If you undertake a pilgrimage of churches especially those of the Pentecostal persuasion in Nigeria, you will most likely encounter messages that highlight prosperity and greatness; and why not? The forgiveness of sins, a major plank of the gospel narrative, ushers one into a life of true prosperity and greatness. From the gamut of Scriptural exegesis, prosperity would mean a state of spiritual, physical, mental and financial sufficiency. Greatness, on the other hand, is the quality of being admirable, important and influential. It is my opinion that one cannot amount to much in God’s kingdom and in the affairs of men if these concepts are not properly understood and internalized.
Sadly, the narrow definition and the decidedly personal application imposed on these noble concepts by peddlers of dubious intent have denied the Church and the larger human community of the humongous benefits derivable from their proper articulation and robust application. When prosperity is measured only in terms having money, and greatness is sought for and retained solely for personal aggrandizement, an incongruous situation results like the case of Nigeria which though being one of Africa’s poorest nations is home to her richest individual. Now you can appreciate why a country that proudly hosts the world’s largest single church congregation would also be one of the most corrupt.
Even before he was born, greatness had already been bequeathed on Jesus: Christianity’s incomparable progenitor. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. (Luke 1:32 [HCSB]) The fact that he never lacked the wherewithal to successfully execute his ministry could only mean he was equally prosperous. When the jealousy-enabled rage of the Jewish religious establishment had moved it to hatch Jesus’ murder, there was need to hire one of his friends and close associate – Judas – to positively identify him. This could only mean one thing: all his disciples looked and acted exactly like him; well, almost. Jesus had successfully allowed the essence of his greatness to diffuse into his followers thereby inaugurating the perfect model for the servant-leader paradigm. The hallmark of a life well spent would therefore be, like the case of Jesus, the evidence of having allowed our talents and endowments – prosperity, greatness, wisdom etc. – to positively impact the larger community. The ability to attenuate the dichotomies and disparities that are the precursors to conflicts in human interaction is, in my opinion, the truest measure of greatness.
David Jesse, ancient Israel’s most illustrious king, is another man who, against monumental odds, attained prosperity and greatness. He should have been content repairing to his lair to quietly enjoy with his family but he chose a path usually reserved for those with posterity clearly in view. He generously shared with his close associates and a grateful nation; so much so that modern Israel’s flag bears an unmistakable emblem: the Star of David.
On the flipside are sorry stories of people who misused the privileges of possession and position. Saul Kish, David’s predecessor was enabled to the apogee of power and prominence from a background of relative insignificance. A man whose only claim to distinction was his towering physique suddenly became Israel’s captain. Saul could have lasted the distance if he hadn’t resorted to the shortcut that is the preserve of the congenitally insecure. Every challenge he encountered only served to reveal the egomaniac in him, and he had this annoying habit of turning to blame others for his own glaring errors. As his hold on the kingdom weakened, his desperation led to actions that were injurious, not only to the nation’s fortunes but also to his personal interests. In the end, he lost both the throne and his life in a manner that was as ignominious as it was tragic. Leaving a severely fractured polity in the doldrums, his successor inherited the unenviable task of guiding a traumatized nation back to the path of unity and serenity.
Samson Manoah is another Biblical character who started out with a lot of promise but wound up very badly. Endowed with supernatural strength and stamina, he elected rather to employ his abilities in satisfying his private carnal cravings. He feasted on forbidden foods and hobnobbed with persons whose company was antithetical to the success of his ministry. In the course of his libidinous tryst with the seductively foxy Delilah, he was captured and roundly humiliated. A man who had been destined for a glorious end died sightless under the heap of a heathen temple. Left to mourn him was a thoroughly embarrassed nation compelled once more to resume the long wait for a fitting deliverer.
If Nigeria’s richest person is worth $20 billion, at an exchange rate of N180 to the $, that would amount to N3.6 trillion. If each of 170 million Nigerians has N21, 176.47, the aggregate will also be N3.6 trillion. If the law required payment of 10% of what the individual is worth, which will be easier to achieve: getting the richest person to fork over N360 billion or each Nigerian to pay N2, 117.64? Even on the pain of death, richest will not budge; but cursing, kicking and screaming, the masses will eventually oblige. Therein lies the illusion of personal prosperity. The fewer the hands in which the resources are concentrated, the poorer the community.
The Communists and Socialists contrived a system of administration where all resources and means of production, supposedly owned by all, were rigidly controlled by a powerful few. Like the dictatorship that it was, it was always destined to fail. Capitalism, on the other hand, hasn’t fared much better. Even at its operational best, it continues to enable the widening of the chasm between the haves and have-nots.
To live in a garrison-like house within a community vulnerable to external attack is foolhardy. To fare sumptuously amidst lack and squalor is an aberration. To be the only one who can ultimately discern wrong or right in a company of thousands is akin to sliding down a dark, slippery path to certain disaster. There is enough prosperity and greatness to go round if only we’re humble enough to exorcise the megalomaniac in us. A candle loses nothing by lighting a billion more.
A nation is rich because the minimum needs of the least are catered for. A church is powerful because you cannot attack the weakest without dire consequences. Our politics and homiletics require urgent reformation.
If it is only one head that the cap fits; and if only one mouth is fit to be the divine oracle, then we’re surely headed for the nadir named oblivion.
OLUGU OLUGU ORJI mnia
nnanta2012@gmail.com
oluguorji.