SINCE WE WERE MADE FREE

Writer and Nobel Prize laureate William Faulkner said: “We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.”, and I can hear the words of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah reverberating from decades past, “Ghana is free forever”, and also welcoming with a cacophony of noises was an exuberant and expectant crowd, who were very hungry for freedom, and self-worth that will eventually grow into self-sufficiency, but I cannot tell how willing and ready they were to do 'anything' to be free and to remain free forever. I wonder what most of them who may not be here today, will be saying from beyond the grave? They may be turning in their graves with shock, wondering what kind of freedom they welcomed with such laughter, tears, songs, and dancing? Perhaps wondering if this freedom simply meant replacing white bosses with black ones who unfortunately have carved a new form of domination, and Instead of being co-inheritors with their brothers and sisters, they have rather become co-conspirators with those who steal from them.

We were all given the opportunity to be creative, to be educated, and to become self-sufficient in every way, but many decades later since we were made free, some continue to be freer than others. After many decades we continue to depend very heavily on the same foreign powers we opposed until we were made free. Unfortunately, through complex international trade and politics that the ordinary man may never have the ability to understand in his lifetime, his life nonetheless is compulsorily influenced by systems far away from this shores; practically EVERYTHING IN HIS LIFE is controlled to some degree by others, and not until they choose to free him, he is bound. This freedom we have received must truly free us to be who God has called us to be, but time is ticking on this freedom, and I hope our children and grandchildren will not continue to wallow in this quagmire long after we are dead and gone.

This problem has two ends to it, and can be handled from both ends; one is to cry for mercy until these huge external forces become merciful enough to loosen their grip on us, but this option is not going to be easily realized, however, the other end looks plausible, and that is for us Ghanaians (and by Extention all Africans) to repent from our self-centered and self-aggrandizing ways, and with meekness seek the collective interest of our nation and continent, and to this end, I expect Christians whose faith begins with repentance to lead the way. The problem of this nation and many others in Africa is that we ourselves chose to hold one another down while aiding those from outside who are hell-bent to engage in acts that keep us perpetually in our sorrows. Unfortunately certain "brothers and sisters" have vowed to do everything in their power to see the rest of us wallow in our poverty for life while pretending to be our protectors. Deliberately some citizens who see the freedom of all the others as undermining their own trivial obsessions, create, loot and share with impunity; they will rather help foreigners to pollute our waters while mining illegally, cut down our trees and cheat through labour abuses against their kith and kin.

Sadly, our present bondage is solidified by the perpetuation of ignorance, carelessness, recklessness, and utter wickedness caused by Ghanaians against Ghana and Africa, and while this happens, a large part of the Church sits quiet and aloof on matters of righteousness and justice. The worse part is how certain church leaders perpetuate this powerlessness with the preaching of false doctrines, as well as others who sit on the fence on matters of national interest. Such are those who complain privately but refuse to use their pulpits to address systemic or corporate evils. We see any fight for equality and justice as political and are quick to run away from them, saying 'that is for the politicians'. And there are Christians who work for both public and private sectors, who refuse to let their lights shine where they work, who will quickly renege on their faith, and without a guilty conscience join with evil to set us back. The sorriest one is that the only time some church leaders engage in politics and engage in social affairs is when they predict who will win the next election.

For justice to roll down like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream, leading to prosperity for all, we all as instruments of this change must firstly awake from our slumber and become conscious of our moral responsibilities. We can certainly do better than we have done so far. They say if we want to remain good Christians and make it safely to heaven we must stay out of politics – A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL! and a ploy to silence those of us who hold the truth in high esteem. We continue to experience chains, though declared free, which is engineered by many factors, some invisible but most of them very visible, and easily seen everywhere, working from within and without. How easy it is, to address openly those visible to the eyes, without neglecting those the eye cannot see, which we deal with in prayer and sometimes fasting.

These big players strangle the life out of the poor. They mock us, shun us, lie to us, and call us names behind our backs and are happy if we can remain tamed by the wrong interpretation of Matthew 5:38-40 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well". I know you will want a better interpretation of these verses and all I will say to you, is to also read Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The truth is that no serpent goes looking for people to harm but if they become threatened they defend themselves so sharply, and that is who we are called to be as Christians in the land.

If only we agree to remain meek and mild and wait for our reward in heaven then those who take away our rights will praise us for our excellent conduct as believers. Everybody wants a piece of our wealth, yet those whose wealth it is, have no voice nor a share in it, while outsiders plunder and loot. For this freedom we received from the day of independence to really mean FREE, we have no choice but to become 'conscious and vocal' of what is happening around us, and if that is referred to as being political, LET THE POPLE SAY AMEN, How could they believe they have any share in these riches when they are so bullied to remain silent and at best to not even know what their rights are?’ Their freedom is no freedom at all until they can partake in the wealth of the nation. In ending I quote again the Nobel Prize laureate William Faulkner, “We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.”