...Sounds on da ground and seens on the see-ins

After a long night partying in Accra, I arrived home in the wee hours of the morning. I decided to skip church in order to get some sleep in. Sounds like the wrong thing to do, I know. Later in the day, my cousin came from church to find me playing some great gospel music and made a mention of how it is not the easiest thing to 'do bad things' and then switch into worship and praise mode. I agreed and we proceeded to talk about how hypocritical some of us Christians are. Do we use God's word like we should? How serious do we take it? Cee says Awurade Asem(God's matter/word) is very good to her. What can we do to see the same in our lives?

Cee is a relatively new gospel musician on the Ghanaian scene. She took part in the famed TV3 Mentor Talent show where budding musicians perform various songs weekly and have their fate determined by a few judges and the text-happy Ghanaian public. Never mind the fact that one of the winners (who sings gospel music) is said to have spent a large amount of money sending texts in his favour. A good number of 'mentees' have become big stars. Apart Cee, we can count Dela, Erico, Andy O'Darkie and Isaac Showboy. Cee's debut album Osaberima did very well and has other great tracks like Osaberima, Nhyira ba, Awurade Fie, and Kae me.

Awurade asem talks about how God's word is truth and His prophesies always come true. Cee proclaims that God's Word is fire and the light that guides her journey through life. Many Ghanaians would attest to this, a lot of worldview and beliefs are based on the Scriptures. According to the song, there is none like God, whether in wisdom, ability or strength. If we stick with God, we have the opportunity to enjoy those attributes as well.

We all know the Bible has a gazillion passages. Many Christians use guides to go through the Bible. If I was to study the Word on my own, I may be at a loss as to where to start, continue and end. Our priests and pastors are primed to help us navigate the Good Book from Sunday to Sunday. I wonder how they choose what to base sermons on. Should they talk about discipline or tithes? Should they dwell on prosperity or humility? It's not easy being a pastor.

How can our people employ corruption to get rich and then have the conscience to boast being the highest tithe payer? How can we continue lying to each other and then turn on to be the loudest and most vibrant worshipper on Sunday? How do we understand Awurade Asem? The hypocrisy in Ghana is a little too much for my liking. We may be the most religious people but if we don't employ God's word appropriately, we will not prosper. Fasting and praying for a American visa and giving your earnings to a pastor to get you into greener pastures is not the road to prosperity.

God is just and He is never late like Cee reminds us in the case of Abraham and Sarah. If we have the right frame of mind to approach life using whatever beliefs we have, our personal and communal development would be great. We have to be honest with ourselves and abide by the Word. We must preach those messages of hope, hard work, love and care so as to drive our national development at an attractive pace. A pace good and clean enough to attract us all to invest in. It doesn't matter what religion we find ourselves practicing; we should endeavour to find those ideas that will tickle us and make us better. It doesn't stop there, we must remember them and they should guide us in our lives.

Full Awurade Asem lyrics.
Photo by Databank Group