Except XXXI from Moral Goodness In Our Lifetime, By Pastor Ajayi James B. C.
2.3.1, THE COST OF GOVERNANCE:
The basic and simplest definition of government is “the control and administration of public affairs.” The need for government came from the concept of a community arising from human needs.No one human being is self-sufficient;he lacks one thing or the other which another person has, be it personal aptitude or natural resources in his place of abode.
The most fundamental human needs are food, water, shelter, good health and clothes to cover his nakedness. If these needs were enough for the first generation of Adam and Eve after the Great Flood who numbered just eight persons, they certainly cannot be adequate for today’s generation of over eight billion people scattered over an earth space of twenty-five thousand square miles.
The need, therefore to pull our varied human and natural resources together so as to provide access to all for equitable exchange and sharing is the essence of government.
A community of related persons is called a people, a collection of homogeneous communities is called a state, and a collection of heterogeneous communities inhabiting the earth forms the “United Nations.”
The mode of exchange and sharing of these resources vis-a-vis the rate of exchange, what can and should be shared as well as how much should be left to maintain the instruments of exchange and sharing necessitate an administering body called “The Government.” Politics is the science of governance, but for the ignorant and evil -minded, it is an easy short-cut to power and ungodly enrichment. Politics is one of the most difficult and most costly of all human careers, but one of the most noble.
A central ingredient of politics is the acquisition of power over the lives and properties of others. This potent factor of politics makes it very difficult to handle. Power is a value that majority of human beings cherish and desire, but the minority cannot rule successfully , except by force, without the consent of the majority. However, a majority ruling directly and executively without consultation with the minority of people is unmanageable and undesirable. This dilemma brought this poser from Lenin before the Russian Revolution: “Who Whom?” In other words, who are going to be the master of all actions and who are going to be the receivers of those actions?
In 1932, the German protesters sang a song the lyrics of which were ,” We want to be hammers, not anvils”. Competition for the position of hammers will remain a do-or-die affair in any society where moral goodness is lacking.In a society where the majority of people prefer to join the multitude to do evil, instead of opposing and refraining from such practices, the masses will remain anvils and puns under cruel slave masters and military taskmasters.Whenever and wherever governance is………….(TO BE CONTINUED IN EXCERPT THIRTY-TWO)
LEGENDARY QUOTE: “ALMIGHTY GOD, WE MAKE OUR EARNEST PRAYER THAT THOU WILL KEEP THE UNITED STATES UNDER THY PROTECTION, THAT THOU WILL INCLINE THE HEARTS OF THE CITIZENS TO CULTIVATE A SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE TO GOVERNMENT, TO ENTERTAIN A BROTHERLY AFFECTION FOR ONE ANOTHER AND FOR THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES AT LARGE.” – GEORGE WASHINGTON (FORMER USA PRESIDENT)
NOW, REPEAT THE ABOVE PRAYERS FOR NIGERIA AND YOU WILL SHARE IN HER GOODNESS TOO. – THE AUTHOR OF MORAL GOODNESS IN
OUR LIFE-TIME BOOK.
