By Kodwo Brumpon
“When one begs for water, it does not quench the thirst.” – Ugandan proverb
It is no secret that there is a whole lot of injustices in our society; from economic to religious. We have structured our society with informal systems that impoverishes many. As a matter of fact, we are operating a system of “systemic injustice that oppresses the underprivileged, the marginalized, the weak, and that renders significant human lives insignificant.”
All around us, there is an infestation of scheming and manipulating to benefit individuals, rather than giving any thought at all to improving the image of our nation. It is the reason we all complain about the state of our nation. But isn’t the status quo, simply the sum of the attitudes of all of us who live in our nation?
How can we ever hope for a better society if as individuals, we do not first strive to make ourselves better? We can point all the fingers, but the society we live in is a reflection of all of us.
Each person contributes to the larger picture, and if our society is broken, the healing must start with us. We cannot ask for justice, kindness, or integrity from others when we carry the weight of our own failures and wrongdoings. We are the starting point; the change begins in our hearts and attitudes. How can you be courageous enough to speak out against the rot when you are taking part in the fraud?
As our forefathers told long ago, “before you can lift someone up, you must first learn to stand tall in your own truth and become the person you want to see reflected in the world around you.” It is time for us as individuals to confront our own imperfections, so that we can inspire others to rise.
We must be the living example of the better nations we long for. The journey to healing society begins in the quiet battle within our hearts, minds and attitudes, where we choose integrity over indifference, and kindness over selfishness.
Since many of us profess to be Christians, let us understand that the Scriptures make it perfectly clear that we are responsible to unselfishly care for our nations and for others. Do you remember the story of Cain and Able? When Cain sin, he asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Yes, was God’s resounding answer.
Thus, you have a responsibility to ensure that every other citizen is dignified, otherwise you have failed in your Christian duty. To support this, the same Scripture commands us “to love our neighbour as we love our selves.” Therein lies the key to God’s plan to change our society.
We are charged to ensure that whatever is good for us, is also good for the next person. That is the essence of the Christian religion. All the teachings revolve around the understanding that we are to unselfishly care for others. That is why anyone who claims to be Christian has a profound responsibility in shaping society.
Through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, God illuminated the path for humanity, offering the vision, faith, hope, love, and courage to transform the world into what God intended from creation. It is why Christians are called to personal transformations and holding each individual accountable for their own growth and moral development.
Sadly, too many of us who wear the religion badge are busy blaming society and the ills of society’s social structures for causing us to commit personal and individual evils. We are ignoring the primary task of taking responsibility for our actions and striving to become ethical, virtuous and righteous.
From Christians tenants, “life is God’s gift to us, and the way we live it reflects our gratitude, both to God and to others.” Thus, the role of religion is to inspire us to embody the truth, goodness and beauty of God and utilize these attributes to shape our society in a manner that makes God proud of us.
Therefore, let each one of us take the log out of our eyes, get a grip over our failings and work towards ensuring that we rebuild our nation to resemble the divine vision of harmony, justice, and love for all people. Let us start by building a decent self-respect, then let us make something good out of ourselves.
We should not let the “everybody is doing evil, so we have to partake in it” sway us. Let us rise above the current societal norms to become a better version of our individual selves, and let us work together as a team to beat the odds…
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Kodwo Brumpon is an executive coach at Polygon Oval, a forward-thinking Pan African management consultancy and social impact firm driven by data analytics, with a focus on understanding the extraordinary potential and needs of organisations and businesses to help them cultivate synergies, that catapults into their strategic growth, and certifies their sustainability.
Comments, suggestions, and requests for talks and training should be sent to him at [email protected]
