THE PLACE OF LOVE IN NATION BUILDING (PART 5).

LOVE AS THE BASIS OF NATIONHOOD

In part 4 we discussed the law of sowing and reaping and the law of like attracts like. Before we conclude, let us consider a third law: -

The Law of Spiritual Gravitation: This Law ensures that the inner attitude of man determines his spiritual weight. So, the less pure a person is, the heavier he will become spiritually. On the other hand, the purer the human being is, the lighter it is spiritually. Such a soul strives for spiritual maturity and obeys the Laws of God joyfully. On earth, such a man will be blessed with true joy and happiness, and when he leaves the flesh, he rises high and higher in the beyond because of the lightness of his spirit. This will ultimately lead it to Paradise the abode of the blessed spirits who are saved from the danger of being destroyed along with the world.

In applying this law to nation building, one needs only mention that living in some countries today is like living in hellish conditions. Insecurity, wars, unrest, and crime is the order of the day. However, if we change the way we think speak and act and engage in only what is based on love in thought word and deed, then through the workings of this law our nation will be uplifted, and our environment will become lighter. We will then soar above the present dark and heavy environment of despair!

Conclusion:

It is generally accepted that men are better governed by the rule of law and not by the whim of individuals or institutions. We need to add that such laws that govern the people must be aligned with the Laws of our Creator mentioned earlier. This way the executive, legislature and judiciary will work in love and justice for the benefit of the nation and its people.

Love is the basis of nation building and the love we talk about here relates to the justice expressed in the laws of creation. The laws of creation promote joy, peace and happiness. They help in our development at the individual level, the family level and at the national level.

You will recall that we discussed our topic under three subheadings:

1.            The building blocks of a nation: - Here we noted our role as individuals. It is to keep our thoughts pure. We also said that the role of womanhood is to ennoble her environment and influence it for the good and that parents should shun the idea that they need to amass wealth for the sake of their children.

2.            Peace and development: - Under this sub-heading, we discussed the law of balance which ensures harmony, how we can work with the human word for peace and progress and that wealth is not for oppression but is to be utilized for development.

3.            Love as the basis of nationhood: - Here we spoke of the three laws of creation which are an expression of the Love and Justice of the Almighty and how these can be applied to nation building.

My wish is that we all resolve to live henceforth in accordance with these laws so that we can build a blessed nation that is pleasing to God.

THE PLACE OF LOVE IN NATION BUILDING (PART 4).

LOVE AS THE BASIS OF NATIONHOOD

Love is the fulfilment of all the laws and the laws promote upbuilding and development. Therefore, to build a nation, love which is tantamount to the laws of creation must be made the basis and the foundation for everything that is to be done! Now, how do we apply these laws? We must first know them. Before we examine these laws, let us give some thought to love. Love is to give of our self to another by voluntarily giving them respect, consideration and understanding. If we do this the other person will draw immense strength from it such that they can change for the better! This type of love at the individual and national level will result in peace and progressive upbuilding. Now to the laws which themselves bear love and justice: -

The Law of Sowing and Reaping: This Law stipulates that we will reap what we have sown unconditionally and in multiples. As this Law manifests in nature it also applies to our words thoughts and deeds. These are seeds which in the workings of Creation bring back to us fruits of a similar kind.

I have experienced it many times when I put on a smile and use kind words on reaching police check points that the policemen simply were nice in return. Even the harshest of civil servants have cooperated with me when I speak to them in love. I then get responses such as: “because of the way you spoke, I will assist you”. In the same vein a leader who expects the loyal following of his team needs to treat them with love and he will obtain their loyalty. Rigidity or the regular use of threats will result in forced obedience that can break down at any moment. Such a leader seats on a keg of gunpowder!

A nation will therefore be able to build itself by always acting with this law as basis so that peace and joy can reign.

The Law of like Attracts like: This Law maintains order in Creation. For the human spirit, there is an inherent ability to attract things just as a magnet will attract metals. This Law of Nature ensures that man will not attract all sorts of things to itself in a wild confusion. To maintain strict order, this Law ensures that only what is like the nature of the human spirit is attracted to it.

So, if as a nation we desire good leaders, let us change and become good people. After all it is from us that the leaders emerge. Through the operation of this law, we attract the leaders that are just like us.

Do you want to have dedicated and honest workers in your business? This law can help you! Start out by being a dedicated person, pay yourself a salary and do not dip your hands into your company account anyhow saying you are the company owner who can act anyhow. Come to work on time and be disciplined. You will discover to your happiness that those who will be attracted to your company will have the same attitude as you.

In the next  essay, which will be the concluding part, we will consider the law of spiritual gravitation and have a conclusion.

THE PLACE OF LOVE IN NATION BUILDING (PART 3).

WHERE LIES PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT?            

Peace will reign where we shun unhealthy rivalry and evil thoughts. This peace in turn creates the environment in which development occurs. Amongst other factors such as building sustainable national  institutions, three things that contribute to national peace and development are: 1. Observance of the law of balance; 2. The right use of the human word and 3. The right attitude to wealth.

i.                     The law of balance.

This law cannot be circumvented without repercussions. We find this law operating in the need to have balance between work and rest; between giving and taking; between breathing in and out and so on. With respect to nation building, we need to observe this law such that what is due to each one in the polity is given to them. The workers need to be adequately compensated for what they put in as their labor and contributions.  No part of the country must be made to feel that they are being cheated or taken advantage of. The non-observance of this law leads to nothing but agitations, unrest and instability whereas its observance guarantees harmony, peace and progress.

ii.                   The right use of the human word.

We have been told --“Let your communication be yea or nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil!” This statement means that useless talk leads to unrest and decline! Much talk and talkative leaders lead a people to misery!

We must therefore be careful how we use the God-given ability to form words. Politicians should avoid making empty promises which they do not intend to fulfil as this breeds disquiet in the polity. 

Communication between individuals is better done in love, avoiding hate-speech, mockery and harming our fellow countrymen. This is because in accordance with the laws of creation a type of speech can only bring about what is similar. Hate speech will breed hatred and suspicion while the use of words of peace and love brings peace and progress.

iii.                 The right attitude to wealth

The United Nations in 2015 put up a collection of 17 goals known as The Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). These are the goals that nations must meet in the years ahead. Let us mention the top 4 of these goals:

Goal 1: No Poverty

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being for People and

Goal 4: Quality Education

Nations need to make resources available to attain to these lofty goals. At national and individual levels, we need to consider wealth creation. This must be coupled with the right attitude. We should not seek wealth just so that we can become objects of envy to others or so that we can oppress.  Rather, wealth is to be used towards development and progress.

Money on its own is not evil, but the inordinate ambition to acquire it at all costs even at the detriment of others is what is evil. We should not make the acquisition of wealth the sole purpose of our lives forgetting that we must also spiritualise our endeavours. (a topic for another day!)

                                                                                                                                                                       

We need to be diligent at the individual and national levels so that we can work our way out of poverty, live decent lives and be able to provide necessary healthcare and quality education for our people. We should eschew the “get rich quick” mindset, embrace diligent work and direct all our thoughts, words and deeds towards all that is good so that we can reap progress and development as reward.

THE PLACE OF LOVE IN NATION BUILDING (PART 2).

The building blocks of a nation. 

Let us look at the various strata of society and their roles with regards to nation building: 

i. The role of everyone 

If you say for example that all Nigerian are corrupt. I will not argue with you. But if we must change this, then let that change start with me and you. If I change truly for the good, then most likely some of those around me who see the change in me will wish to emulate me and make a change and before you know it, we will be a good influence on our surroundings. 

But how is this change to be attained? We find help in the Grail Message which tells us that the foundation for the upbuilding of a new humanity, which we cannot and must not evade, rests in the one sentence: Keep the hearth of your thoughts pure! 

And it is with this that we must begin! That is our first task which will make us what we must become. If we fulfil this then we will receive the full measure of help that awaits us in Creation which leads us and our country upwards to peace and progress without interruption! 

ii. The role of the woman 

If we wish to build our nation to the honour of our Creator, then we need to understand the real role of the woman and tap into it. 

She is not just there for child bearing or making herself the domestic servant of her family. 

The woman is blessed by the Creator such that she can sense clearly the will of the Almighty and she can ennoble her environment by influencing her people to follow the will of God. Men will do all they can to be in good standing with the women in their lives be they their mother, wife, daughter or friend. Therefore, imagine if the women of this country resolve that they will shun any man who cannot explain the source of his wealth. This alone will have a great and positive effect in reducing the compulsion to corrupt practices in our land. 

The role of womanhood is to be priestesses of purity wherever they are. Let us look up to our women and girls in this regard and they too will change to what we see in them and we will thereby uplift our nation! 

iii. Children and parents 

Many say that they work for their children! They work so hard, make deals, and if they are in public office, resort to outright stealing so that they can provide for their children and grandchildren yet unborn! 

Let us free ourselves from this unnecessary burden. Once parents have taken care of the child to the point where the child can take care of his own physical body, then anything done beyond that is a gift because the child is really an independent individual who is just a guest of the parents who have implicitly agreed by their voluntary act of love to accept this loved one. 

It is not true love to make everything easy for children. True love will allow them independence as soon as they are mature. The children just like their parents have a lot to do to become mature spiritually and to be materially independent and each should be allowed to work their way upwards freely. This way we curb corruption and unrest in our nation. 

In the next essay we will treat the question of peace and development.

THE PLACE OF LOVE IN NATION BUILDING (PART 1)

A nation has been defined as a stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity, and a common culture. The concept of nation building means the efforts of newly independent countries notably the countries of Africa to transform their territories into viable nations. These new states are not nations ab initio but countries with many nations embedded! Nation building therefore becomes necessary because these countries had been carved out by colonial powers without regard to ethnic, religious, or other boundaries.

Nation-building includes the creation of national paraphernalia such as flags, anthems, national days, national stadiums, national airlines and national languages. At a deeper level, national identity needed to be deliberately constructed by molding different ethnic groups into a nation. This is essential because as said earlier, the colonialists usually brought many nations together to form a country. For example, Nigeria has been described as a country comprising many nations.

Most times these new countries or states are plagued by distrust among the member ethnic groups, conspiracy theories and destructive rivalry between the ethnic groups within the state. This sometimes resulted in their near-disintegration, such as the attempt by Biafra to secede from Nigeria between 1967 and 1970. In Asia, the division of British India into India and Pakistan was in part due to ethnic differences, which might have been aided by other factors like colonial mismanagement of the situation. The Rwandan genocide as well as the recurrent problems experienced by the Sudan can also be related to a lack of ethnic, religious, or racial cohesion within the state. To this day, the national question remains a topical issue in Nigeria.

Obviously, the task of forming states into nations is quite an onerous task. We shall in this series examine the task of nation building using the above topic which will be treated under the following three sub-headings:

1. The building blocks of a nation.
2. Where lies peace and development?
3. Love as the basis of nationhood.

The following essays will address the above-mentioned points. Enjoy…

THE ADAM AND EVE QUESTION

It was mentioned at a hearty Sunday family discussion that there are theories that the first humans came out of Africa. Why do we have paintings that depict Adam and Eve as whites despite this “out of Africa” theory? We humorously resolved that African visual artists and painters should wake up and correct this obvious anomaly!

A highly respected Pastor who was also Professor of Biology told us in church one Sunday that if he asked about the origin of the human race in church and you mention Darwin’s evolution theory you will score zero. You must say we came from Adam and Eve. But if he asked the same question in his Biology class and you say Adam and Eve you will score zero as the right answer will then be Darwin’s theory!

Nearly all who have studied Biology are convinced of the evolution theory. Many are however conflicted because their religious beliefs compel them to accept that the human race appeared at once as fully developed male Adam and female Eve. But seriously, can science and religion be reconciled especially in this case?

I say yes because it is my conviction that religion and science must consistently correspond in all simplicity and clarity for them to represent the Truth! The deficiency in the sciences of today is that scientists have tragically limited themselves exclusively to the material world. Also, religions at times propagate ideas which are not in accordance with the Natural Laws of Creation to which science already bows at least as regards what scientists can observe in the world of matter, the minutest part of Creation.

Perhaps we can understand how man came to this earth and unite religion and science if with our intuition we recognise first that everything on earth starts as a seed. Secondly, the body is different from the spirit of man. Man’s body is not the real man! Therefore, while the body issues from the materiality of this earth starting initially as a seed, then developing into simpler life forms until it reached a sufficient level of maturity, the real emergence of man on earth only occurred when the human spirit coming from above incarnated in the body after a long earthly preparation aforementioned which spanned millennia. This long earthly preparation of the physical body is what science refers to as evolution! What does science know about the human spirit that incarnated in the body? Nothing! Religion too has refused to accept that the human body had to first undergo a process of a necessary development before the human spirit can take it over.

Once we remove the obvious fanaticism of each side, we would have united science and religion in this case!

TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK.

We have read: ‘If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also'. What does this mean? 

The meaning of turning the other cheek is that we should endeavor not to react in a vengeful manner when we perceive that we have been wrongly treated by others.

All the actions that proceed from us must be out of love instead of an evil intent which includes taking revenge by taking some actions meant to harm the other person who has himself perpetrated a wrong against us.

In addition, it also means that we must forgive those who offend us. That is the way we ourselves can be free. If we do not forgive those who trespass against us our own sins too cannot be forgiven! Remember a portion of the Lord’s Prayer that says: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. If we forgive others, we will not intentionally harm them in retaliation. Acting in retaliation only heaps up a burden of guilt on us regardless of the temporary satisfaction that the vengeful act may bring.

Finally, all the foregoing does not mean that one should encourage others to treat one shabbily. That will be promoting evil and this is not the meaning of Christ’s Teaching. We should be fearless and face others with dignity and firmness. We should demand the same respect we voluntarily give to others and seek to be treated fairly but we should not ourselves commit a sin in that process.