Christmas is About Living the Life of Christ.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to wish every one of you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2019 in advance. I want to also use this opportunity to thank my friends and family members who made my stay in Nigeria and back to the US one of a memorable experience.  

As we celebrate Christmas, let's strive to be Christ-like in all that we do. As a country and as a people, we worship God or Allah more than any country or group of people on earth, but we know who we are as a people, as a society, and as a nation-state. 

There is no denying the facts that there is a total disconnect between the Holy Books and Nigerian reality, our existence, and lifestyle as believers and teachers of the faiths.

Time was when it was all about the gospel, the teaching, and of faith, atonement and repentance of sin. Yes, it was about the healing and forgiveness of sin - "your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Today, at Churches, at home, offices and political gathering, we devote so much quality time and energy invoking Holy Ghost Fire and wishing death and destruction upon our imaginary enemies and political opponents. In the end, so little quality time is spent on perfecting the gospel and the teaching of love, tolerance, peaceful co-existence, and empowerment.

Who is teaching about acceptance, tolerance, and dignity? What about "love their neighbor" or "thou shall not steal or convert their neighbor's goods?" What happened to "being their Brother's Keeper?" 

We display superficial love, professing bogus piety in the social media. Inwardly, we are a ravenous wolf. 

As a people, we are born great and honorably inclined. But when called to serve, we promote and champion avarice, dispensing with honor and dignity.

Call this soul searching; I really don't know the answer, but what I do know is that Jesus Christ would definitely have indicted Nigerians of apostasy and perversion of the gospel long ago. 

There is no doubt, there is more to living the message than in preaching it. It’s about you and your conscience, expressed in your actions and pronouncements. 

But fear ye no Satanic or demonic forces. For it is written: "when a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies be at peace with him." Yes, it's more than being born again. It is about remembering to be Godly, living the life of Christ and what he represents. 

Remember, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's." That's the first step towards redeeming the image of God in us and reinventing our society and governmental institutions/constituted authorities.

Therefore, "do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in the power of your hand to do so." And "do not strife with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm." That, indeed, is the beginning of wisdom and enduring legacy.

I am not perfect and do not lay claim to perfection. To those I have wronged, in my commentaries or pronouncements, in what I have done or failed to do, I ask for forgiveness.

Once again, Merry Christmas everybody.

 Alex Ehimhatie-Aiyo Aidaghese