A couple of years ago I watched a movie called The Truman Show and it is possibly the best performance by Jim Carrey I have ever seen and only comparable to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.The Truman Show's plot is basically about a young man who has lived his entire life from birth as a reality tv act without his consent, he has no idea that the entire world is watching his daily activities, his sleep patterns, his bad habits and even the most intricate character flaws.
The film triggered the worst case of paranoia I have ever experienced, ok maybe I only considered the idea of being watched on tv for only a minute but what I did consider for longer dug deeper than The Truman Show. I started wondering to myself, why does the simple notion of being the subject of a strange experiment like what happened in that movie scare me so much and yet it doesnt matter when I think to myself "whatever you do God is watching".
Perhaps because it does not include when you fart in silence, the Angels will laugh at you, I do not consider it inappropriate to do so and blame it on the baby that has left a present in its diper (not that I have ever done that). Maybe because we find it easy not to feel the importance of God as an entity of continuous prescence that we can take whats not ours and justify it by saying "Everybody does it, why can't I?"
Talking about morality often makes people sound self righteuous and condescending but the truth that lies beneath everything is that we all know the right thing regardless of our socio-economic backgrounds, our religious beliefs, upbringing or personalities but we make a concious effort to make our own descisions based on either obligations to society or self.
It is often ineveitable that our obligations to self will be seen by the society as either selfish or greedy especially those that immediately surround us; the descision to work extra hours rather than watch your son/brother/friend/cousin play football only diminishes your relationship with that individual because you loyalty lies with that person only and these decisions do not often involve over 120 million people.
Majority of the individuals that 'run' the affairs of Nigeria are merely looters for lack of a better word. They might as well be carrying AK47s and chanting their motto "Riches for us, Poverty for all". Nothing seems to stop thier unending raid and robbery of the Nigerian people.
Thus a greedy tyrant will seize his peoples' property, as Solomon says: "A just king nourishes the land, while an avaricious one destroys it" (Proverbs 29:4) or as another version puts it "The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it". There should be no room for stealing a little and and helping a little because the value system in Nigeria has reached as stage where even those of us who are not 'Politicians' have come to accept these greed as the norm.
When family members of one who has the opportunity of serving in a gorvermental post expect the individual to prove his job by living flamboyantly. If not done, the person is ridiculed as a fool who is not aware of the 'blessing' that has now come his way. An official post, one which should be that of servitude becomes that of oppression.
To change this notion we are to change our present belief of praying for Nigeria and watching to that of praying for Nigeria and working earnestly towards re-educating ourselves and those around us, to create awareness that moving from a stage where Nigerians only think of survival tactics to actually living can be achieved if we all considered for a moment: Bidden or Not Bidden God is Here.
Perhaps we can all not only know the right things but also do the right things.
