ARE
WE STILL BRETHREN?
The irony of brothers
and sisters in churches today is one thing I find very amusing and comical. Hypocrisy
is now wearing different regalia in the house of God; the holy Church of God.
They call themselves brethren, brothers and sisters. Some have even adopted
specialized names to mark the ironically unique qualities of their group;
daughters, Lifers, Chosen, Ambassadors, lovers, youths etc. these are not bad
things to do but are we really brethren?
We call ourselves
brethren, beloved, and so on but within us, we hate and castigate one another,
we backbite and insult each other, we look down on others and see ourselves
bigger and more important than others, you suspect and blame each other, yet
you still go about calling brother, sister, beloved, brethren. We encourage
tribalism and have derogatory, egoistic and insulting terms we call members of
the rival tribes. Are we still brethren?
Do we have a heaven for
the Ashanti and another heaven for the Ewe? Has God a special Holy Spirit
baptism for the Ga and another for the Frafra? We say we are brethren going to
one heaven but within us, we are full of tribal bigotry, hatred, suspicion and
divisiveness in our hearts towards members of other tribes even in the same
church. Are we still brethren?
Let a new position crop
up in the church and both pastors and board members are looking for members of
their tribe to occupy the position. Let a scholarship emanate, then we shall
see tribalism at its zenith.
We call ourselves
brethren yet we stab each other at the back? Why do you call me sister and
still look down on me? Why do you call me brother and still insult me because
of my tribe and status in the church? Are you not ashamed of yourself to be a
hypocrite in the house of God? Why do you call me sister but will not let me
marry that brother who is likely to become the pastor, just because of my
tribe? Were we not all baptized into the same Spirit? Are we still brethren?
Christians have
forgotten so soon that in the early church, members sold their lands to feed
the poor. Where is the fellowship of old? We see a brother come to church in
tattered cloths while we parade in the best and most fashionables of our
zeitgeist. Instead of helping that brother with just one used shirt and
trouser, we group under trees and summer huts to gossip and insult this brother
that he is colour blind and does not dress well to church. If he stops coming
to church because of our most holy suspicious looks, we say a lady has kissed
him. Are we still brethren?
When will the church of
God stop this nonsense?
I attended a mass
wedding of a church in the middle belt of this country, a cosmopolitan city,
and met the greatest disgrace of my life; every one of those ten or so couples
was marrying his tribe mate! The Ewe brother to his tribe sister, the Ashanti
man to his tribe sister, the Ga to his tribe sister, the Fante to his tribe
sister, the Dagbani to his tribe sister! Yet they all claim they prayed and GOD
LED THEM! Is God so “tribalistic?”
I came down to my own
church where my pastor and I discussed my senior brother’s marriage to a woman
from B.A. Apreku to be precise. My pastor said so disgustingly
Why didn’t he go to
Volta?
That was at home. I came
up to campus and observed the leaders in my church, and guess what…every one of
them is married to their tribe mate! What the hell is wrong with us? Are we
still brethren?
I am glad I don’t
worship any of my father’s “royal gods” those are tribal gods. I serve Jehovah
Nissi who stretches his banner over ALL men. He says in Ezekiel 18:4 all souls
are mine. He didn’t say the Ga-Dangme, Igbo or Yoruba or Oyo or Anexo or Zulu,
Ewe, Anlo or Ashanti soul is mine. He says ALL SOULS ARE MINE.
Are we still brethren?
If we are still
brethren, why is individualism reigning in the church? Why is self interest
running ahead of the church business, why do we choose from which wedding to attend
because of the tribe of the members.
If we are still
brethren, why is it that when my father died, I looked round and saw only my
unbeliever friends? Why is it that when I was hungry, only my moslem friends
fed me? When I was sick only my traditional pagans came to visit me? If we are
still brethren, why is it that our church board is made up of the pastor and
his family? Because he does not trust others. Yet you close and call me
brother, sister. Don’t brother me in hypocrisy.
If we will be brethren,
Then repent and let’s
return to the fellowship of old. Let each one of you see his brother as higher
than himself. Respect the poor and the rich alike FOR WE ALL MUST APPEAR BEFORE
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF GOD.
Is anyone listening? I shall return.
It’s your boy
E.A.R.
AGBENYO YAO CEO:
Youth and Future Incorporated, Ghana.
HALLELU……………IAH
