The Cross!!

He woke up exactly at seven O’clock in the morning to a room lit with the rising of the morning sun from the East. Anything about the East intrigued him and he had few reasons why it has come to stay like that. The realization dawned on him several years ago when he found out that, the three men who had come to visit Jesus Christ upon his birth came from the East and nowhere particular. Both Far East and Near East with their sandwiched adjective, the Middle East is predominantly ancient and throughout history, they have been a major part of world news and home to many religions. They have wealth; they have some rich cultures and some of the richest and wise Kings ever.

He stepped out of bed, sauntered to the low framed windows. He pushed the drapes aside and was blinded by the high rise morning sun, that, he had to shut them quickly. He walked into the big living room and the TV was on from last night. The Politicians were on again, ably assisted and guarded by the Hostess; one beautiful damsel who doubles as the Operations Manageress of Live Tube, the number one leading Television Station of the nation. He walked on, behind the lined sofas to the kitchen which was across his room.

The last time he went to that part of the house was last week. He was not the type to indulge in food that much. He was more of a man on the run than the one who sits and eats. He was the epitome of junk food. He considered all of that as superficial; after all, man shall not live by bread alone but by the word. He often wondered the exact word the Bible was always talking about, since he had no particular word in mind.  He loved the word all the same and equipped with a couple of the bible verses, simply because it partially served his interest.

He was selective with the verses and he knew by rote those that served his interest. They formed part of his defense mechanisms and he knows just when to use them. All he had to do was to rationalize the situation and diffuse the severity until you even start feeling guilty for tenaciously believing in your stance or for being harsh on him.

He walked to the fridge at one end of the room, where the kitchen cabinet ended. There were some groceries in the coolant at the bottom of the refridgerator, left there by his girlfriend who lives an hour drive away from Amidede Town. He brought the container out and started picking up the items after the other. He hand-picked one big, ripe tomato, a bulb of green pepper, onion and placed them on the cabinet.

He needed to smoke so he went back to his bedroom, where he had left his pack of King Size fags. He picked up the container; hit the bottom of the pack with flair, making the cigarette pop up with some kind of mastery as if it’s on cue. He then reached out for his clothes he had left on the floor the night before, and brought out a lighter. He placed the butt on his lips, as he lighted the other end of the thin, aesthetic carcinogenic cigarette and walked out.

He puffed out a thin trail of smoke into the air, like nobody’s business, as he stylishly inhaled and exhaled through his pouted lips. It was time to prepare breakfast.

He placed the burning cigarette into an ash tray and then started to chop the vegetables into a couple of sizeable slices, and emptied them into a bowl. He reached out for three eggs from the shelf and cracked them for the contents. The yolk was yellowish, with a lot of whites; just how he likes it. He mixed the sliced vegetables with the whites and the yolk and then, whipped the mixture reasonably.

Using a small pan, he started frying the egg. When the egg turned brown, he spooned hot butter on top of it as it fried. The melted butter cooked through and became solid, yet tender and was ready to eat after a while. He has just prepared one of his favorite recipes his girlfriend has taught him, called, the Perfect Sunny-side-up Egg.

He was done with the first part of the cooking; now it was left with the oatmeal to match. The only time Oatmeal mattered was in the morning and that’s certainly the time he loves eating it. It was low in cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart diseases and these would be the two attributes that necessitated his like for the Oatmeal.

He prepared the food and over-turned all the hot meal into a bowl, since there was no need to scoop it. He added some sugar to the food and lots of honey as toppings on the oatmeal, and then he packed all the food and his ash tray of cigarette onto a bigger tray and headed towards the living room to watch these politicians make mockery of themselves.

He knows a lot of people respects and takes them serious, but to him, they were just another con version, stratified at the citadel of the four-one-nine Conglomerate and a persona non-Grata, because that was what he perceived himself to be, through their lenses, and why not? If he mattered, he won’t be fingered on the straw mat and left there all alone by himself to finish what they both have initiated. To him, it smacks of insensitivity and disregard for a fellow homo and he has since severed their relationship. He doesn’t know, if staying single or dating was the better among the two options but he was cork sure that he will always stay single as far as his relationship with the Politician was concerned.

He placed the food on the center-table and slumped into the sofa and began biting into the bread. He usually does not eat breakfast for one reason or the other. He either is in a hurry to nowhere or hasn’t woken up until after midday, from his numerous night outs which is like every day. Sometimes, there were no ingredients to cook with and he doesn’t care, but if he was going to cook, he tries to eat well.

He ate with relish because it was a long time since he ate anything like that and that would be the only meal he would have, except something miraculous happens. He doesn’t have too many friends and does not get under unnecessary pressure to please someone. It has taken him much effort to attain this independence, carved out of this chaotic world, where people assume mastership over you without your consent and make you believe them as if they believe themselves any more than you do.

He did not have much to do and sat there smoking his world as if his very life depended on it. He’s read and knows all about the side-effects of the excessive smoking habit but he couldn’t care less. Why should he care when he will die all the same even if he ended up as a monk. Life was a phase and a fluid one and he does not compromise on his penchants and beliefs. It was getting him nowhere but he was going nowhere and he lived a moment at a time.

#excerpts of 'The Cross'

Today's Church

The church was simply built to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to strengthen individuals and families by encouraging them to study the scriptures, obey the commandments, to receive the essential ordinances and to keep the related covenants. 

Gradually, and in line with the progressive stride and impact they have made, they needed to evangelize the word of God for others outside the church to receive their share of salvation and this gave rise to the building of more churches, parishes, schools and colleges which happens to be the thrust of my write-up.

Thus the church became synonymous with building and administering of schools while the government also concentrated on his governance but now it appears the church has shunned all responsibilities for the government of the day thus losing their integral role they used to play in educational matters.

The mission schools did well by inculcating discipline into the students which is a pre-requisite to learning anything meaningful and also groomed them to become better men and women of the society. It was even a pride to have attended a mission school. The mere mention of a mission school placed you above someone who attended state-run schools. It also came with freebies and more advantages. 

With time, the results from the mission schools became overwhelming that some parents in some areas even had to start attending church or in some instances, allowed their children to be baptized in the hope of doing the will of God.

The schools gained fame and became attractive to even the faithless which gave rise to the relaxation of the admission rules and then the schools became secular and that was one of the many straws that broke the camel’s back and that brought about a paradigm shift in how the church operated.

Since the church was hitherto churning out people who evangelized and carried on with the works of the church and contributed to its building, the new faithless breed started going away with all the benefits they derived from the church without contributing any quota. The influx of the faithless made the church to gradually start losing its ethos and doctrines.

And consequently, the church stopped paying or subsidizing the schools because it turned out that, most of the teachers and students belonged to other faiths and the rest, none.

Fast forwarded to this day, the church is now into branding, to determine which is superior and this has sent many a convent away to where they came from or to other churches, which they perceive are better. The older folks happen to still be in the churches out of loyalty and because they have nothing much to do as they await their time.

This involution has forever changed the church. The church now takes from the people it was supposed to be giving and this does not really speak of the churches readiness for the future. Some of the schools are still managed by the churches but what they do is to charge exorbitant fees from both the church members who also double as students and the secular students alike, when one should think that the church members who also double as students will be given preferential treatments or anything that will make them serve and grow the church afterwards. It is also noteworthy to state that the Churches’ colleges have increased in numbers probably because it has become a money making venture rather than their core essence of salvaging lost souls.

Sometimes, it beats me, to think that folks go to church to pay all the by-force tithes which was supposed to be between the individual and their God. Some churches even make you fill a form and force some members to pledge their quota at all cost to the extent that some even have past dues.

A visit to a modern church where they make alter calls would make you check your whereabouts again to ascertain if you are not at any fund-raising dinner or gala. Some of the churches can ask about hundred members to donate ten thousand Ghana cedis to the chagrin of the others who cannot afford and this has practically sent many out of the church because of employment, unethical issues and worse of all monetary factors. How then, does the church does expects the next generation of workforce to continue from where the predecessors left off?

Some of the Churches also pair singles and organize all sort of singles’ summit for the youth to mingle and asks them to stay off sex. Methinks, the church should rather caution the youth against that because I don’t see how you can light a match stick into petrol and expect it not to catch fire. Just Maybe, they have mechanisms that guide and guard against those excesses. 

My write-up seeks to ask the church what they are doing to mitigate some of these anomalies and canker they have allowed to eat into the heart of the church.

Secondly, why have they made money the over-riding factor around which the church revolves even though they need some money to take care of day-to-day administration just like the Levites?

Thirdly, why is the average Pastor who doesn’t toil from morning to evening like the church members are richer than almost all of them? How do they make all of that money as they ride in the very latest cars and visit all the exotic places at the expense of their members?

Fourthly, if these Reverends and Pastors are doing the work of God and so believes in him and also believe in the scripture that states that, none shall touch or harm them, why do they go around the place with armed bodyguards? Do they believe in violence to allow arm-wielding people who do not even believe in God and hardly are church members to guide them; against death? Thought they will be headed straight to heaven?

Lastly, why have they shifted from salvation preaching to amassing wealth as if the church was a firm and yet do not want to have anything to do with taxes? Are they cheating the state or they have since forgotten that Jesus Christ also stated that, they should give unto Caesar what’s his while they give what belongs to God?

The Eighth ball!

I have always been fascinated with the eighth ball because of its uniqueness and all the rules that govern its use. The eighth ball also known as the blackball is well known to folks who play billiard pockets also known as pool, and they can attest to the wonderful nature of the eighth ball.

The ultimate object of the pool session is to legally pocket the eighth ball into a designated pocket (not just any hole) after pocketing the first seven balls without which a game can never be won.  Even though the eighth ball is racked together with the other balls before the break, it is not governed by the same laws that governs the other balls, be it the striped or the solid-coloured balls.

The eighth ball cannot be knocked off intentionally or unintentionally because it results in a loss or a foul for the player; neither can it be pocketed ahead of the other balls. These and other rules make it unique on the field of play.

Are you an eighth ball? Are you different? Do you dare to be different?  Life is too damn short; too damn long to be part of the fray, to be in the queue and be singing the chorus. It is easier singing the chorus because you can mute your voice when it gets to the difficult parts or the parts where you really do not know the words. It is even easier because you could just mime the words and no one will know whether you are making a mistake or social loafing.

Primarily, we live in a society that does not allow us to be an eighth ball, a society that does not allow us to be different, a society that does not allow us to take initiative, lest you are labeled or out casted and relegated to the back for being a deviant or too-knowing. I keep wondering why things are the way they are? Sometimes, I am tempted to ask if my dare to be unique sabotages someone’s progress or existence. Yes, they feel insecure and only feel better when others follow their trail and that is how they feed their ego.  If not, why don’t they mind their businesses while I mind mine since I am still within the legal parameters?

The world is continually trying to conform us to its image; to behave in accordance with prevailing modes and customs whereas we have been admonished in Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Do not let people fit you into their mold because life is too precious and golden to be lived in mediocrity. Unfortunately, many people are trapped in mediocrity, the more reason why they do not dare to be different.

It is time you stop playing games and wearing masks or trying to be someone other than your real self. You need to work at being accepted for whom you are and stop embracing the pull to be like everyone else and that requires courage. Unhappiness and frustration sets in when we lack the courage but to conform and try to be like others. God created you the way you are and privy of all shortcomings for a purpose so just keep your head up.

Pleasing people is one of the easiest things we can ever do, but it ultimately make us unhappy. It is nice to hear all the praise comments which make us feel good about ourselves and that is just okay as long as you do not derive your self-worth from it. People are fickle and so confused for us to place our sense of worth in their opinions. And we do all of these to gain acceptance and approval into their fold. It is time you break away from their manipulations and control.

You can break away and be different by having a dream and continually pursuing it. You can only walk in their shadows if you do not have a dream.  Nurse a dream if you don’t have one because evidently, you have been too busy conforming than doing you. Additionally, start doing what is right and stop doing what is safe by worrying about what people’s expectations of you should be, take a risk so you don’t regret in the near future. Doing what matters to you is a sure way to excellence since you tend to do it with all your heart and passion.

God wants to take us, with all our weaknesses and inabilities, and transform us, by working from the inside out, to do something powerful on this earth. If we're going to overcome insecurities and succeed at being ourselves, we can't continue to be afraid of what everybody else may think. We can't continue to allow others to fit us into their mold. You are different! You are unique! God created you this way to accomplish His purpose here on earth so go ahead and be a wildcard; THE EIGHTH BALL!

Timeline and Technology (T&T)

“I don’t have time!” is a phrase we are too familiar with and have used once too many times in our everyday lives and it’s the stark truth. I can imagine what and how you would have used TIME, if it was under your control, and there you go manipulating it to suit your whims, right?. Certainly, you can’t have time, so forget it.  At most, you can only share in it. No one has control over time; neither can anyone stop it so forget about the doom mongers who want to bring the world to an end in 2012.

Notwithstanding different time zones, there have been different times in ages past, characterized by their own related activities and am pleased to remind and welcome you to the technological age, where reality has been relegated to the background for the total embrace of the virtual world; where people would rather keep to themselves than other people and by the help of their ubiquitous mobile phones and the internet.

In times past, you were considered out-of-sync when you owned a bigger mobile phone that could not go into your pocket, but now it’s what’s in vogue and you tend to wonder how the world thinks. Sometimes, I am tempted to think that the whole world is mad because we all tend to think the same. And if you dare think different, you would need all of your strength and mind to defend the opposition that seeks to query your unique line of thinking and ways of doing things and before you know it, you have aligned yourself to the fray and singing the chorus of the masses.

The mobile phones have been of immense help to our age. It has hastened development globally and in every way by helping us disseminate real-time information. It has averted so many unsavoury and unwanted situations among others, but for every choice, there is a price to pay and this price unfortunately is so grave and fatal.

The mobile phone is a distraction. Distraction to what? To the normal way of life. And what is the normal way of life? Normal way of life must be the basic way of living, devoid of attracting so many materialism into our lives, devoid of perpetually chasing things that are without our grasp. The phone distracts us from work and other serious and important matters; it is that thin line between productivity and activity. Some people browse all through work either because supervision is lax or because they just cannot do without it.

You see a lot of people rushing to their various places of work in the morning with depressed faces and blood-shot eyes because they were probably surfing the internet all night long or talking on the phone at reduced rates or other times free tariffs from their service providers. It is unfortunately so because they have friends in different time zones or because they could not do it during the day. They lack the needed intrinsic motivation to work and usually are not enthused about work except for those who have a regular task or quota to contribute and these groups of people are mostly tired during productive hours or sleeping on the job.

People now drive with one hand controlling the gear and the steering wheel while the other hand clutches the phone and the term it dexterity. The phone has to be handy so as to stay in touch with other people around the world. Stay in-touch, doing what? At the expense of your life? People practically cross the roads with their fingers on the tab of the phones, sending a message or checking one.

Relationships have been sacrificed on the altar of technology. Yes we are interconnected and in touch, but mostly with total strangers; people we are hoping are real, people we hope to meet someday. We no longer chat with friends that are around us because there is a stranger chatting you via an application or a gadget. You go to a party and what you see is everybody’s head buried in their palms fidgeting with their phones with loud music blaring in the background and you tend to ask yourself, what happened to those times when you danced all night long and looked forward to leaving the party grounds with a damsel you have spotted among the crowd?

Take a visit to homes and the scene is so pathetic. The whole family is logged on to the internet via their own choice of gadgets. Some are in front of bigger screens thus computers and some hooked on to their mobile phones and none of them is engaged in any meaningful chat; all of them flirting one way or the other with people miles away; some they are not even sure are real.

Parents are happy their children do not go out anymore, where they will be exposed to other perceived and stereotyped lifestyles from their neighbors, not knowing that, their children are up to their necks in danger by indulging in self-destructive thoughts and activities online waiting to go berserk.

There are other groups of people who do not have the TIME to come and chat all day and night, no! They come and dupe people; make money. For these groups of persons, e.g. the Prostitute, the internet is solely for commerce. It has offered them bigger platforms to solicit for clients and tell you what, it’s booming like hot cake and this makes me want to ask, how does hot cake taste like? All they do is put up erotic photos or even in some instances, presentable photos and you are still game.

Some say its modernity so we should get used to it. Get used to the fact that, students don’t read their books anymore? Get used to the fact that porn sites are triggering in your face all day every day until you visit the site and feed your eyes for a while? Get used to the fact that so many people do not write with a pen on a paper or into their books anymore since they can both type on the computer or their sophisticated gadgets and get them printed in a fleeting moment? We have practically forgotten how the world was some years back before the advent of the technological age and that shows how involved our minds are in this destructive stance.

Many people do not use their minds anymore. There is the calculator, thesaurus, phone book and other applications and inventions that are readily available to aid us. How many phone numbers can you dial off the cuff? How do you reach out to someone when you are distressed and in danger somewhere without your phone since all we do is go to phone book on the menu and scroll down to the desired person we wish to call or just by typing the first letter of the receiver’s name and voila, s/he is on the other side, unless there is a situation?

We used to remember so many phone numbers because we kept phone books and kept punching same numbers overly until it gets etched in our minds. At this pace and rate, I think all of us are endangered because, what happens when the server at the service provider’s office is switched off? The thin line between doom and chaos is just a click away. What if the man manning the server sleeps on duty? What happens when that man presses the off button on an experimental spree? We go to gatherings and our mobile phones are rendered useless because of traffic and pressure on the location and that makes it hard to locate each other let alone pass on information.

Can you even imagine MTN, Vodafone, Expresso, Airtel and other service providers go off for a day like ECG does? I think someone has to save the already lost world because the whole world is plunging into an abyss. It is rightly so, because those who are not inclined will also be dragged along and we need a backup plan as soon as possible.

To wed or not to wed

It has become a trend or a norm and almost becoming compelling for married couples to engage in white weddings or sign court papers so as to bind each other legally just in case the unexpected happens as a result of the uncertain nature of mankind. if people are that unreliable as far as their emotions are concerned and can go off or change at any time, why then do they engage in a potentially endless drama by opting for that choice because i have come to realize that most is not about the marriage and the need for love and that lifetime companionship but are for their own selfish motives, so as to lay claim when the much dreaded situation sets in or to pursue alimony.

I want to believe that it is one of the never failing reasons why most marriages are not working lately, because the couples misbehave or do otherwise knowing they are legally bounded in a 'life and death' situation with their willing partners. It beats me why the law has to compel us to love when it's purely dependent on emotions and commonsense. The question i want to ask is, is the white wedding working even with the law in tow? 

I asked because it is has been observed that it is doing more harm than good to most newly wedded couples, in that, they get frustrated after going through what it takes to organize a white wedding of a sort. It takes so long a time for so many to regain their feet as they get so indebted to their sponsors, under whose auspices the wedding took place.

Some also are not able to deal with the psychological trauma or stress that comes with it and finally give in to the dictates of their mind; yes they become abnormal and in worst cases, become mad.

White wedding is so classy and colourful but is it worth what we go through to be named one of those? It has a story behind it and that story is, it's mostly suited for the westerners and does not perfectly fit for our culture because of the things we place our values on or what we deem appropriate.

All i am trying to say is that people have to be in love to marry, they must not be baited by whited weddings to lure them into something they are not really keen on just because they want to be hailed and cheered by their friends. You've got to be cut for it; you've got to do it because you can do it, not because you have to do it. That will be on the defensive and your nemesis will come calling soon after the guests are gone home and some of the chairs and tables broken on the lawn and paper packs scattered all over and if you were lucky, you would have been chauffeured out of the place on your way to your honeymoon.

In our society, it is evident that it is the ladies that force their men to wed them at the expense of our cherished and outstanding traditional marriage and at all cost. And sometimes, i wonder what it is with some of the men, they lack commonsense that they cannot tell that they cannot afford what the lady is asking for and reasonably talk her into something they both can afford and allows themselves to be led to the slaughter house. These white weddings have made it impossible for potentially suitable couples to marry thus going their separate ways only to give in to the one who can afford.

Unfortunately, it does not end with them, they go out there and pollute the minds of those who care to listen to their tales about how all men are not good and are the real devil incarnate and on the other hand, how all women should be killed under the sun. They make love look evil, they swear not to love again when they have never really loved before.

Let's access our capacity in terms of finance, psychology, maturity, simplicity and make choices within our means so as to limit the ripple effects of our bad choices and to help us enjoy happy marriage lives. Society has to let us know that it’s solely a matter of choice and not compulsory for everyone, the yet-to-marry and the yet-to-be married should also know that their choice remains theirs and not what people are going to think about them. Just be yourself!

The Power behind the Performance!

Have you said thank you to someone all day? Are you appreciative of people’s effort at shaping your life or boosting it one way or the other? Most of us do everything by ourselves. We eat, sleep and wake up on our own hence our inability to say thank you to the father; whoever you believe is in charge.

Scientifically, for every action, there is an equal and proportional reaction, but socially the reaction becomes enormous and gigantic in many folds and the effect becomes rippling; that is why if a child grows up in an environment full of love and care, he grows up to effect people in a more positive way and a menace for a child that grows up in an environment full of hatred.

For every performance, there’s got to be a power behind it. It could be intrinsic or extrinsic or both but however it is, the domineering power turns out to be the extrinsic, and that usually becomes the steam in the vessel.

Who has empowered you? Who empowers you? Do you say “thank you?” if yes, how do you say it? Some pay in kind and some in cash, the choice remains yours but never fail to pay back. People extend kind gestures to us in so many varied forms, some emotionally, financially, spiritually and even materially and all it takes is to show gratitude by saying ‘thank you” unless the gesture comes with a condition which must be fulfilled anyway because you accepted the terms there-in and anything short of that amounts to dishonesty.

Maybe you don’t care, you are ungrateful, but you can never be the recipient of that person’s kindness again and before you know it, no one will even look your way because you probably might have replicated it towards everyone in your life. They don’t only come when you fail to acknowledge someone, they also come in the way we talk to people and the way we regard them. Can you imagine, some people are so rigid and stuck up that they don’t even laugh at jokes? Well, it is a form of inappreciation.

At functions, we say vote of thanks, at events, sponsors of the event are mentioned and hyped for their support because it is the right thing to do, so why can’t you emulate these examples and start mentioning your sponsors by thanking them, not publicly though, but in a special way that will make them feel like whatever their effort, was worthwhile or you want to be the proverbial nine that failed to thank Jesus Christ after the healing session?

In IT, there are two faces to a programme, namely the front end, which is also known as the graphic user interface thus the interactive part and the back-end where they arrange and put up what you do at the front end. Most of us don’t even know that there is always the rough side that gives way for the smooth side. A typical example is the air-conditioner which generates so much heat at the back just to maintain a very appreciable chilling level inside. The ATM and the vending machines all get stocked by people who we hardly see and that should be the more reason why we have to be appreciative of the front-end and by so doing the back-end will get the feedback.

I keep writing because I know you read it and I am grateful for the fact that you spare part of your busy schedule to read my train of thoughts, and the thought in itself is elating.

 It is good to say thank you because it paves way for you, it’s like opening an account full of goodwill with the entity; be it an individual or an organization.  Say thank you to anyone who has done something for you even if you could have done it for yourself or you think it’s trivial. Don’t assume it was automatic; there’s surely someone working at the back-end for you to function well at the front.

For an artiste to perform on stage, there surely has to be some manager of a sort, a costume designer, a coach or a producer and a host of other people that makes up a team and deserves a mention aside their rewards which comes in the form of money. Therefore you have to be mindful of the fact that wherever you are and whatever you find yourself doing, there is a power behind your performance.

Finally, this piece is to thank YOU and everyone on my timeline for shaping my life from near and far, directly and indirectly, positively and negatively because you guys are the POWER behind my PERFORMANCE!!

What is your name?

“What is your name?” or “what are your names?” are fully loaded questions we are often confronted with, in our everyday walks of life. The question is fully loaded because your name tends to portray who you are, where you are coming from and at most your descent.

Oftentimes, people chance upon me and ask me what my ‘Christian name’ is and as a rule of thumb, I quickly say Yayra, to which a few become disgruntled at my audacity, thus making them challenge my tenacious stance. I often reckon that they wanted me to mention Alfred which happens to be my English name that is if it’s really is.

Well, I do not blame them because, to a very large section of the public, everything foreign or English is Christian; since our history depicts the advent of the Whiteman’s religion and it’s imposition on the African continent as a whole. Personally, Yayra also known as Benedict is more Christian than Alfred which only passes as an English name.

There is evidence beyond reasonable doubt that the Whiteman did not introduce Christianity into Africa and there is nothing like Christian or Islamic names. Before the advent of the Whiteman’s purported civilization which they did under the cover of Christianity, there was civilization in Egypt and the Apostle Paul had also been to Alexandria, the capital of Egypt; thus the Whiteman only proliferated the Christian religion.

A Christian is not depicted by his/her name, but by his doings; his Christ-like nature. Christianity is a way of life rather than just naming one’s self in a fashion. Names have meanings and certainly have histories, thus their origins. Most names were passed on from generation to generation because they are cherished family names and they mean a lot to those who wield them. For example, the name Jesus is a name that can be found all over the world especially In Brazil but only the savior had Christ attached to his. Names like Zebedee, Bartholomew, Jabesh, Achitophel, Zachariah and Judas Iscariot are Jewish names and absolutely nobody changed their names after Baptism to portray their Christian faith or anything whatsoever.

The onus rather lied on them to live Christ-like. It was only Peter who had his name changed from Cephas because Jesus Christ said; he was the bedrock on which he will build his church. Africans or Ghanaians had their names changed because the Whiteman in Africa could not mention our native names thus resorting to names like John, Peter, Johnson, Mary, Agatha and these are not Christian names.

The Muslims also name themselves Abdullah, Mohammed, Faisal, Abubakar after their forebears, so it is quite absurd for new convents to change their names from Stella to Salamatu and from James to Jalal, a name he cannot possibly identify with. You could still be called James and worship the Islamic way or Mawusi and Akos and still be Christ-like.

Our names are not Christian or Islamic names because there is nothing like that. They are rather English, Jewish, and Arabic names. It is even unfortunate if the clergy, who is supposed to know better with emphasis on admonishing us to live Christ-like, rather goes on name changing spree; for what? No wonder they have shifted from their core duties of salvaging the poor and lost souls.

We live in a dispensation where you are branded disrespectful and labeled with all kinds of names if you question the status quo or ask perceived difficult questions. It is so because, they themselves do not know it and instead of portraying their ignorance, they will rather fault you for the effrontery.

Before I recap my write-up, Baptism is supposed to be done with the full consent of the individual being baptized. However we often see babies being baptized when they can hardly utter a word, and that amounts to imposition of a faith on that innocent child. It is right and just to present the child before the Lord and groomed in the way s/he should go just like Jesus Christ, the icon of Christianity was made to experience until the child is grown enough to decide whether he wants to be baptized into that faith or not and that is how come Jesus Christ got baptized by John the Baptist in his adulthood.

In the backlog of all these matters arising, it is in the right direction for some churches to introduce ‘confirmation’ where the already baptized baby could affirm his or her stand and to renew his commitment to the faith and become an eventual member of the church.

It is also imperative we cherish our names, especially the native ones that readily identifies you with a family, culture, a sub-region and what have you.

To this end, I would like to say Christianity or being a Christian is bigger than just attending church and changing of names but rather, it is a way of life; being like Christ, an example worth modeling and still being able to identify with your descent.