Is our God deaf?

By Kofi Akordor

I heard them approach. They were singing on top of their voices. It was one of those days when sleep was not easy coming. But strangely it was approaching that magic hour of the day when almost every living thing suddenly succumbs to the forces of Nature and loses some kind of consciousness. It was about 4 am, and sleep was coming at last. Then suddenly, this approaching noise.
I started saying a silent prayer. “Lord, let this cup pass by me for I desperately need a few hours sleep before the day breaks. Whether by design or accident, the singing ended just when those responsible reached a few metres behind my bedroom window.
I knew God had answered my prayers. Then the megaphone crackled to life and there was outpour of biblical incantations. This went on for some minutes until I could bear it no longer. Even at the risk of being labelled the devil incarnate, I went out to confront those who had invaded my peace and tranquillity and would not want me to enjoy my inalienable right to peaceful sleep after the day’s toils and tribulations.
The confrontation took them by surprise. Who in God’s name could stop them from preaching His Word? They have had their way for far too long to believe that they can be brought to order. At least if those doing the preaching are so possessed that they would not want to rest their bodies and souls, those of us doing the listening need some peace.
Mine is only one encounter with these so-called men of God. On Friday, September 4, 2009, the Daily Graphic carried a letter from one Ms Ayemuzor Sedem of Teshie Tsui Bleoo who poured out her frustrations at the activities of a church close to her house. According to the lady, this church operates as if there is no law in the country about noise-making.
On Monday, September 7, 2009, another reader, Mr Erasmus Tagoe of Accra, used the medium of the Daily Graphic to express his indignation at how churches have been allowed to operate in the country as if this place is a jungle. The churches are now everywhere — residential areas, street corners, schools, on public buses, in the bushes and forests — and no one including the assemblies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the police seem to care. Mr Tagoe went further to demand the registration and licensing of churches before they could operate, at least if that would bring them under the control of the laws of this country.
In another letter published in the Daily Graphic of Friday, September 4, 2009, one Edward Edmond Eduful of Kasoa in the Central Region recounted his ordeal, when he had to be sprayed with spittle from a self-styled evangelist on a commercial vehicle he joined from Kasoa to Accra. Even though there is a ban on preaching on commercial vehicles, Mr Eduful did not get the support of many people on board the vehicle and he had to suffer alone.
These are just a few recent complaints about the activities of churches and evangelists that have been brought to the attention of the reading public and the authorities. Similar complaints have been made in the past without any positive response from those who were expected to act.
Since no referendum has been held on the subject, it may not sound rational to conclude that these views are representative of the feeling of the majority of Ghanaians. There is, however, one simple truth. That is the churches and the so-called evangelists are breaching the laws of the land so far as noise-making and preaching on commercial vehicles are concerned. Until the laws are changed or amended, we expect order to prevail.
For far too long, some of these churches, especially those that go by the name charismatic, have operated with impunity as if there is no law in this country. Most of these churches are sited in residential areas contrary to law and make deafening noise in the name of worshipping God. Let nobody stand in the way of anybody who wants to worship God his/her way. In the same way, let no one deny any individual his/her right to peaceful rest after a hard day’s work.
A friend who lives in one of the communities of Tema said if going home early meant taking a rest after a week’s work, then he was better off spending his Friday evenings in town until late in the night when, thank God, the church near his house would have closed. Another colleague said out of desperation, they had to carry their sick mother to a nearby church for healing because the old lady would know no peace in the house because of the noise from the church.
The law on noise-making has become like the numerous laws that we have in the country which exist only on paper.
I do not want to believe that God the Creator Himself, who gave us the sense of hearing, is Himself so deaf that we have to scream at the top of our voices before getting our supplications to Him. I also would not want to believe that God has turned his back on people in countries where worshipping is done under tolerable noise levels. After all, He has asked as in the Holy Scriptures, to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
In fact it could be argued with some amount of justification that people in developed countries who spend less time making noise in the name of worshiping God have enough time to rest and wake up more refreshed and able to think about solving their problems. They are able to feed themselves and send surplus food to us which we receive with relish, when we have more arable land and better climatic conditions than them. Some have landed human beings on the Moon more than 40 years ago and are targeting Mars. They yield tangible dividends because God helps those who help themselves with hard work.
We make the most noise about worshipping God, using almost all our productive hours doing that, yet we are the most impoverished, the most marginalised, the most deprived and the most despised. Surely that cannot represent the true image of God, in which He made us.
By all means, let us praise God. Let us put our problems and requests before Him. Let us sing His praise in joyful tunes.
God is doing wonderful things in our daily lives and we need to acknowledge that. But let us pause and ask, is our God deaf? Surely no! That is why we do not need that much noise when we want to reach Him. He will hear us even in whispers. In any case it is because of the overzealousness of religious fanatics that we have laws to regulate our activities. The laws must, therefore, be made to work.

fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com