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Which of you would like to die first?
If the above question is put on a wedding day just before the vows are made, it would be an interesting scenario.
This seemingly simple question could easily result in the cancellation of the wedding. It can easily become the beginning of the end of the marriage since it has the potential of weakening the trust, which brought the parties together in the first place.
The reason for the potential confusion that this question of who would like to die first can bring, is that death is not something any sane person would gladly embrace.
It brings all your dreams to a sudden halt. It brings sadness and the very thought of it approaching brings fear into the hearts of many people.
Therefore if a person you are about to marry, who supposedly loves you beyond measure can choose to be selfish and say that they would not want to die first in future when you are living as man and wife, then trust issues become an important factor.
Indeed I think this question ought to be included as part of the officiating rituals during weddings as a test of true love between the couple to be.
If your partner is willing to leave this world first before you do, then clearly he or she really loves you and I believe this should be an appropriate test of love.
The question then arise as to which of the two people to be joined in holy matrimony, should the question of who would like to die first be put to? Should it be the man who must first be asked or should it be the woman?
Given the generally accepted practice or saying that ‘ladies first’ then it is only fair that the question is first put to the woman. This is where it can get interesting.
I see a scenario where at this point the lady will politely ask the officiating Pastor to kindly ask the man first and the man also politely asking the Pastor to kindly ask the lady first.
This back and forth can easily generate tension even before the man and woman are joined together as married couple. Things that can bring separation or divorce are numerous and are usually very trivial things so people should be careful.
If you really love someone, in my opinion, it should not be difficult to readily offer to be the one to first leave the world and leave your wife behind as a man.
The decision to voluntarily offer to be the one to first answer the question will depend certain factors in the relationship prior to the wedding.
If a lady demonstrate respect for her husband to be during courtship, then it will not be difficult for the man to readily respond that he will be willing to die first before his wife to be.
One of the things men in general expect in a relationship is respect being shown to them by their partners to be. There are several instances of weddings that had been called off due to the man or woman involved developing cold feet at the very last moment and deciding he or she was not going to go ahead with the wedding and so calls it off.
We must all acknowledge that death is part of human existence and therefore one day it will happen to us or our partners. If we psyche ourselves up adequately, then when it happens, as it inevitably will one day, it does not devastate us.
The natural occurrence is for the elderly to go first but the reality is that that order is not always followed. I went to one of the posh cemeteries in Accra and saw the picture of a 14 year old boy as part of the structure erected on his tomb and I felt so sad.
If I who is not related to him felt sad, can you imagine what his parents had gone through and might still be going through on each anniversary of his birthday?
Whether young or old rich or poor, death can come suddenly so we ought to take note of this reality make a deliberate choice to live for Jesus Christ so we shall not miss Heaven because Hebrew 9:27 “…it is appointed unto men once to die… the judgement”.
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.
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