Standards of God…Arise!

         The news is filled with incredulous and horrific stories that leave a bad taste in one’s mouth. It has become a norm to hear of killings, rape and the likes on a daily basis and the perpetrators believe they have a right to do what they had done. A few section of the society have become the prosecutor, jury, judge and executioner. The larger sections of the society look away, by so doing, approving the dastardly acts of a few. Some years ago in our country, a slogan was formed to instill a sense of belonging and decency upon the citizens. The slogan reads, good people, great nation! I wonder how the proponents of the slogan will feel now with so many horrific acts perpetrated and the government agencies appearing to collude with the perpetrators by their silence and unfruitful (in)actions. However, this piece is not about them but about the standards (Isaiah 59:16) of God that ought to stand against the flood of such acts and have become wimps or are fast asleep. 

        In management sphere, it is taught that organizational culture cannot be truly enforced by some laid down rules, except the management and employees buy into the culture by modeling the tenets. Thus, one can safely conclude that the culture of an organization is the attitude and actions tolerated by it. To change it, there must be a need to change the mind-set of management and the employees to ensure a buy-in; and the drivers of such are the leaders! Same thing goes for the Nation; it is not enough to tout that we are a great people or a great Nation if our actions contradict this. The Church is a leader to affect positively the culture of the society; not by choice but ordained by God. She has been mandated to drive the change desired by God in the minds of the people. Thus, whatever the Church does or the position it takes is pivotal to the issues on ground. As a child of God, it is not enough to criticize those in authority either in the Church or in the society, but to be an agent, the standard of God at our place of work, environment and families. We are not to be the initiators of ideas and the likes that undermine our existence as children of God! In Judges 17, Micah, encouraged by his mother, built a shrine in his house and set up idols; this was totally against the laws of the God of Israel. He employed a Levite to be his father and priest. This Levite, without cause left Bethlehem (a place that symbolized bread and the House of God) to find another place to settle! And of course, he found Micah! Friends, when we leave the Presence of God, it is inevitable to settle in the territory and domain of the devil. A Levite that ought to know what was right, came upon Micah, instead of rebuking and correcting him, became his priest because of what he would get in return. In the narrative, a verse read: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted” (Judges 17:6). The Levite, by his silence and participation encouraged and perpetrated this terrible evil.  

          Friends, by what is happening, it looks like there is no king in the land. But you and I have a mandate to turn the tide around to the glory of God and not be perpetrators of the evil! According to 1Peter 2:9, we are a chosen generation, delivered to showcase the awesome power of God, whether in the market place or in the National Assembly! The reason, evil is prancing around in our organizations, families and environment is because the ambassadors of Christ have either fallen asleep, forgotten who they are or have bought into the culture of the day. It took one Man (Jesus Christ) to over-turn the perverse teachings of the elders; it took 12 men to take the message of hope and redemption around the world. Friend, it only needs YOU, to stand up against every appearance of evil wherever you are. Remember, only a chosen one that has not left the presence of God can actually point out and correct what is wrong: “…We demolish arguments and every high minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete” (2Corinthians 10:4b-6). Friend, enough of the rhetoric and finger pointing, let’s be obedient in all ways to the Lord, then, we will be able to stand against and crush every idea that negates God’s word. God bless you as you take this stand!