[Opinion] The governance of Ghana : The place of Christian prophecy

According to the French Political Philosopher, Jean Jacque Rousseau, “man is basically free but always in chains”.
Victor Hugo pushes the philosophical discourse or puzzle further, saying, “Where one man’s freedom ends, there another man’s freedom begins”, which shows that individual liberty is not absolute and must be balanced with the rights and freedom of others.

Again,If one should put these concept together, it brings to the limelight the two basic political philosophical facts: the first is, when men were free and lived their lives in a way that suited them without any kind of restrictions whiles the second brings to mind the point in time where each person who initially lived freely and did whatever he or she wanted gave up the individual rights freely to one particular person to lead and instruct the entire Society, with each and everyone living a moderate and considerate life that respected the collective goal of the Society, doing away with self-centredness like it happened initially.

That’s the genesis of governance, which has been built upon from the ancient experience of the ancient political life and rich experiences of the Roman Empire, not forgetting the later influences of the French thinker, Montesquieu propounding the three arms of governance for us: the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary.

The Sociologist, Idohu and the famous Ghanaian African Philosopher, Kwame Gyekye says, “The African man is radically religious.” He has a conscious sense of awareness of the Sacred and so submit to a Supreme Being through an intermediary or a mediator to satisfy his or her religious desire and this happens consciously or unconsciously in all aspects of his or her life and daily activities due to the beliefs kept.

And to the Christian(like the other religious groups), this finds itself in politics and governance.

However, the faith must be prudently woven into politics to form good decisions in governance and not threaten the peace and stability of the entire nation, after all, not all are christians and to those who are christians, when prophecy is abused, misinterpreted and not handled well, could cause more harm than the intended good for which is revealed and guided by Christian morals and political ethics.

THE CONCEPT OF PROPHECY IN THE SCRIPTURE

God, in demonstrating His Divine Presence to man, gave His people prophets purposely to serve as emissaries, mouthpiece of God that reminded His people the covenant God had with His people, communicating the mind of God from time to time, be it present or futuristic, good news or bad news.

Sometimes a caution to call His people to true repentance in order not to incur the wrath of God like it happened to Nineveh by the prophet Jonah.(Jonah 3:1-4)

THE PROPHET AS AN INTERCESSOR OF THE NATION

In the case of Abraham, when God through the three Divine Persons revealed to him of going to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy the nation for their atrocities, Abraham interceded that God may have mercy on them and spare them.

Sometimes, a Prophet does not only bargain with God but intercept it, “For God reveals in order to redeem”.(II Cor 2:10)
It’s only in rare circumstance, God does not change His mind.

As humans, there is always the tendency to be like Jonah who wanted to score a mark as a prove that, he is a true prophet after the prophecy has been fulfilled, when is meant for their conversion.
Such prophets in Scripture would say:”Lord, You have seduced me and I have allowed myself to be seduced”(Jer 20:7)
It was like, Lord, you have disappointed me and I have allowed myself so!

SOME HARD SPIRITUAL TRUTH ABOUT THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY:

1.It is interesting to know that, sometimes, not everything that God reveals to the Prophet is meant for the nation, when He says look!
One needs divine order before he can break the news, which is the mind of God.

2. When permitted to do so, must know the appropriate timing and the appropriate way to communicate it.
When God revealed to Nathan how David had killed and taken Nathan’s wife, he needed to add wisdom in order to communicate God’s mind at the right time and in the most appropriate way he wouldn’t lose his head like John the Baptist.

3. From our Christian experiences, one does not receive prophecy and begin to communicate it as the final truth. It could be a deceit since the devil too through sorcery, divination and magic, can also reveal something to outsmart.
That’s why the Apostles or Bishops are there, to discern and vet the authenticity of the prophecy, considering when, how, through whom and under what circumstances the message was revealed.

A FRIENDLY ADVICE TO EVERY WISE, MATURED AND PRUDENT PROPHET/ESS

1. Let’s neither downplay or overemphasize the role of the prophetic ministry in the Church.

2. And let us not commercialise it for fame in order to score political points. Paul says, “What do we have that we did not receive?”
(I Cor 4:7)

3. Let’s not mistakenly think the Orthodox Churches neither understand not believe in the prophetic ministry.
After all, what prophetic ministry is more than teaching the Word of God?! Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to help us understand the current of grace and be led by Him to true freedom.

CONCLUSION:

Even though the Prophetic ministry plays a crucial role in the Church, let us the Priests and Pastors give the impression that, to be a minister of the Gospel, one must be a Prophet by all means and the prophetic ministry is more important than the other gifts of the Holy Spirit! One doesn’t need the prophetic ministry to score political points and media fame, after all is for service and the building of the body of Christ and not for one’s personal gain.
Would plead with my colleague ministers to exercise wisdom, prudence and maturity so to build our nation, Ghana with our gifts and not destabilize the freedom we enjoy as a nation by reading meaning into every event.

Thanks for your time and God bless you.

Rev. Fr. Albert Kyei Danso
Chaplain
Holy Family Ghanaian Catholic Community Church
Pordenone, Italy.