How Good Christians Within Secularism+

     





Part 1. Connection Between My View Of God And How I Live.



Ah, what is my view about God? How is my man-God view related to my life and living?  To say this, I must hint that God is the super-natural force believed to be the maker, sustainer and the judge of the universe. He is the creator and chief judge of the universe, in monotheistic religions; and a superhuman force with power over all things in nature, in some other religions. His names include deity, divine being, Supreme Being and others. My view of God, not mono-, is multi-faceted: merciful, heard-hearted, supreme, subordinate, sincere, insincere and so on.

         First, we start with the first. My view of God as merciful stems from how men continue to live to perpetrate further evils after perpetrating much the day before. God does not want evil and evil doers. Thus, one would have expected him to do anything to stop the tendency in man to commit evils. That he does not kill the evil doers on the sport tells of a merciful God.

         My other view of God is his heard-heartedness. Christianity is at issue here – so we cite from the Christian book. If God standing akimbo as the honest Uriah was being done to death by David is not mercilessness, one wonders what mercy is. If God’s watching on as Honest Stephen was being murdered is soft-heartedness, then one wonders what hard-heartedness is. If the ordeal of Esau in the hands of Rachel-Jacob-God combine is seen as simple, then we won’t know what complexities are.

         My other view of God is his supremacy. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines sovereignty as “highest power,” “without limit.” God is the supreme commander of the universe; he created all things and without him nothing was created. Though God gave man supreme authority over all creations, man’s supremacy is inferior to his. His supremacy, traceable in his general and specific revelations, are adequately convincing. Anyone with an average reasoning power should note the supremacy of God in natural manifestations like the river, mountain, sun, day and night. Paul said this in Roman 1: 19-20, a view supported by the older observations of David in proverbs 6:6 that we can learn from even the ant, if our common sense wouldn’t do. Another older forerunner to Paul is psalms 19: 1-5 which frown at man’s failure to sense God even though day to day and night to night testify to his supremacy. What then, shall we say? Inevitably exposed to all these, I find myself wondering how these came into existence whether they came here by accident or through a design. “If by accident, “then, that accident needs being respected. If by designs, then the designer needs being respected.”

         Then, God, though supreme upon all things, in some respects, leaves himself subordinate, in some others. Imagine how he allowed the will of the Sanhedrin to supersede his will in killing Phillip. Imagine also, how he wanted to allow the interest of Satan and the Egyptians’ to conquer his by poising to sweep off all Israel in the bid to retaliate some stiff-necked unbelieving Jews. Moses seemed to have seen the situation in a better perspective in “If you kill these people as one man, your promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will become void.” (Gen. 32:9-14).

         Then, we may also see God as a point of fact of his sincerity. That he fulfilled his promise to the patriarchs of old is significant in this direction. That he scattered the Tower of Babel to make mankind scatter over the earth is another (Gen. 11:1-9). That God allowed Solomon to continue ruling to his death for David’s sake is another instance, too. Though his is full sincerity, in my view, however, there are some traces of insincerity in God. The act of God in promoting the younger son at the expense of the elder shall keep on baffling philosophers and contemporaries alike. “Esaw I hate; Jacob I love.” is an ejaculation physically alien to what should come from a sincere mind like God’s.  Thus we face the concept of unity of designs and accidents, which states that “If a serious phenomenon is seen as an accident in face of the failure to identify the true cause behind it, then the accident, disguised as the real cause, stands as the real cause.” This idea works at tandem with the Apostle Paul’s in Romans 1:1-20: since what we cannot see are made seeable through those things that we can see, making man vulnerable to excuselessness in face of God’s questioning. Yes, for instance, my relations with my children are visible enough to tell me what my relation with God is. If I cannot give my child a stone in place of water, is it God that will give me snakes in place of cakes. This consideration makes me feel my problems are self-made, my inadequacies, self-inflicted. It is either not asking God for what I want or asking wrongly that keeps me here, to brutalize me to no end. Yes, if my child says “Dirty idiot, won’t you give me bread?” I, who doesn’t even make bread, would feel uninclined to oblige. This is because he has asked wrongly. Likewise, God would feel uninclined to grant my want, if I ask wrongly. So, I always give thanks to God, though I am habitually weak at giving thanks, save when it is entertaining like this:



Of God be afraid.

Love him all times serve;

Have him in your nerve.



His hours in my brain,

Like seeds to grow in the dust,

I seek him with cost.



Minds like mine are poor,

Minds too rich in need of God,

Minds oiled by time cod.



Thus, these are some of the areas in which I view God – mercifulness, heard-heartedness, supremacy, subordination, sincerity, insincerity and all else. They are here laid for deeper delve by those not only who are here but those yet to be.





Part 2.  Blessings and Obstacles

We begin by defining blessing and obstacle. Blessing is what one gains as a result of his/her exposition to certain circumstances; while obstacle is the negativity one encounters as a result of his/her proximity to certain circumstances. This, far from meaning that blessing and obstacle are always together, it might mean that they are the two sides of a coin.

One of my blessings is my high academic prowess. I am always an academic achiever; and both friends and foes call me “The All Rounder.” But the disadvantage of this is that, owing to the attendant popularity, I tend to underestimate all my mates to become prone to despitituality. I say such ills as “If you will give me some money, I will have you spy my exams.”  This making those who love me as a result of my achievement in scholarship start shrinking from me, is an obstacle, really.

         Again, one is my expertise in soccer. I play football so well people doubt if I am not a club deserter. Though young, perhaps always the smallest among all players, I excel in all encounters, scoring at least two goals in each. However, this has its attendant obstacle. As people love all sportsmen they also love me. But my problem is that I tend to develop conjugal eying towards those females praise-singers. And this deed, making me a near fornicator, is an obstacle, indeed.

         There is yet another: my smallness. Making me look younger than my age mates, it attracts more applause when I accomplish a feat than others who, of the same age, but up to feet taller than me, accomplish. Even when others play equally well, or even better, because they look older than I am, they do not gain as much admirations. But the obstacle is that because I am always small, even younger ones who are taller than I look down on me. “You that is Ronald in feet, now be so in fists,” one of my friends threaten. The result is that my love, not only for others, but also for myself, shrinks.

         Then comes my faith in God; then comes its consequences, too. I love all, showing faith in things divine. I think of the natural environment and have not failed to conclude that real power is in the hands of God, not just the Sun, moon, mountains and others. This graduate into religious observances, and attaches me to God. It frees me from sinning. However, taking my clue from nature makes me feel nature itself has its own power too. Isn’t this anti-spiritual?

         Another is my ability to sing well. When I sing, the people rejoice. When I compose songs, they are good, humming tones like eastern bamarhi. However, this quality produces negativity. My sweet songs at the church, making me beloved of the primates, cause jealousy among my co-singers who shrink from chorusing me. This kills my zeal and my output to the detriment of my spirituality.



Part 3.  Intended Future Action. 

For intended plan of action(s), let’s tap some wits from this story, a story of how the need to do well and “the doing” well conflict.

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A man (Mr X) with a horse was going to a village with his son. While he rode on the horse, his son walked. People saw him, and called him wicked for ill-treating his son. Alighting, he placed his boy on the horse and walked. Others met him, weeping the plight of a most foolish man who trekked while his son rode. When he joined the boy on the horse as the journey continued, others saw him and exclaimed: “Here is hell and its chief will soon break the horse’s back. Two on one horse?” When he alighted after making his boy alight, and the horse was going ahead empty, humans who saw them wept for the plights of “two big slaves whose owners had asked them to trek after a horse.”(Adapted from Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, 1970).

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One thing, I will curtail my air of arrogance arising from my high academic capacity; for God abhors arrogance (proverbs 8:13; James 4:6). This is not only in the field of scholarship, but in all areas where I excel.

Another thing is reduce my engagement in soccer to stabilize my current of faith. Since it yields me no income; since soccer yields me no livelihood, I had better reduce my engagement in it. Ah, it encroaches on my spirituality by creating osmotic tendency which draws women nearer?

And another thing is my small stature which makes people – look on me as inconsequential. I can’t force myself to grow taller; but I can force myself to get stronger – physically, by engaging in self-defense exercises – or spiritually by getting nearer to God.

Again, another is my rigid faith which obstructs my growth spiritual. Owing to firm faith, firm are my decisions, too. Short at detecting errors towards me, I am long at exercising anger. This affects my spirituality! Since God will not forgive me if I do not forgive others, I must learn to temper faith with forgiving (Maurice 1998; Matt. 6:12).

Yet, again? Yes, my singing pretensions make people jealous. But do I shrink from praise-singing my God? No. Do I stop singing in the church? No. Do I reduce the ingredients (body gestures) during performances? Yes. Cutting these off can reduce the envies as I perform.

That is not all, either. I am most given to giving those who are poorer.  But because I give from sparity, I stand prone to hollows, especially at home. Oh, the typical home! Oh, the average woman! Inescapably, I face the frowns of “Mummy.” And let only God explain what happens when wives are not as giving-inclined as their husbands! Thus, do I give to promote conflicts? No. Do I hide my giving from my wife? No. Do I teach her “It is better to give than receive even when one is poor”? Yes. Giving is receiving (Acts 20:35).