Nigeria: A Window into Human Interconnectedness

Time magazine recently reported concerning the peace process in Nigeria. Let me summarize the article:

"For a few brief weeks this autumn, there were hopes that the long-running civil war in the Niger Delta in southeastern Nigeria might finally be coming to an end. President Umaru Mousa Yar'Adua announced an amnesty deal for rebels and promised billions of dollars of investment in the poor but oil-rich delta, a 10% stake for the local population in the region's oil ventures and a small monthly stipend and re-training for ex-fighters. In return, thousands of militants declared a ceasefire and handed in their weapons, while their leaders initiated talks with the government on an eventual peace deal."

..."As the New Year approaches, however, hopes for peace are evaporating fast, largely because of two factors. First, the main drivers in the government toward negotiating a truce with the rebels have been out of action for weeks. Yar'Adua, a chain smoker with chronic health problems, has been in Saudi Arabia for nearly a month receiving treatment for pericarditis, an inflammation around the heart."

...In an interview with TIME this month, Anthony said he was "quite pessimistic" about the chances of forging a lasting peace because of the deteriorating health of the President — "I am categorically saying that [his] death may mean the death of Nigeria"


I wonder: when the President of Nigeria took his first puff from a cigarette, probably as a teenager, if he knew at the time that a nation would one day be sacrificed because of that decision.

There are few in the world today who seem to understand the principle that no human being is an island. There is no such thing as a private sin. No such thing as a bad habit which only affects me. Humanity is very much like a vast sea: every drop produces ripples, albeit, in varying degrees.

I often hear people asking why God seems so stern in the Bible when dealing with sin? How can a God who flooded the earth, commanded the extermination of nations, and rained fire on cities, not to mention, will one day destroy all the wicked, be a God of love?

From a human stand point, sin doesn't look like that big a deal. "I'm not hurting anybody", "so long as I indulge in moderation", "what's the big deal?" are expressions that are often used to justify our actions. From our limited perspective, we rarely see the full impact of our actions.

We don't see that the rude comment we made to someone at the grocery store, led that person to yell at their children. We don't see that our moderate drinking, influenced someone else to become a drunk. We don't see that our irresponsible behavior while teenagers, made us inept parents as adults, and which led our children to commit even greater evils. As the old saying goes: "hurt people hurt people, who hurt people, etc."

God sees sin in a very different way than we see it. He sees the full impact of our every thought, word, and action, on everyone around us, and the impact they then have on others, etc. He sees all the evil on the planet in the light of the fact that none of it was necessary. All of it could have been avoided if we would just have followed Him.

Is it any wonder God hates sin so much? If every cry in the planet was daily continually ringing in your ears, if every act of brutality was open to your view, if every rape, murder, suicide, mental illness, and all the anguish of the human race was always there in front of you, wouldn't you hate sin? Wouldn't you long for the day when you could destroy it?

It's a wonder God has waited so long. But what is He waiting for? The Bible says this:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

When God destroys sin, it's game over for all those who are choosing it. God wants to save as many as possible. He won't wait forever.