Ghana: A Nation That Is Sick And Lost

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“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for me.”

Ezekiel 33:7 (New King James Version)

I will treat this topic by focusing on three main groups in Ghana, namely, the church, the government and institutions (both public and private).

Why the church comes first

It is imperative for me to start by looking at the church in Ghana first. I cannot talk about the government and institutions without starting from the church in Ghana. The church in Ghana is my first point of interest because the Scripture says “For the time has come for judgement to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what shall be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17 NKJV).

Again, I’m a Christian and I must have the courage to remove the speck in the eyes of the church in Ghana by talking about the ills that characterize it. This is why Jesus said “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5 NKJV). 

Lastly, according to the Ghana Statistical Service, the 2021 Population and Housing Census revealed that 71.3% of the Ghanaian population of 30.8 million are Christians. If the majority of Ghanaians are Christians, then it is just reasonable to start with the church in Ghana. There is something absolutely wrong with our country and the church must be concerned about it. The church in Ghana cannot look on and do nothing whilst the nation is sinking, and corruption has become the bane of our country. It has become a norm to be corrupt than to oppose it. This country is really sick! 

1. The church in Ghana

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 28:19-20 (New King James Version)

The church in Ghana started with the message of repentance. It was the message of repentance that brought people to the saving knowledge of Jesus. In those days, the church focused on the message of repentance that convicted men of sin, righteousness and judgment. The message was so strong that men couldn’t resist its potency. It was the power in the message that made men turn to Christ. Discipline, morality and respect for the elderly was prevalent in our society.

Social contributions of the church

The church didn’t end with the salvation of people. She ventured into education and built a lot of schools to develop the intellectual capacity of the people. The idea was for believers to gain employable skills or to learn a trade. In fact, most of the schools that we hold in high esteem in Ghana are schools that were built by the church.

Again, the church in Ghana built many hospitals to help treat sick people in the society. Also, the church created jobs for many people in Ghana. Please remember, at that point, what really mattered to the church in Ghana was the salvation, and then welfare of the people. So, the church did everything possible to ensure that people were not just saved, as they contributed to their general welfare too. Cleary, the church complimented the efforts of successive governments. 

The church in Ghana has contributed immensely to the growth and development of the country. Therefore, the essence of this essay is not to discount the contribution of the church. It is to identify areas where the church is going astray so it can quickly find the right way back to God. This is why Paul said “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV). The church in Ghana must regularly examine herself. After this is done, she can attempt to put in corrective measures, where and when necessary. But when the church doesn’t examine herself, then it becomes difficult to see if she is going wrong or not. 

Money, numbers and titles

The church in Ghana must remind herself of her mandate as given by Jesus. She must be obsessed with the mandate to preach to all the nations of the world. It is the preaching of God’s word that is backed by His life-transforming power which impacts the lives of people. The church must remain with that mandate. The repentance of perishing souls must be her concern.

Unfortunately, the church in Ghana has now corrupted her mandate with the love of money, titles and numbers. The church in Ghana seems to be much more interested in raising money, bestowing titles and the number of people that attend her meetings. This can be seen in the messages that we hear today. The messages that are preached are messages that make people comfortable and happy with the status quo. They are not messages that convict. However, the church must remember that the power to transform people is not in messages that generate excitement but in messages that convict. And this has little or nothing to do with money, numbers and titles.

Tithes and offerings

Money (Tithes and offerings) has captured the thinking of the church. This is evident in the strategies that are deployed to increase the finances of the church. Almost all decisions by the church are taken based on money. Financial targets for tithes and offerings have become the order of the day. Today, many churches task their pastors with the responsibility of raking in money. Sometimes, people are coerced into giving with all manner of strategies when, indeed, their hearts are not ready to give. A hand that is forced to give whilst the heart is not in support of it will never be blessed. Money plays a critical role in the life of a church but the church cannot allow her attention to be seized by money. 

It’s a numbers game

Also, the church appears to be more interested in the number of people that attend her meetings than in the people and their wellbeing. This is because the church loves to measure her strength by her numbers. If the church has the numbers yet it cannot have any influence on the government and the institutions in the country then what is her gain in the numbers? The church must bear in mind that she cannot put her trust in her numbers. Numbers are important but when it becomes more important than the people then it’s a big problem.

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

John 6:66-67 (New King James Version)

From the above scripture, it is clear that Jesus lost some of his followers. However, this didn’t disturb Him nor did it distract His focus from pursuing His ministry. The church must learn from Jesus. The church must keep her focus irrespective of people’s reactions.  

We love titles, don’t we?

Lastly, the church sees titles as though they were necessities for ministry. To tell you the truth, we can improve and transform the lives of people without necessarily having titles. What the church needs is men who have developed enough capacity to fulfill her mandate. Titles are not bad in any way but there are more important things for the church to focus on than titles.

2. The church in Ghana and politics

The church must properly represent the voice of the people and align itself to the truth and not the government. Unfortunately, the leaders of the church have become unduly partisan. Politics has polarized the church in Ghana. Today, the church is divided into two factions with each supporting one of the two major political parties. The situation is so bad that we have prophets in the church who prophesy victory for the two major political parties in the same general election. But, the question is, how can God reveal that two political parties will win the same general elections? Obviously, something does not add up and some of these prophets only prophesy according to their party lines. However, this is not to insinuate that there are no genuine prophets in Ghana. In fact, Ghana has some of the finest prophets in the world. 

The truth or political alliance?

Again, the polarization of the church can be seen in the fact that some of the church leaders speak on national issues according to their party lines. They only speak the truth when their political parties are in opposition. Even in the face of bad decision-making, they would still support the incumbent government as long as it is their party. The church and its leaders cannot continue in this manner. The church and its leaders must learn to speak the truth to the powers that be. I, personally, believe that it must be done in the open without any fear whatsoever. This is because the masses would want the church and its leaders to understand their plight and to stand by them in whatever situation they find themselves in. 

I call the church in Ghana to repent! The mandate of the church is to make disciples for Jesus and she must stay with it. She must make disciples without focusing on the benefit she would get. My prayer is that the transformation of lives will be the focus of the church and not money, titles, numbers or alliance with political parties for power.

3. The government 

All over the world, governments are elected to oversee the affairs of their respective nations. Yet, the situation seems to be different in Ghana. The ruling class in Ghana offer themselves for election to serve their own interest and not that of the nation. Since independence, the various governments that ruled the country have been plagued with nepotism, corruption, broken promises, luxurious living, wasteful spending, misappropriation of public funds among others. The majority of Ghanaians live in poverty and are unemployed but the government doesn’t care. The economy, educational system and healthcare systems are collapsing. Many don’t have any hope of having a better life in this country and emmigration has become the order of the day. We live in a country where nobody cares about anybody. The gap between the ruling class and grassroots keeps widening. 

The ruling class versus the masses

The rich ruling class keeps on getting richer and impoverishing the masses. For this reason, many now see politics as a money-making venture or an avenue to get wealth. Indeed, there are cases of people who have never worked in their lives even for a month yet shortly after entering into politics, they look very good and comfortable in life. Others have worked in the public or civil service for many years but are still struggling with what to eat, wear and where to sleep. These human necessities of life have become a luxury in Ghana. Surprisingly, most of the people in government are Christians yet nothing seems to work!   

I call on Christians within the government to uphold their values and help the nation to grow and develop. Christians working in the government must not keep quiet when things are going wrong. They must work, bearing in mind that they are Christians and for that matter have the name of Jesus to defend in their various offices. Indeed, they must stand for the truth and nothing else. If all the Christians within the government would be ambassadors of Christ in their offices, the impact would not go unnoticed. The effect would be seen by all men and the government would do things, being mindful of the welfare of its people—its purpose. 

4. Institutions (both public and private)

Most institutions in Ghana are plagued by favoritism, nepotism, abuse of office, wasteful spending, misappropriation of financial resources, contracts not being awarded on merit, stealing, bribery and extortion. Many of the people working within these institutions are Christians, yet they participate in some of these evil acts. Where are the Christians in these institutions and why are they not upholding their Christians values? 

As believers, we must reflect the life of Christ everywhere we find ourselves. Our failure to hold on to the principles of our faith in our place of work will make us conform to the standards of the world which leads to death. We must be transformed to emit the life of Christ in us and be Christians not only at home or on Sundays but everywhere we find ourselves. We cannot condone corruption or connive in such activities. This is why Jesus admonished us to “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NKJV).

Concluding remarks

I want to conclude by saying that if statistics show that 71.3% of Ghana’s population are Christians and the country is still sinking and plagued with corruption, then we must be concerned about the teachings of the church in Ghana and the kind of Christianity we are practicing. The testimony of the Jews concerning the early disciples was that “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (Acts 17:6 NKJV). Why is 71.3% of the population not able to affect the rest of the population? Could it be that we draw near to God with our mouths yet our hearts are far away from Him? The time for us to change is now! 

As believers, we have a responsibility to affect the people around us and the country, at large, in a positive way. We have the potential to be a great country. This can clearly be seen in the resources that God has endowed us with. Others have far less than what we have as a country but they seem to be doing better than us. The reason is that corruption is our biggest problem. If only we can learn to control our lust for material things and be content with what we have, then our country would be different. May we repent in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Let’s keep the fire burning until the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!