EFFECTS OF ALCOHOLISM

Health experts agree that alcohol do have effect on human beings ranging from headaches to heart failures and abnormal behaviours . It is true that alcohol can make people feel confident, less inhibited and more euphoric. This stimulant effect is the main motivating factor for the increasing popularity in alcohol consumption. Alcohol is credited for its notoriety in inducing depression, sleep disturbances and sometimes make people fall into coma thereby making the drug a dangerous depressant. Alcohol affects the liver, pancreas and the entire cardiovascular system with women at a greater risk. The sad aspect is that a woman who drinks passes on the effects to the unborn child. In Ghana there is ample evidence of broken relationships, disintegration of families and untimely deaths as a result of alcohol. Several lives have also been lost on the roads due to drink driving.

One can therefore comfortably conclude that alcohol presents a fatalistic prospect for the future and at best a pessimistic and deceitful bliss for its users. Unfortunately, Ghanaians on one hand condemn alcohol intake especially among children and at the same time demonstrate pictorially yet falsefully that alcohol is simply a sign of good living. The media continue to associate alcohol with beauty, success, love and worse of it all, an antidote to all sexual disorders with impunity. The National Media Commission, the Advertisers Association of Ghana, the Food and Drugs Board and other state agencies, which are supposed to correct this anomaly, look on helplessly. Are we by this admitting that the monetary gains in these adverts are more important than the potential dangers to society? The laws of Ghana make it criminal for anyone to send a minor to buy alcoholic beverages as well as sell alcohol yet this practice goes on day in day out across the country. May be the time has come for the state to take a second look at how alcohol is dignified in the country. Alcohol affects Ghanaian society everyday, yet the battle against drugs seems to be centred on only cocaine.

The question as to whether one drinks alcohol or not is immaterial since drinking has a trickle down effects on the entire society. This makes it mandatory for all to help wage a relentless war against alcoholism. Many are those who have never taken alcohol before yet have died from alcohol induced lorry accidents. Those who drink in the hope of forgetting their worries must remember that the same problems will resurface after sometime, with additional health hazards. Those who have conditioned their minds to remain alcoholics should stop blaming witches and other unseen spiritual powers as responsible for their actions. They must make conscious efforts to quit or start preparing their wills, if any, because alcohol is a hidden magnet that attracts its cohorts to the grave. A word to the wise is enough.
Courtesy: George Asekere gbcghana.com

WE STILL HAVE MARVELOUS PEOPLE AROUND

QUESTION one usually asks is: Are there still generous individuals among us in Ghana and the world as a whole? I will DARE today say we still have some individuals who are willing to offer the little help in whatever form they can. There are people who despite the economic hardships they are facing and the level of demand on them still have the "hearts" to cater for the less privileged in society by taking care of them in so many ways.
Some of them cloth, feed, school and sponsor them in a way that even billionaires are not willing to offer in any form.
I have enjoyed a MARVELOUS help from such a wonderful person, who despite the fact that he has so many things to cater for, STILL SACRIFICES and squeezes something for me to enable me pay my school fees. The person is equally a civil or public servant as you are, whose salary is nothing to write home about; but yet he/she is able to help. How many people have you helped so far? How many girls have you changed so far and how much have you spent on them in boutiques and hotels? How many times have you paid someone's fees in the school, whether in the senior high or tertiary institution?
Do you really think you are not there yet? When will it be?
In order to build the manpower needs of our country, we must try to empower individuals by training and educating them well, rather than partying with people on weekends and during social gatherings or birthdays. For any village or town to develop, it is the human resource base which ought to be tackled. That is why as individuals, we should endeavour to put in every effort at helping people who have the desire to further their education to any level. You can start today by doing something for someone who needs your assistance in paying his/her school fees and I tell you, you are going to see the extent of GRACE that will be your portion to carry/spill over.
Equally, if you are a beneficiary of any support from anywhere, be mindful of your obligation to say 'thank you,' and to work hard at achieving the purpose for which money and resources are being spent on you. Ingratitude is the bane of Ghanaians. We must appreciate whatever government, individuals, institutions or even our parents offer us and diligently work at paying back in one way or the other. Even our creator admonishes us to; so it is important to to go back and work harder than before in whatever form as much as possible.    
Whoever has helped someone before, I wish to say that you should keep it up. Whoever it is that is doubting as to why he/she should help someone, I say the returns are numerous. Whoever it is that has enough to eat and spillover and yet has not helped anyone in any good form, I wish to say you are losing benefits and protection. Whoever it is that is receiving help from people, remember you have a duty to be productive, appreciative, sincere, work hard and emulate the good things others are doing for you now. Remember others have been put in your hands to cater for them as you are being catered for now, so do not let the resources being poured on you now be in vain. Those who have been sponsored by others and they have been ungrateful, please it is not over yet. You can still help someone out there. Numerous people have been to you and you refused them help. Why? What happened? Have you forgot of where you came from? Have you no conscience that someone did sacrifice for you to make you who you are today? Then please mend the holes you have created for yourself.
I just hope that someone is touched upon reading this material and is feeling the guilt of not living up to expectations and will try as much as possible to rectify his/her shortfalls.
Thank you. 

CHRISTIANITY AND CHURCHIANITY IN GHANA: WHAT HAS BROUGHT ABOUT IT ALL?

Many were those who found joy worshipping their new found faith, throwing away and putting aside anything contrary to what they had learned, believed and practiced. Many were those who sacrificed their lives for the propagation of the word of God. They lived their lives building the church of God. Others lost their lives through the construction of God’s church. Many indeed are those who moved day and night, whether rain or shine to ‘catch men’ into the kingdom of God. Many are those who traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, being led by the spirit of God into our land some three hundred to four hundred years ago, to share the light of the Kingdom of God with those who knew nothing about it. Yes, many are those who had to learn our languages and took pain to try to translate the word of God for us to read and understand. Many are those who carved the stones to put up buildings as classrooms and encouraged people to learn a foreign language. Oh yes! Many are those whose souls are in great ‘ANGUISH’ for the church of today! My brothers and sisters, indeed again, many are those who preached the WORD of God without asking for water to drink or food to eat, because they had been filled with Heavenly food and water. Many are those who considered the word of God first, before any other thing.

But what are we seeing today? Is it Churchianity or Christianity that we are practicing? I am ashamed to ask this question, since I profess myself to be the ‘follower of Christ’ without living and exhibiting the examples of Christ.

This question is no where answerable by me, a mere JSS graduate, since it has been tackled by many learned and experienced people. But I am only attempting to pose some questions for our deliberations as we try to adjust to the happenings around us.

Who is to blame? Society or ‘Men of God?’

Majority of us people who fervently pray every now and then. Others hurriedly and briskly walk to church on Sundays to thank God for several reasons. Yes, we all go to church, but why the rampant and incessant  increase in crime rate, sexual immorality, alcohol abuse, pornography, lesbianism, gangsterism, hypocrisy, murder, jujuism, nepotism, sectarianism, jealousy, egoism, fraud, and hard-heartedness?

Churches are more than schools we have in Ghana at present. Preachers are more than preachers we had during the introduction of Christianity into our land.

Many are the ‘Prophets’ than during the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Many are really the communication media we have at the moment than the early preachers.

Many are those who have learned church history, Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology and so on and so forth. But why?

 Men of God

People who have the opportunity to speak and touch people’s hearts fail woefully due to the fact that they themselves have failed to follow the Commandments of God. How can a man of God tell his congregation to listen to him, accept what he is teaching and ignore his “IMMORAL LIFESTYLE?” Did any of the followers of Christ (apart from Judas Iscariot) speak about Him and lived a different lifestyle?

Christ is the light of the world, so therefore you being the follower of Him ought to have light in you, so that the past and dirty linen you used to wear would be replaced with new and you shall be a light unto others. So how come today, we are forced to ‘compete with men of God’ with our wives? How come we are forced to rival with them who preach to us that the Kingdom of God is at hand and for which reason we must refrain from doing evil? Aren’t they the ones who are supposed to live and lead a chaste life? Aren’t those who prepare the soup supposed to taste the soup before anyone else? How palatable is the soup that you want us to taste and yet you who have prepared it have refused to take it? Men of God must remember that they are the leaders of the flock and must therefore strive to live above reproach. It is a calling you are responding to, so it shouldn’t be a nine day wonder whereby you get in, swear an oath to the Creator of Heaven and Earth before His chosen men and women not to do ABCD and renege on your promise to uphold your integrity and the sanctity of the dwelling place of God.

 Church Elders and their Roles.

Just like how political leaders come into office and promise to serve the interest of their people and immediately after tasting power get corrupted, that is what has crept into the church now. People have now taken the church to be a ‘Bonafide’ property. Without them nothing works in the church. When they even flactulate, they expect others to take it as normal, but when the ordinary coughs, it is seen as disrespect. The way and manner in which activities are carried out in the church depicts that there is ‘selectivism’ in God’s church. Let the rich have a problem and you will see how it will be carried shoulders high, but when the ordinary man who rather needs help and publicity is in trouble, they behave as the ostriches do, hiding their heads and pretending not to see anything at all.

People go to church and are very eager to leave because something is awaiting elsewhere. Is it a mockery of God or what? He has given you six days in a week to live and do whatever you desire and recognize that the last day is His, so therefore you should relax and show unto Him your gratitude. But what do we see nowadays? During announcements, that is when we want everyone in the church to see the new things we have worn to church and our style of walking. You will see others leaving before the final blessing is said by the officiating priest.

What is in this world that we are chasing? Haven’t we learnt enough to guide us the rest of our lives? Haven’t we learned that we are only toiling on earth here for nothing? Haven’t we learnt that people who were laid with gold have had their tombs excavated for those ornaments? We have refused to learn. Those of us who go to church to show off what we have must start to rethink our behaviour. Those who go to church because they think others will enquire as to why they could not attend church must rethink their stance.

Those who do not take the Day of the Lord seriously must wise up. We are all guilty of this. Once you are the creation of God, please do remember that you are answerable to your Creator one day.

So the question is:

Are you a Churchian or a Christian?

Think about it.