By Paul Ejime
As the World’s two major religions end their respective Holy Seasons this year – Ramadan followed by Eid al-Fitr and Lent with Easter, the lesson should not be lost on adherents and those who profess other faiths that humanity is and should be *ONE, UNITED, *TOLERANT, PEACEFUL and A LOVING ENTITY, WITH HUMANS CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER!*
Indeed, no religion should preach or thrive on division, intolerance or hatred, let alone the perpetration of evil against adherents of other faiths.
However, despite all the good intentions and preachment to the contrary, humans are innately selfish and adversarial by nature. In fact, the Scripture, in Jeremiah 17:9, is unapologetic: “The heart (of man or woman) is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
It is only by Divine Grace and Mercy that humans co-exist.
This probably explains why individuals relentlessly plot against one another; couples and siblings, friends and colleagues bicker, while nations wage senseless wars and literally “fight to the death” over earthly possessions, which, in the end, are inanities and vanity.
Violent extremism has taken a choke-hold on individuals, groups and nations, surprisingly, spread even by leaders and religious clerics, who should know better.
The family foundation has collapsed, and moral values have eroded.
Society now worships perversion, and abnormalities are normalised. It is now a crime to pursue the truth and speak against vices. If you cannot beat them, you must join them, or they will come at you.
Some take it upon themselves to “fight” for God, or to “help” God, as if there is any mortal who knows how they came to this World or when God will call time for them.
The human rat race can be interesting, intense and yet incomprehensible, even to those who make a career out of it, but can never determine how the race ends. Still, the race goes on!
The one who robs or kills another because of earthly possession is not sure of the next second of his/her life on earth. Those who thought they had acquired “everything” yesterday are gone, yet others are still acquiring or many are making plans to acquire even more.
The irony is that most of the acquisitions are hardly needed. A Mansion or Villa owner only sleeps in a small corner of a king-size bed in a room, no matter how large or spacious. No one sleeps in two or more rooms at the same time.
The owner of a fleet of vehicles can only ride on one at any given time and spends a huge sum to maintain the stationary ones in the garage.
The seats in a private jet are very comfortable, but no matter how long the owner stays in the air, he/she must surely come down.
It was for this reason that the fearless Macedonian King, Alexander the Great, on his deathbed, summoned his generals and made three startling wishes:
The best medical doctors should carry his coffin to demonstrate that when death calls, even the best physicians in the world have no power to heal.
The road of his funeral procession should be lined with his treasure to show that material wealth acquired on earth stays on earth, and
His two hands should swing in the wind, for people to understand that “we come to this world empty-handed and we leave empty.”
What then is the essence, meaning or purpose of life?
Life is about the relationships we build and nurture, the positive impact we make on others, like putting smiles on their faces, the help we render to transform lives, the quality time we spend with others, denying self to assist others, the happiness we radiate, and the love we share, to make the World a better place!
A candle that lights another can only increase the brightness/illumination.
The Zulu and Xhosa of South Africa aptly summarise this humanist philosophy in Ubuntu – I am because we are!
God made humans to be interdependent. No individual, group or nation, no matter how powerful or endowed, can undertake a life journey alone. We all need each other, and we must therefore unite, share, help, love, and collaborate for a better family, society, nation, and World!
Happy Easter and Happy Eid al-Fitr to everyone!
(*Ejime is a Global Affairs Analyst and Consultant on Governance Communication*)