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They have corrupted themselves,

Their spot is not the spot of his children:

They are a perverse and crooked generation.”

— Deutronomy 32:5

Then Jesus answered and said,

O faithless and perverse generation …. Matthew 17:17

By Chukwudi Abiandu

With the way things are happening in the area of governance around the world, specifically with the activities of politicians, it is an open secret that politicians of present day hue are not properly aligned. They are twisted specie of human beings. This is obvious in their thoughts, words and deeds. In every space it is difficult to find a politician who is not sharply bent or curved in more than one place. That is why a politician leading a nation is at home with declaring war, and allowing innocent souls to be killed and not have regrets. Same is applicable to religious leaders who will indoctrinate followers to kill fellow human beings in the name of not being adherents of their faiths. For some religious leaders, who also double as political leaders  they want to export to other countries their religious beliefs and forcefully get the people in countries they now reside to imbibe their faith narrations. They plan all manner of schemes clearly designed to deceive people and achieve their objectives. Of course, persons who are not sensitive to the sweet and cheap talks get swayed and bought over to become adherents. Before long such persons are indoctrinated and they become fundamentalists, emerging as suicide bombers, arsonists, kidnappers, haters of those who don’t believe in their faith philosophy and killing fellow human beings.

Some Politicians who lead countries as heads of government become power drunk and engage ruse for deceiving their countrymen and leading the military into war. It is incomprehensible what will make a President Putin of the Republic of Russia to decide that the best approach to get even with the people of Ukrain is to declare war and attack that country without giving thoughts to the inherent repercussion and danger of losing innocent lives, destroying properties and belongings; and causing social dislocations in both countries. Sometimes, it becomes inevitable to ask: what is Putin seeking for that will make him lose conscience about the implication of the war he is declaring? How long will he and other war mongering politicians and leaders live on this earth that the Bible declares as the Lords and the fullness thereof? It is also important to ask if they have ever given thought to the fact of the existence of a supernatural force that created the world and human lives, animals and plants and therefore rules in the affairs of man? This supernatural force is who the Holy Bible calls the Almighty God. This God has put in place His rules to guide mankind in their journey through life on earth, pending when Jesus returns to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. And one of God’s cardinal commandments is “Thou shall not kill”. Yet, by their actions, utterances and deeds, these politicians want to play God. They become strongly opposed God’s words and ways of God. They engage in trying to justify obvious irrational behaviours by putting out distorted and unacceptable narrations

The Bible informed that when God created man, “Male and female created He them (Genesis 1:27). But what happened in the United States of America, a nation which its founding fathers established on the precepts of the Bible, but whose new generation political rulers chose to steer away from. In the time of the politicians of the Democratic Party, they come up with a warped sense; they began the transgender narrative. Thus, they became perverted and making persons with a particular gender seek a sex identity different from the sex that God Almighty assigned to them at birth. These politicians started instigating story lines in the name of human rights to allow transgender people to transition through medical assistance from one sex to another. The protagonists of this evil tale have by their distorted mindsets think that God, the creator of mankind can make mistakes.

They need to be told that God, the creator of heaven and earth is a perfect God who does not make mistakes and that whatever He does is for a purpose. Same way it should be understood that every male and female that God created is for a purpose. In Jeremiah 1:5, the Bible records that God told Prophet Jeremiah, saying: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (KJV). It becomes clearer in the Amplified Bible, thus: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you (and approved of you as My chosen instrument), And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” The point of God not making mistakes about his creature is also exemplified in Exodus 33:12: “And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name (Emphasis mine), and consider that this nation is thy people.” Also in Isaiah 49:1 “And now saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him.” Verse 7 of that scripture also states: “Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy one, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhoreth, to a servant of rulers. Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy one of Israel, and he shall choose thee.” Romans 8:29, says: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren.”

The common denominator in the above scripture verses is that everyone born of a woman was already known by God and assigned not just a gender but a purpose to be fulfilled on earth for God. This is why the transgender narrative and the argument of so-called human rightists to justify the plot is preposterous, a negation of the persona and will of God who knows why he created and gave an earthly purpose to every human being he created to fulfill for him on earth.

It was no surprise, therefore, that the body of Christ in the United State rose in prayers to God to support the emergence of President Donald Trump at his second coming to lead America. A nation that politicians of the Democratic Party had pushed aside the Christian values put in place by the founding fathers. Unfortunately, the current shade of politicians began to introduce despicable policies of transgender, stoppage of praying in schools and embracing cultures that are opposed to the values that drew America to God for which God loved America, causing the country to earn the sobriquet, God’s own country. Those political leaders told obvious lies and tried to rationalize them. But observant Americans, with the Spirit of God in them, rose in defence of the cherished values, went spiritual, prayed earnestly and God heard them.

It was therefore no surprise that among the policies of the Democrats that was reversed on assumption of office for second term by President Donald Trump was the obnoxious transgender policy. Restoring sanity back in America, President Trump signed Executive Orders proclaiming that the U.S. Government will reognise only two sexes, male and female. By that he ended “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in federal agencies in America. In other words, in America today, like the days of the founding fathers, there are only two genders recognized, male and female. The resounding ovation received by the president following his policing change announcement underscored the general acceptance of the policy change by Americans in the hall that was packed full with the nodding and grateful male and female audience.

Now what about Nigeria, where political gymnastics by wayward political leaders has turned back the hand of the clock and reversed the progress of the nation, and established backwardness, insecurity, banditry, terrorism, destruction of farmlands and produce, opening of Nigerian borders to non indigenes of the Fulani tribe from the Sahel to come in kill, rape women, sack indigenous Nigerians from their ancestral lands and take over their lands and rename them. The last 10 years has been one of nightmare for Nigerians as politicians introduce and engage all manner of morally unacceptable ideas in desperation to remain in power. To achieve this, decency was thrown to the dogs, deviating from known democratic norms and throwing the nation’s grundnorm, the 1999 Constitution as amended aside and doing their own things in a contemptible manner. The All Progressives Congress, the party in power has thus set the hand of progress of the Nigerian nation back using the instruments of high tech corruption, subjugation of the people, buying over the legislature and the Judiciary as accomplices in President Bola Tinubu’s journey to pocket and silence the nation and brood no opposition.

Anyone that seeks to define perversion, crookedness and wickedness should visit Nigeria and see it on full display by the activities of politicians who run the government. Let it be emphasized that the art of bad governance is not limited to the activities of the APC-led Federal Government, but also other political parties that are running governments at the state and local government levels. They are corruption laden, unscrupulous and deceitful. A thorough check on their modus operandi will underscore the prevalence of discrimination against Nigerian voters and the elevation of nepotism, cronyism and partisan political consideration above fairness, equity and justice.

But why are these things so? Why do politicians involved in doing vile and loathsome things across the nations? It is because they don’t know God and therefore bereft of His Spirit. Erik Jones, a full-time writer and editor at the Life & Truth offices in Mckinney, Texas in his article entitled: “Politics seem to be getting more divisive and ruthless. Are the practices we see in politics compatible with Christianity? Do they hold spiritual dangers for Christians? He wrote: “The sad reality is that American politics is filled with what the Bible calls carnality. The carnal mind is described as “enmity against God” and “not subject to the law of God” (Romans 8:7). Essentially, carnality is living and conducting oneself outside of God’s influence.” Although Eric Jones may have spoken about the carnal nature of the American politician, but his view fits the entire world of politics, especially Nigeria. An example in Nigeria was a video that went viral. It showed a politician, announcing that he is a Christian but that he is not born again. His claim not to be born again easily identified him as not being a Christian. He may have been born into a family where the parents go to church and pray to the Christian God, but it must be made clear that being born into that family does not easily confer on such a person the status of a Christian.

For instance, the Bible records that to become a child of God is to accept and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour. John 1: 12 states: “As many as received Him He has given the right to become the sons of God.” Thus, to receive Christ into one’s life is at the very core of salvation. It is the point where one decides to repent of one’s sins, by shedding one’s corruptible nature for incorruption and become God’s righteousness in Christ Jesus. It is the point where one is ready to acknowledge the rules and standards of Jesus Christ and adopt such as way of living. Jesus Christ said to Nicodemus that he must be born again John 3:3. In other words, you must repent of your sins and become saved. Indeed, Romans 10: 9 shows what to do to be saved: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s therefore clear that it’s not enough to be born into a supposed Christian family, the individual has a responsibility to consciously make the move to receive Christ into his or her life. So for the politician, who said he was from a Christian family but that he will not be born again, knows who he is and what he is doing. He is in the kingdom of the devil where he is an apostle and doing the wicked bidding of Satan.

Of course, this is the context in which politicians across the world operate. They exhibit unbridled carnality, no spirituality. They are not subject to the laws of God for it means nothing to them, and God has no influence on them. That is why what they do in the name of ruling as governments belong to the rule of man, which is totally deficient of God, inhuman, vicious, insensitive, unfeeling and merciless. It is the reason that the policies and programmes of politicians lack compassion and cause excessive suffering for the people. The situation in Nigeria is a typical example.

Nigeria’s example of acts of the unrighteous politician

The Nigerian politician does not walk in the fear of God. That’s why they lack the grace of God to do the right things as they run their governments (Psalm 24: 1-5). They are engaged in too much of deception, selfish, self-centred and satanic influence. They make the unsuspecting voters to believe the lies and deception they conjure making the people to believe things that are not true because they don’t ever mean to do those things. It has been said by keen observers that the present crop of politicians lack integrity, a reason that lying is something that seems to be part and parcel of running for political office. Erik Jones once stated: “Even when candidates don’t directly lie, they often allow their subordinates and supporters to spread untruths for them.”

And the reason for this is that they are possessed with unclean spirits. And the reason is not far-fetched; they are clothed with filthy garments. That is why they engage in unclean conducts through the instrumentality of unclean spirits. That is why the Nigerian politician sees and does that which is dirty and corrupt as normal; doing things not acceptable to God because they lack access to godly revelation.

Stating categorically that lying is a sin, Pastor Myers wrote: “But is lying sometimes morally right? No! While there may be many human justifications for lying, it is always wrong and always harmful. First lying is contrary to the basic character of God. The apostle Paul stated that an essential trait of the Creator God is that He always tells the truth – He cannot lie (Titus 1: 2).

It must be understood that the Nigerian politician is a victim of seducing spirit and doctrine of devils and the spirit of the world. The spirit of the world is characterized by the lust of the flesh. 1Corinthians 2: 12 says: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” 1John 2 : 16 says: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world.” That is why rather than talk about issues that will benefit the people, what matters in the national and state law making arms of Nigerian governments are sexual harassment talks, the buying of expensive cars and jeeps and astronomical allowances. Matters about hunger in the land, insecurity, high cost of food items don’t catch the fancy of the “distinguished and honourable” lawmakers: Of course, the word of God speaks about this in Romans 7: 5 “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”

Going by what right thinking Nigerians are observing about the Nigerian politician, especially when the Bible states clearly that by their fruits you shall know them (Matthew 7:16), it’s obvious that Nigerian politicians have no fear of God not to talk of serving Him. They serve mammon; they do all sorts of things for money, power and influence. They have inordinate lust for money, thus opening themselves up for all manner of corrupt tendencies. Needless to say that they don’t see themselves as being wrong before God, especially when they receive encomiums and support from equally fallible supporters and their attack dogs who egg them on even in the wicked things they do and are complicit of.

It should be said that politicians transgress the commandments of God and operate their own way for selfish reasons, leaving no compassion for the people and what concerns them. They thus lack integrity, fairness and justice. Yet, God is a God of justice, who has said “Be sure not to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent (Exodus 23 :7 NLT). God also weighs the actions of men. In 1Samuel 2: 3 God said: “Talk no more so exceedingly proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: For the LORD is a God of knowledge. And by him actions are weighed.”

Check out the Nigerian judiciary these days and see how judges dispense justice. They turn truth upside down and hand down judgments that are inexplicably irrational; judgments that diverge sharply from acceptable standards.

Of course, some politicians and judges pretend that they are Christians and they go to church, yet Jesus Christ was referring to them when in response to the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 15 : 3-9.  Verse 3 “He answered and said to them, why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? In verse 6 Jesus told them point blank: “Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well, did Isaiah prophesy about you saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honour Me their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. See also Isaiah 29 : 13).

Indeed, for the Nigerian politician, he is never mindful of the things of God. They lack conscience. The Spirit of God is not at work in them; they are only mindful of their vanity. They tell lies with reckless abandon during campaigns, promising to do things which they know they will never be able to do. Check out the governors, in Nigeria no sooner are they in power and in office, the first thing they do is indulge in self satisfaction. Huge sums of money they take from the treasury to buy choice, exotic and expensive vehicles to ride in. But the people that voted them in rather than help to provide them with public transport vehicles that will charge reduced transport fares for citizens, it doesn’t catch their fancy. Instead, they begin to rationalize, bringing dubious business theories that “transportation is for the private sector.” If transportation is for the private sector to operate, why do they not allow the private sector transport operators to provide them with car hire services, instead of buying expensive cars with which they show off, deceive and cheat the people?

It’s important to draw the attention of politicians to the need for them to change their ways and tactics. They need to drop from their high horse of vanity and  return from their ways of unrighteous living and lifestyle; they need to back off from sensual living and embrace a lifestyle that is characterized by godly wisdom and the fear of God. Nigerian politicians need to renew their minds. God is saying in Romans 12: 2 “And be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

Of course, we must all be reminded that we are here on earth on a journey at the end of which each and every one of us shall depart back to the one who brought us to the world to answer to Him about our stewardship while on earth. The Bible, the Word of God exemplifies the futility of unbridled worldly cravings, especially when they come at the cost of spiritual well-being and eternal life. Mark 8: 36 remind us: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Yet, the will of God for mankind is that no one should perish but have everlasting life to be enjoyed in eternity with Jesus Christ in His kingdom.

Let our politicians cultivate the habit and consciousness of engaging in righteous living of Godly fear in the performance of their duties.

• Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Jesus is Lord Christian Magazine as Cover story.