WHERE IS COLLABORATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND THE CHURCH?

Sir,

I have heard and also read, many times, that it takes 20 per cent of society believing anything to influence, even lead the other 80 per cent in a given direction.
As Christians we go beyond this, we say our faith, lived out, will influence a society toward good. When we pray we are quite sincere and fervent yet looking at the picture today in peaceful Eswatini, it doesn’t seem like anyone is leading anyone in any good direction – regression is more evident.

We are unanimous in the thinking that this is a very small country with the best conditions any leader can ever hope for (on the softer side), one language, one tribe, everyone related to the next person, so on and so forth.  If we were to be democratised, it is very conceivable that the parties would work very well together because you would find uncles and nieces, cousins, brothers and sisters, parents and children, friends etc, all comparing notes across the floor and working out issues for the good of the country.

Nevertheless, back to the point at hand, a healthy society looks objectively on crime, safety on the streets, police enforcement and the justice and penal system.  It looks at healthcare, hospitals, emergency care, contagious diseases, infant mortality rate, drug and alcohol abuse and the distribution of care-givers. It reviews education, quality of schools, safety and graduation statistics.  Jobs, housing, transport and general economics are evaluated with a view to correctly addressing anomalies.

Eswatini is supposed to be a Christian country yet in recent years the crime, the decrepit social system, the diseases, the economic discrepancies, the radical injustice all disqualify this country from having an adequate quality of life. 

In the early days Christians thought and acted in ways that influenced the communities and nations in which they lived. Much of that influence was positive, affecting things like development of public education, workers’ rights, economic development, help for the victimised and disenfranchised.  This kind of influence is lacking in Christian life today. What is not happening in the church today that used to happen back then?

Martin Luther is noted as having said a gospel that does not deal with the issues of the day is not the gospel at all. During those days there was great collaboration between government and the church.  This interdependence should be revived if Eswatini is to get back on her feet. There is a call from certain quarters to tax the church and the reason for this is because apparently the church is doing well. Right there is the solution for government, what is the church doing right? Anyone can answer who can figure this one out but of course this is not the only solution but can be part of many options that need to be explored.

P W Mbabane

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: