“What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know but what we know but is not for sure” – Yogi Berra
It’s been awfully long since I posted an article on my favorite weblog but over the weekend I decided to imprint something that has been on my mind ever since I watched the interview with Pastor Chris Okotie on his presidential ambition on Silver Bird TV. What particularly struck me was his answer to the question regarding anchoring his pastoral role together with the presidential office. The answer he gave was quite smart but trust me, to look deeper into such answers: Before I do a quick analysis to the answer he gave I would like to intimate my fellow readers who did not watch the interview on an analogous representation of the question and answer alike.
Question: How possible was it for a pastor to run the position of a president?
Answer: A Christian has two functional roles; the priestly and the kingship position. Jesus Christ was a priest after the order of Melchizedech who was a king of Salem (a heathen nation) and a priest unto the Lord.
I am not a political buff so please take me as a straight shooter trying to analyze statements that require deeper view. Let me start by saying the whole concept of Kingship has been flawed; is God really interested in who becomes a political king? This is the question if answered perfectly would definitely brings us to the knowledge of truth that answers the veracity of such statement above. More often than not, the power God expects his sons to dispel are within them not without; whenever the sons try to acquire power without (without a processed within power) to solve human issues, a calamity is definitely in the offering.
It is definitely he that owns the key that owns the throne not the other way out. You may occupy the throne but if you don’t have the key, you are simply an effigy sitting on the throne. A lot of stories in the bible actually support this statement; a good example is Ahab the political king and Elijah the Tishbite. Elijah walked to King Ahab and rendered his political power useless by declaring a drought in the land. After showing King Ahab that the power he had within defines the way the polity goes, the king had to bow to Elijah. In reviewing this story which can be found in 1st King 17, it reminds me the prophetic role the church is expected to play in the political landscape in Nigeria- the ones that decide.
Stories from Joseph, Daniel, Jesus, Paul, etc simply reveal that it is those that have the power within that runs the show not those that have political power. But where does this come in as regard the statement that Pastor Okotie made; the kingship role does not necessarily mean political power because we are expected to look unto Jesus whose Kingship role is not political at all. The kingship role is the power within that a believer exercises in his/her immediate environment be it economical, political, geographical or social not necessarily a political status acquired through whatever means so I beg to differ with Pastor Okotie using the statement about the dual role of a Christian as the reason for running for presidency.
I strongly believe that statements like using the presidential office as a platform to show the light within may have been more appropriate than using the dual function of a Christian. Anyway, its just my opinion and I have no ills against the Pastor running for presidency, just trying to review and analyse the statement above. I would definitely be back to give you gist on why I am having a hard time posting as I usually do. Till I see you, why not meditate on the quote below;
“It’s no use walking anywhere to preach except our preaching is our walking” – St Francis of Acisi
Ciao.
