It’s another Easter Day, a day primarily recognized by Christians, but like Christmas, now kind of widespread. For some, Easter is synonymous with eggs and the Easter Bunny (quite a link!) For some others, it is a celebration of the cornerstone of Christianity. On this Easter Day, I want to talk about something not necessarily linked to Easter, but affecting a good number of professed Christians.
Yesterday, as part of activities marking “Good Saturday”, I attended a 6am prayer meeting at my church. Dispersing a little after 7am, we were expected to return by 9am for evangelism. On getting to my lodge, my neighbour, with sanitation mode activated, asked me to sweep the surroundings while she handled other areas. Instead of sweeping, I began typing an article and also got engrossed in mobile chatting. Around 8.30am, when she reminded me to sweep, I offered an escape proposition to sweep when I returned from church. In annoyance, she did the sweeping herself.
As I walked to church, I reflected on what had just transpired. My actions had painted a picture of “churchy-ness” at the expense of social responsibility. Since going to church was important to me, I should have used the time I had to contribute to the lodge’s general hygiene instead of whiling away the time via chatting. The article could have been typed whenever I returned from church. The problem wasn’t the church; it was poor handling of time and responsibility.
The issue described above is quite minor compared to what commonly obtains in some places. Several persons in different organisations can point to at least one “Christian” who could benefit from handling social (and work) responsibilities with the same vigour he/she handles church matters. For a good number of Christians, church engagements occupy the first hundred spots in their priority list; every other thing takes the unimportant backseat. In a way, this negligent behaviour is plain laziness symptomized as dismal time management.
When Jesus said we are the light of the world, he meant we are supposed to show the world a better way of doing things. If it’s morality, we should be the standard. If it’s efficiency, we should be the standard. The moment we become icons of laziness and poor productivity, our bad works then bring the antithesis of glory to God. Meaningless excuses and procrastination should not be the hallmark of a Christian. It’s contrary to our DNA, except a negligent culture has mutated the spiritual genes. If you have to be in church at a certain time, plan your day so that other activities don’t suffer.
Let me end with Paul’s words in Romans 12:11— “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord”. Serving God is not mutually exclusive with diligence in other areas of life. We should not become so “heaven-focused” that we become “earthly useless”. As for me, I have learnt from my indiscretion. The Church should never be an excuse for failing in my responsibilities.
Happy Easter!
Jilomes 
Na so o. The physical earth belongs to us too
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