South Sudanese: Our Greatest Hurdle is a Misguided Mindset towards Work!
5 min readBy Makwei Achol Thiong, Hunan University, China
January 19, 2018 (SSB) — You wake up in the morning without any constructive plan for the day. You pretend around the house but it can’t tick 12:00 p.m. for any miracle in the kitchen so as to eat and get out to play dominoes/card/pool or watch weekend European football games. If nothing materializes there, you leave frustrated only to come back in the evening empty-handed and start unprovoked family violence.
The next day, next month, next Year and nothing changes in your life. Every single day that passes pushes you closer to becoming a robber (unknown Senke-man) or unknown gunman in the city or highway. Idleness in the villages matures into cattle rustling, child abduction and massive responsiveness to disgruntle politicians and Generals from the government.
For ladies, idleness expose them to rich sugar-daddies, luring them into illegal commercial sex. So you keep praying to and blaming God but the situation remains static. Why? Because God doesn’t answer prayers of those who can’t help themselves. There is no logic in you asking God today to make you wealthy and you’ll spend the whole tomorrow playing dominoes. Do you think we would be an independent state if we didn’t fight for it? God intervened when He saw us helping ourselves.
God is a hard worker. He spent six consecutive days at work during Creation and even planted the Garden of Eden alone. Gen 1 & 2. Adam was a hard worker. So were Noah who constructed the ark and Abraham who amassed a huge wealth of flocks, cattle, and donkeys as a foreigner in Egypt. Gen 12:10-16. The similar account goes for Lot. And yet there are individuals in the diaspora who think there is a reason to be lazy.
What is that excuse? Jesus and his disciples were all hardworking men. Tell me about your own account of Creation and your understanding of God! Big-bang and Idleness. Isn’t it? God worked hard to create and decorate you as beautiful/Handsome, gives you life and protection and yet you don’t want to do yourself justice to work.
No. That is unacceptable behavior from a child of God. If you need some Good fortune (miracle) into your life this year, press hoe button and wear the hard work spirit. You’ll celebrate comes December.
You want to be that pastor who spends six days idly and only comes to church on Sunday or Saturday to preach and prey on poor believers. When tithes and donations are given, instead of using it to develop the church and help the poor, he is quick to propose it for his upkeeps.
When church administration makes better changes, he opposes, rebelled and open a new one in the neighborhood. Small residential quarter becomes a church zoo. With few believers, he resorts to unfounded miracles and propaganda to keep his church alive. And you’re Happy because you’re still the pastor in charge? In-charge of what?
Stagnation. Isn’t it? Whose interest is first; yours or God’s? Learn by examples in the bible. Learn from Bishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth. He is a hard worker. A Great farmer in his youthful age. Bishop Reuben Akurdit Ngong, a Great farmer too who also owns a significant number of cattle. Rev. John Kelei, Pastor Isaiah Malek, a very hardworking person, among others.
You want to be that choir member/teacher, Jolwolieec who refuse school, love paying visits to busy friends, doesn’t love work (farming or other manual jobs), lives on financial handouts for all needs including for soap and internet bundles. Dance Reggae in the church for attention-seeking, something not worthy in the church of God.
Don’t be immoral in the house of the Lord. Worship, rejoice and praise Him with ultimate respect and honor! Avoid being idle. Idleness is evil!
You finished your High school or obtained a certificate at a University in East Africa, three, four, five or ten years ago, you’re jobless but you don’t want to come back home and find some job. Who told you that you’ll not get a job even in the farming sector? You remain a burden to your poor parents in South Sudan, pressurizing them to send you something for a living each month.
You’re ungrateful and at best a disgrace! You’re in a public office/system. So Junior in rank/grade but very senior in deceitful plans to lure bosses into corruption. You’re a disgrace to this generation and a caterpillar for our healthy germinating seeds of tomorrow. You must start to be honest with yourself! Don’t further the confusion of our uncles. Allow them to concentrate and gamble on bringing peace back to our troubled nation.
You’re in Australia, US or Canada, you are not studying. You are not nursing responsible kids. No unity in your house. Kids see this and start disobeying both of you. They go to streets and misbehave. They called them ‘African gangs’ and we’re angrier because we’re already hungry.
We expect you to come back home educated, with some level of technology and/or new SPIRIT but your diplomacy on our behalf gives us such names as shit-hole, African gangs, etc.
Be Good Ambassadors out there. Not like the bad Nigerians but the Good and hardworking ones. Not like the bad Somalians but the Good and hardworking ones. Not like the bad Ugandans or Kenyans but the Good and the hardworking ones.
After reading this piece, plan for tomorrow, next tomorrow, next week and audit your Year comes January 2019. Make yourself great, make South Sudan great.
The author, Makwei Achol Thiong, is a Co-founder and a former Chair of Board of Directors of Alliance High School-Bor. He is currently pursuing a Master of Industrial Engineering at Hunan University, China. Reach him via makweiachol@yahoo.com
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