put on my social commentator’s cap for this article. A lot of things happen in life which baffles the minds of the average person and some can be very demoralising and also life-changing.
If such things happen to you and you are a Christian, the chances are that, you may begin to wonder the authenticity of God’s Word. One of such experiences happened in the land of Israel, in the life of John the Baptist, as recorded in the Bible according to Luke 7:22.
A little over a month ago, a close relation was admitted to the emergency ward of the Korle-bu teaching hospital. I was to pay for some services so I had to go out and withdraw some money from a mobile money vendor.
On my way back to the ward, I heard screams of a woman coming out of the entrance to the emergency centre. She was being restrained by a couple of men but was inconsolable and she was shouting “who will take care of the children”.
Apparently, she had just lost the husband and was a scene of sadness that is etched in my memory and will forever be with me. I believe, given that the majority of people in the country were Christians, that lady can be assumed to be a Christian, and would be wondering why God has allowed such a thing to happen to her.
People go through a lot of mishaps that shake their belief in God. How do you convince that woman whose Level 300 son, an only child, who got drowned when he went to the beach to swim with his colleagues in the sea at Cape Coast, of the goodness of God?
How can you say God is good to that woman who got all her stock of bags of beans and rice representing her whole capital that got burnt in a fire outbreak in one of the markets in Accra recently?
People in such moments of despair wonder if they have believed a lie so far as the Bible is concerned. This was one such situation in which John the Baptist found himself and sent messengers to Jesus.
Jesus assured him by saying “Go your way and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached”.
Whenever you find yourself in a hopeless situation that everything around is screaming, ‘your end has come’, remember Jesus’ reassuring words to John The Baptist “Go….. tell John…” gather courage and say to yourself, “I don’t know how, but I am trusting God to make things right.”
Whether you are confronted by a life threatening disease, you have just lost your job, you have lost your husband who is the family’s bread winner, you do not know how you are going to pay for your children’s fees at the university, or whatever the challenge may be, remember that everything that has a beginning, has also an end with the exception being God, His son Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, what appears unresolvable today, that appears so huge, so monstrous that your mind tells you that this is it, the end of your world, you look back a couple of days or weeks later to realise that, you are more than a conqueror and has been able to overcome it.
Never allow your fear to overcome you, such that; evil thoughts to harm yourself, overcome your rational mental capacity to destroy your life and those who depend on you. As a human being, there will always be one challenge or the other from time to time.
Some of them can really be frightening and can really tax your resolve but there is always a solution to these challenges. In these times of haircuts affecting our finances, which we do not know whether it is Punk or Tokyo Joe or Sweat, times are really hard for the average person.
Sometimes as human beings, we need to do a bit of comparison and we will then realise that we are better off than others, no matter our situation. It may be night today, but hold on, daylight shall surely come tomorrow so please do not harm yourself. God bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
