“…The bad news is that while the
numerical increase in the number of Christians in Nigeria is self-evident, and
church attendance is an all-time high, it is however, unfortunate that there is
no significant commensurate impact on the level of virtue and integrity in the
Nigeria society, Nigeria has consistently ranked as one of the most perceived
corrupt countries on earth. This has given rise to a befuddling paradox,
namely; how can a people that profess so much faith and religiosity be regarded
as the face of the earth?...”
This was an extract
from an M.Sc Thesis, Political Science Dept. UNN; by Ulu, K.O. (2007) The
Politics of Foreign Aid and National Development: A Focus on Nigeria,
1999-2006.
With regard to the
Nigerian church, over the last thirty years, there has been an explosion in
expression of faith. Church attendance by Nigerians ranks as one of the highest
in the world. The Nigerian church in many respects has become a force to be reckoned
with domestically and internationally. One would expect a proportionate rise in
the national index of virtues which in turn will manifest in low levels of
crime, reduction in incidents of fraud and corruption. However this has not
been the case.
For Christians,
ethical behavior is to be determined by the word of God, not by situations or
circumstances. When circumstance will be to our benefit, we should be very
careful what choices we make. Those who practice situational ethics all the way
a situation affects them personally to dictate their behaviour; this leads to
unwarranted justification of wrong actions such as stealing, sexual immorality,
lying, cheating, etc.
Unbelievers act
according to carnal thinking because they are enemies of God (according to
Romans 8:7,8). No matter how good people attempt to live, without salvation no
one can please God. With salvation, comes the freedom from the bondage of
self-contentedness. They can have peace of mind as they make ethical decisions, even when it seems
those decisions will not work in their advantage.
If the entire
believers (or many that claim to be) would embrace the transforming power of
the Holy Spirit, making ethically correct and upright choices would be a
culture in Nigeria. Things will turn around for better for us and for the
future generation.
As humans we are essentially wired to be rational and this pulls along with it, the need for self security, self-centredness,'me first' interests. Even when people know what the right things to do are, they lack the will power to execute that. The only way out is to sell oneself 100% to God, surrendering completely to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and be willing to be rewired by Him. Otherwise, human instititions to deal with corruption and bad behaviour will, at best, temporarily checkmate unethical practises, but continue its free damaging access, unfortunately, on man! Chidi Udo
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