Relegation of God among politicians

Without equivocation, I want to take a stand on one of the issues that provoked this piece.  And that is Governor Rochas Okorocha’s consistent authoritative submission that Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume “will never become Imo Governor”. To me, it is an overstatement which smacks of pride and places God on relegation from control over the affairs of men.
There is no ambiguity in the above introductory scripture. It is simple and self explanatory. But for some who are not conversant with their Bible, there might be a reason to ask why ‘north’ was not included in the scripture since east, west and south were mentioned. Those being agitated in this regard should hold their peace, the answer is not far-fetched. The Psalmist, by the unction of the Spirit of God saw no wisdom in bothering his readers with unnecessary tautology.  King David was aware that the throne of the Almighty God is located in the sides of the north of the universe. Heaven, the dwelling place of God, is situated in the ‘North’ of the Universe, not the north sides of the earth. Of course we know that the universe is made up of nine planets, namely, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
Psalm 48: 1-2 says; “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”
“… on the sides of the north, the city of the great King”. David, whom God  Himself referred to as the man after His own Heart knew the operational headquarters of the Creator of the Universe.  He knew promotion comes from the ‘North’ where God lives. Dear reader, be reminded once again that we are not talking about northern part of Nigeria or northern side of the world, as the words, ‘world’ or ‘Globe’ still refer to the planet Earth where God has given to  us to stay preparatory to the second advent of Jesus Christ.
In  a nutshell, Psalm 75: 6-7 has shown us the direction of heaven from the Earth. And that if promotion does not come from the east south or west, but from the Lord, then heaven the home of God is located in the North from the earth since King David was on earth as at the time he spoke.
Other scriptural references abound that gave credence to the position of the Psalmist on the location of Heaven, such as Isaiah 14:12-14 and Job 26: 7, but this is not what this piece intends to achieve. With apologies, my esteemed reader, I want to inform at this point that the essence of the long preamble is to make us appreciate the greatness of the God of heaven.
The Bible says, “But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” The question is; Is this the mindset of political actors in this clime? What percentage of these political lords and king makers, who trample on the rights of the most valuable creatures of God, subscribe to the stance of the Psalmist? Are they aware that power belongs to God (Psalm 62: 11), when they make assertions that put them in the position of the God of Abraham? It is very unfortunate.
Little wonder the Bible says in Isaiah 14: 9-11, thus; “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at they coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the Kings of the nations.  All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?  Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the nosie of thy viols. The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee”.
Unarguably, this is a truism. Hell is a place where many kings, chief ones, power brokers and the wealthy of the earth live after death. It is a place where the great and the mighty of the earth acknowledge their defeat. Hell is a place where its inhabitants are stirred up at the coming of others.  It is a place for the proud. Hell is real. Its reality cannot be wished away by the teachings of false cults where most politicians hinge their trust and confidence. These cults tell their members that hell is the grave. They, without exception, change the Bible to suit themselves and gain converts who are always glad to accept any method of escape from the reality of hell.
The verbal encounter between the rich man and Abraham as it affected a beggar named Lazarus in Luke 16: 19-31, should be instructive.  The Bible recorded that the rich man while on earth, perhaps as a President of a country, Governor of a state, Senator, a political King maker, or one of the great men of his days, was “clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day” and Lazarus, a sickly beggar laid at the gate of the wealthy man in search of crumbs that fell from his table. Apart from the biting hunger, dogs pestered to lick the sores that was all over Lazarus.
When both died, the Bible continued, the rich man who had swell time on earth found himself in the torment  compartment of sheol-Hades, while Lazarus, was right on the bosom of Abraham in the Paradise compartment.  Sheol is a Hebrew word meaning the abode of the dead. Prior to the resurrection of Christ, the souls of the dead righteous were in comfort in the Paradise  compartment, but there was an impassable gulf between this compartment and  the torment compartment where the souls of the unrighteous dead go.  When Jesus Christ died. He went to sheol – hades, set free the righteous captives of Satan and took them to heaven when He ascended, Lazarus inclusive, (Ephesians 4: 8-10).
It is not a good news that the rich man who despitefully treated Lazarus while on earth could not get assistance and is still in sheol being tormented day in day out. It is indeed regrettable that the warning signal of what awaits the living in the mould of the suffering rich man, which he requested of father Abraham, is still being shoved aside with arrogant dismissal.  However, the Bible says, “When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt  surely die, and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked  way, to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but  his blood  will I require of thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou has delivered they soul”, (Ezeikel 3: 18-10).
Recently, I came in contact with a wealthy young man who exudes intriguing and contagious humility. His fascinating humble disposition is such that must elicit comment from anybody who gets to known him. His is not pretense, not fake; it is his choice and election to look unto Jesus, our example. Jesus, in his life, reduced the billions of naira and   property scattered all over the place to vanity and nothingness.  Succinctly put, he is an epitome of humility. The day this great personality opened up to me in response to my curiosity to discover the power behind his pattern of life, he said” I am not yet humble as I want. I told God to strike me to death any day He notices that my wealth has  gone into my head. I made my millions early in life, and I am grateful to God that he has been faithful with my request from Him to take away anything that looks like pride from me and make me to be as humble as nobody”  These were the words of a man, a humanist of repute, whose physical outlook as a tall and handsome son of Adam, would have been enough to get his head bloated and his heart corrupted. For all these blessings, faithfulness and mercies of God, I join my brother, Chief Uche Umeh (Uchemec) to return all Glory to God.
Apologies, Nwajiugonnaya, you did not bargain for this. I am aware you abhor with passion whatever that has the similitude of intentional show off. But Jesus admonished, thus, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick and  it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven”, (Matthew 5: 14-16). Therefore, my oga, I beg your pardon. Don’t crucify me for helping this light shine for the illumination of the consciences of politicians whose hearts have been  darkened by the crave for power and wealth.
Hitherto, I had no soft spot for Senator Araraume’s governorship aspiration. But his reactions to the venomous vituperation of his former ally, governor Okorocha, has endered him (Araraume) to me. Responding to one of Okorocha’s bitter railing and condemnation, Araraume said that only God and Imo electorates would determine his fate in the governorship race. He also told his ex-political associate a hard truth when he said that Okorocha’s posture was an indication that he was heading towards perdition.
There is a long list of men who played God and what became of them when the Sovereign God rose in His power. Dear reader, listen to the voice from heaven when King Nebuchadnezzar took the place of God’ “While the word was in the King’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king, Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.  And they shall drive  thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times (seven years) shall Passover thee, until thou know the Most High ruleth in the Kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will”, (Daniel 4:31-32). Nebuchadnezzar, who then ruled in a kingdom which included the modern states of Palestine, Trans- Jordan, Syria, Egypt Lebanon, Iraq and Iran, according to the Bible, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, in the forest.  While this period of seclusion lasted, the king ate only grass like oxen and other beasts in the bush, and that the hairs on his body were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like the claws of birds.
A Bible commentary has it that Nebuchadnezzar suffered a rare mental disease called Lycanthropy. Lycanthropy was derived from lukos, a Greek word meaning wolf.
Webster’s New Encyclopedic Dictionary gave the definition of Lycanthropy as a delusion that one has become a wolf. Just to cut Nebuchadnezzar to size owing to arrogance, the Omniscient God decided to release the spirit of Lycanthropy on the king so that he would imagine himself a wolf, a bear or some other animal and jump into the bush
When the seven years were up, the king spoke and said. “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine  understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion  is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation”  (Daniel 4: 34).  Verse thirty of the same Daniel Chapter four will help us understand in clear terms that king Nebuchadnezzar  was thrown into the forest for spiritual awakening or orientation, if you like, due to proud words that proceeded from his mouth. Jesus said, “… out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Luke 6: 45b):
King Herod was eaten by worms because he spoke like a god and chose not to give God the glory due Him.  The Bible says, “And, upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, it is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory and he was eaten of worms and he gave up the ghost”, (Acts 12:21-23).
Goliath, the Philistine battle warrior and field Marshal who was dreaded by all, despised God through the words he spoke. The story of the death of the giant in the hands of small David who confronted him under God’s anointing and favour, is known to all. We should not also forget that this same David was later enthroned as the King of Israel due to the disobedience of king Saul whom God made vulnerable for evil spirit affliction.
Other proud political leaders who challenged God through their actions and left evil legacies  included our own Sani Abacha, Idi Amin of Uganda, Mobutu Seseseku of Zaire, Samuel Doe of Liberia, Adolphus Hitler of Germany who said if there is God, he was the second god and if there is no God, he was the God.
King Louis XIV of France, another proud leader was quoted as having declared that he was France and France was him.
Just to gain more political leverage, the campaign machinery of Rochas Okorocha in 2011, orchestrated the insinuations of pride from certain quarters on the part of ex-Governor Ikedi Ohakim, which to a large extent worked against the second term bid of the Clean and Green politician. But the period Ohakim held sway as Governor has been widely adjudged better than what obtains in the Eastern Heartland now.
Let me conclude by saying that pride is always the cause of all down falls. Be sober, be humble, God is on the throne.