RELIGION:OPIUM FOR THE POOR?

Many theologians concur that God sometimes punishes His people because He loves them and wouldn’t want them to go astray. Our African continent is plagued with many misfortunes majorly poverty, hunger and disease. This is despite the fact that we are endowed with diverse wildlife, exotic vegetation, numerous minerals including Gold and we are religious! Infact history has it that we had knowledge of God long before the missionaries stepped into the continent. So why all the suffering? I asked a friend of mine and all he said was, Religion is the opium for the poor. Really? It has a way of suggesting, ‘Suffer here, but you will enjoy life in eternity in heaven’. Am getting ahead of myself here.
Africa has a lot of talents especially the younger generation. People who have giftings in music, sports, arts, sciences, among others. What have we done? We have let the west exploit us with possibility of scholarships abroad. Young ‘geniuses’ from poor families have been ‘shipped’ to UK and United States of America, enrolled in universities and later get jobs and develop economies of the host country. Most end up not coming back home.
Since the European, Asian and North American nations have invested in Africa, they have a say on how our governments will run, they even decide what amount of aid(loan) we will get. Our politicians with all their greed have dutifully bowed to their demands just to get the money and later laud it in their pockets. They do not even pay taxes which every hardworking citizen does.

The Church has also adapted materialism concept, a walk to town will show you most if not all buildings in city centre have sprouting churches. The gospel has been turned into money making business with anointing oils being sold for ‘protection’ or ‘financial miracles’. This in turn has left the sheep hopeless and only come for services seeking to fill their spiritual void with enough ‘fuel’ to take them for another extra week till Sunday or Saturday. The result of all these, mixed theology where the sheep cannot tell which voice is calling out to them-The shepherd or the enemy. No wonder many have fallen into the traps of Islam. The fact is Islam has spread much in slum (poverty) areas. Religion may not take you to heaven but only through Jesus Christ as He is the way, the truth and the life.
Consider the story of the wayward son in Luke, he took his share of inheritance went into far away land and spent it all till he had no more. He had to survive by eating with the pigs. But once he had enough, he decided to return home.(and even become one of the father’s servants if he had to).What does His father do? He welcomes Him home and prepares a feast in His honor. God in the same way has set Africa apart, to impact the world with the gospel. We have forsaken Him and gone for priorities that are not worth our time-money, pleasure, politics etc. Yet He still calls and waits on us to turn back to Him before its too late. The question is, Will we hacken to His voice?