GOD'S FAVOUR ON GHANA

Page 7: March 20, 2012 GHANAIANS belonging to all the Christian denominations at the weekend renewed their faith in God with prayers to climax the celebration of Ghana’s 55th independence anniversary. The beauty of the thanksgiving service lay in the massive attendance by the clergy, members of the Diplomatic Corps, traditional rulers and politicians across the divide. It only demonstrated the unity in diversity that other countries commend us for. God has been and continues to be good to us as a people and we, indeed, have to be grateful to Him for all His mercies. But we believe such show of religiosity by Ghanaians and our politicians in particular must be extended to the national discourse, for, as President J.E.A. Mills, said “... we must act in ways that are pleasing to God”. The Daily Graphic also agrees with the sermonist, Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah, the Chairman of the Pentecostal Council of Ghana, that Ghanaians must not take the current peace and stability in the country for granted. We must all continue to act our parts well. Oftentimes we take certain things for granted on the presumption that we will never go the path of conflict. We often presume that the insults, hate speech and abuse that characterise our political discourse will never lead the country along the path of failed states. We think learning to live in peace with one another and refraining from hate speech, insults and making false allegations against our political leaders are things that will help us bond together. It is regrettable that most of the people who indulge in these malicious campaigns belong to one faith or another. None of these religious denominations teach or promote violence or the peddling of falsehood or conflict. Our religious leaders also detest hate mongers. Such is the situation that even some of our religious leaders have refrained from commenting on the issues affecting the nation. The Daily Graphic believes that our commitment to religion should not be seen in the outward appearance and public show of religiosity. We must demonstrate our religiosity with acts that tell our neighbours that we are true believers of God. Being religious does not also mean that we should shun our civic responsibilities. No! The Electoral Commission will soon embark on the biometric voters registration exercise to prepare for this year’s general election and we call on Ghanaians to actively take part in the forthcoming exercise, so that on the election day God can use us to select the leaders He wants for Ghanaians. We cannot afford to take backstage, adopt the “I-don’t-care” attitude and expect to be called faithful children of God. It is through the power of the thumb that we will choose our leaders. We should not allow anyone to use foul means to get to power. Those we give our mandate to must be deserving of that honour to serve God and Ghana. This way, God’s favour on the nation will continue to glow.