By Pastor Michael Kintu
This season surely came upon us like a thief in the night. Without any preparation, a lockdown and curfew were in place. Wow, what do you do and how do you adjust so quickly?
Well, this is a serious pandemic and we cannot afford the laxity of slow transition because it is a matter of life and death. I have learnt to give thanks for life and the little things we normally take for granted, like living in Africa where as it turns out things take longer to reach here.
The Bible encourages us to give thanks in all things and at all times. This, indeed, is one of those times. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV).
Leadership
I have learnt to appreciate the role of leadership in any community. As it turns out, it is more important than any state of the art health system you could find. Apostle Paul tells us to first and foremost pray for our leaders.
“Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence”
(1Timothy 2:1-2 (NKJV). I have watched with great admiration our president together with his army of advisors convince the nation of what must be done to keep all of us safe and moving forward as a nation. You will never truly see great leaders until times like these show up.
I am very sure there is going to be lots to learn, but this far we thank God for our decisive leaders. Let me also note that much of our past trauma dealing with HIV/AIDS, cholera and most recently Ebola (though sad because of the loss of lives) has turned out to help us prepare ground for such seasons.
Our health professionals have demonstrated a lot of courage and tact in dealing with the current situation in a way that we can only give thanks. I have also watched the leaders of businesses reach deep into their merger resources to give towards this cause.
One thing that has always been doubted is whether we can actually get to a place where we can take care of ourselves as a nation. Well, I think you need to closely follow what is happening as the government gives out food supplies from house to house. This is something worth looking into.
I personally think this is one of the highlights of this season. We cannot all be gifted equally yet everyone is important in society. We, therefore, must learn to take care of each other and for each one to bring out their best for the common good.
This is, indeed, the place where Kingdom governance clearly trumps democracy and its famous cousin called capitalism. Anyways this is a discussion for another day.
Time to rest
Well, the lockdown is here. It is kind of a time of forced rest, solitude and reflection. Many people I have talked to actually wish we can have a lockdown once every year.
I have watched in amazement how communities took to outdoors working out every evening till it was banned; I have watched how people trek great distances to get basic supplies and yet without complaining.
My question is “are we missing something here?” The scripture actually says God created man upright, but he has gone after his own schemes (Ecclesiastes 7:29). This lockdown gave us weeks of literally no cars on the roads, no traffic jams and very quiet nights. It really felt like living in jungle Africa again.
Prayer
My prayer is we will not just jump back into the madness after the lockdown. I pray we can begin to be very intentional about life and especially community living as a way of resilience to future threats. Of course one will ask: Is Coronavirus a judgment from God?
Is it because we have sinned that God is punishing us? I would like to deal with this in our next post. In the meantime, take care, stay at home and stay safe. Find a way to be a blessing to your community in both small and big ways. Let us pray for our nation.
Blessings!
