Religion May Be The End of Us…
You can’t outsource your responsibility to God.
In the Western world, people are quite liberal with their faith and beliefs. There’s a large majority of people who don’t believe that there’s a supreme being.
In this part of the world — Nigeria, and even the continent of Africa — the majority of people believe that there’s a supreme being. From Christianity to Islam to traditional religions, religion plays an active role in the life of an African.
Religion is a source of refuge
There’s something scary about the unknown. It either intrigues you. Or it terrifies you. This is why people are fascinated by the ocean, space, the moon, flat earth, etc. We want to understand how we have come to be in this place, in this time, in the universe.
On the other side are UFOs, aliens, or something closer to us, death. What happens after you die? Do you go to another dimension? What about reincarnation? Until recently, I didn’t understand why people feared these things. But when you think about it, what happens to you after death?
This is where religion comes in. Religion tells us what happens after death. It gives us miracles when science says there is no way. It’s no wonder large groups of people are drawn to religion. Whether it’s true is not really the point. It’s that they believe in their faith and find solace in it.
You can’t outsource your responsibilities
A few years back, I stayed in an apartment with my mum and we had a couple of neighbours. One night, I heard my mum knocking at my door with an unusual urgency. Once I got my bearings, I heard panic in her voice and quickly got up and rushed to the living room.
Once I was there, I heard some commotion in the compound. Initially, I thought we were getting robbed so I took a few seconds to assess the situation. I soon realized it wasn’t the case and heard someone say one of the neighbours had a health emergency. I quickly rushed up to the 3rd floor of the building where the commotion was coming from.
I’ll never forget the scene I saw when I walked into the flat. A boy was having what looked like a seizure. Another neighbour held his mouth open to prevent his tongue from rolling into his throat. And the most bizarre part of the scene: his family members pouring “anointing oil” all over the place and shouting “the blood of Jesus.”
To be clear, I believe in Jesus and I believe in God. I also believe that God gave us hands, legs and a brain for a reason. If there was no need for them, we wouldn’t have them. And I believe we were given these organs to handle our duties and responsibilities.
After taking in the scene, I called a few other neighbours to help me carry the boy down the stairs. A neighbour had already volunteered his car to rush the boy to a nearby hospital. We got the boy to the car and gently put him in. The mother was still shouting “blood of Jesus” and just going around the car instead of getting in. To cut the story short, they got the boy to the hospital, he was revived and he got better.
My point…
We have our part to play in the grand scheme of things. There are other experiences I could have cited but then this article would not end. You have to do your part and if you have faith, your God will do his. There’s nothing wrong with praying. There’s nothing wrong with having faith. But what you can’t do is outsource your responsibilities to God.
