Distractions In The House Of God.

The House of God or the church is a place of worship, and must be regarded as such. But you will all bear with me that in this modern world, there are so many distractions going on in the church. Worshiping God is supposed to be a solemn and sacred activity. There must be concentration on the part of the priest or pastor conducting the service, and also the congregation. Nowadays what do we see in church? People are seriously chatting whiles a sermon is being preached, they disturb others around them. Woe betides you if you draw their attention to the importance of their coming to the church, the way you will be looked at especially by the ladies who are chatting could even kill you. I sometimes wonder if they heard the sermon.

The advent of technology has also added to the distractions in the House of God. The number one device causing so much worry in our churches is the mobile phone. Most churches have pasted notices on the walls warning the members to switch off their phones before entering or put them on silent mode, but all these are ignored. It is very much embarrassing when during the sermon, a phone rings and the volume is like that of a ghetto blaster.

The owner does not even bother to switch it off but goes out and receives the call. Some of the members especially the youth choose to log unto facebook, twitter, google plus and the other social networking sites the moment they enter the church. They rather indulge in such an activity than listen to the word of God. My advice to those causing these distractions in the House of God is that, if you know you can not do without your mobile phone and also continue to talk during church service, then you better stay home.

I think churches should start installing devices that disrupt the network signals the moment you enter the building. Drastic action must be taken by embarrassing people whose phones ring during church services. All these distractions may be blocking some of the blessings that God wants to give to us. As for me, i do not take my phone to church. Whoever will call should have the patience and understanding to wait for those few hours i am dedicating to the worship of God. God is Holy, Scared, Loving etc etc, and therefore we must worship Him with all our mind s and hearts without any distractions, amen.

Osagyefo Doctor Kwame Nkrumah

Ghana Remembers You.

The Ballot Box.

Ghana has once again demonstrated to the whole world that, the African can manage his own affairs. Many were those who wished doom and destruction for the country as the 2012 general elections were approaching. The international media and our own domestic media houses were always predicting some level of chaos and violence once the time was getting closer to the election day. But due to the prayers and steadfastness of Ghanaians, and the security agencies nothing untoward happened on the election day. The election passed off peacefully and it was described by both foreign and domestic observers as free and fair despite the minor incidents that usually characterizes elections. Ghanaians were so eager to exercise their constitutional right to the extent that some of them went to form long queues the day before the elections. Those who could not endure the long wait had to resort to the use of stones, cooking utensils, sticks and other implements to denote their positions in the queues, so as to come back the next day and find themselves still in the queue. Some parents also asked their children to form the queues on their behalf. On the voting day, things went on smoothly despite the breakdown of some of the verification machines with some areas in the country having to vote the next day. All the parties agreed to this measure which was taken so as not to disenfranchise eligible voters. The various political parties had their polling agents stationed at all the polling centers and vigilance was the keyword. The various media houses were not left out as they had reporters all over the country to give updates on the situation at the various polling stations. Security was at its best, and i must commend all the security agencies for the professional manner in which they conducted themselves. There was some level of tension as the results were trickling in from the various collation centers into the Electoral Commission’s Strong Room for the Chairman to certify them. At one point a particular party was leading and its supporters were jubilating, at another point the tide turned and the other side also started jubilating. But when the final results were declared by the Electoral Commissioner, the looser was contesting the outcome and has decided to challenge some of the figures. Are Ghanaians willing and ready to continue electing their leaders from the Ballot Box? My answer would be in the affirmative as a result of what has been witnessed since the return to constitutional rule in 1992. To all those Members of Parliament who take their constituents for granted and wait till election time before they do something for them, the Ballot Box will determine your fate in the next four years, so you must hit the ground running. We have only one Ghana, let us maintain and preserve the peace that we are currently enjoying. Some branding for the country on Ghana being peaceful would help project the country, and i hope the authorities and civil societies would be reading this piece. God bless Ghana my homeland, amen.