Opinion: By the measure of homelessness in the UK, we are a poor nation

Our streets of people in need

Daily, I find myself wondering what kind of society I am in, what has broken in our society and communities to see such poverty, destitution and hopelessness amongst us?

There is nothing first world on our streets, despite being one of the largest economies in the world, with all sorts of prospects for the United Kingdom, we cannot judge our progress on the prosperity of the rich getting richer, companies declaring vast profits, the stock exchange hitting new records and anyone else with the opportunity and good fortune laughing all the way to the bank.

As a consultant, I work around the UK, literally living in hotels and walking the streets therein. Living in Manchester, then working or temporarily staying in Edinburgh, Norwich, Great Yarmouth and now Reading, I cannot ignore the obvious.

I see hungry people

I see hungry people, I see homeless people, I see people approaching strangers begging for some spare change for a meal or to get a place to lay their heads for the night. Then some billboards tell me not to give money to street beggars because the said charities are there to help them back to a different life.

I am pained by my own helplessness, I cannot think of what I can really do to help anyone who has been caught in this situation apart from offer a handout. If I stopped to listen to their stories, it is very likely their story will be no different from mine.

Why? I was self-employed and independent, then I fell ill with a sickness and disease that could easily have killed me off, but thankfully I am still here. As I took on my treatment, I had no money coming in, I used up all my savings, I could not pay the mortgage and because of my seemingly independent life, I did not know I was entitled to any welfare.

A precipitous decline

I soon found out about my entitlements six months after I fell ill, my creditors were very understanding, in fact, they probably had more faith in my recovery than I did, they had a good idea of what I earned before and my possible earning potential if I did recover. Yet, there were days I went hungry, my eyes almost popping out in the agonising pain of cancer, but for the succour and friendship of neighbours and friends, I could have despaired and expired.

I still had a roof over my head for another 30 months after my cancer diagnosis, but I could not sustain my situation, things were not looking as rosy as I had hope that I decided to sell up. The day before I moved out of my apartment of 126 months, I did not know where I would spend the next night, and then a free offer to occupy a vacated house come up which I occupied for two months.

After that, a young family put me up in their apartment caring for me for another 6 weeks before I decided to return to the UK after 12 and a half years in the Netherlands, with nothing but the hope that things will turn around, my cousin putting me up in a room as I returned.

As things looked up

Within 6 days of arrival, I had a job to travel around Europe for the next six months, however, some internal issues in the company meant the opportunity only lasted 5 weeks, it was another few months before I got a job in Wales where I was living out of hotels for the next 6 months.

Being in and out of work with no permanent residence could have taken its toll, I had many brushes on the brink of homelessness only to have people give me a place to recoup, reassess, rejig and reapply myself to getting back into useful employment and independence.

None of this would have been possible without a helping hand and there were many for which I am full of gratitude and appreciation that the best of humanity is still out there overflowing with the milk of kindness to help and to redeem.

Where is the help for all?

However, not everyone has that resource, not everyone has an angel, the angels to me were people like you and me. Many are homeless because of so many reasons too many to enumerate, from illness to unemployment, broken homes, divorce, a death in the family and even maybe substance abuse.

It is here that we must ask ourselves, what encourages substance abuse and is that not a symptom of some other underlying issue? I cannot sanctimoniously pontificate on these issues as if in my supposed saintliness I am beyond reproach, neither am I ready to accept as default that all beggars are beggars by choice, any money given them goes on drink and drugs or that they know where to get help and never use it.

I knew where to get help, as articulate and well-dressed as I was, I was both humiliated and turned away with the undertone of how dare I visit the homeless charity seeking help. I submit that if the charities were really doing their charitable duties, there would probably be fewer homeless people on our streets. I am doubtful they are doing anything that would encourage me to donate to the charities when I can open my hand to a person begging in front of me.

They are human beings first

It is a cancer within our midst that we have that many homeless people around us and from my experience, the very likelihood why the homeless would not visit homeless charities is because first, they are not treated as human beings, they are not treated with respect, they are looked down on as the dregs of society that there is nothing in place as the kind of helping hands I had to give me the opportunity and space to come out of the quagmire I was in.

Nobody wants to return to a workhouse environment redolent of the Victorian times and these places that portend to tackle homelessness must be more welcoming than they appear to be.

I see instances when someone begging needs £16 to stay in a hostel, it is unlikely if they make the £16, they would immediately spend it on one night’s shelter when there is food to think about.

The pall of homelessness

It is not without consideration that I think of a man I loved, Chris was ejected from his home by his mother at the age of 15 because he was gay and though he made something of his life to the extent that his parents relied on him to bury them well, Chris died 21 years after that ejection and it cannot be unrelated to the homelessness he suffered as a teenager before someone helped him.

I could see signs of that experience in everything that Chris did because these things are markedly significant, yet, he was amazingly loving and wonderful company to be with. Whilst he rests, I still miss him, 36 was too young an age to die and he’s been gone over 8 years.

I walk to the gym in my shorts on typical winter days seeing people in the dead of the night still hungry, homeless, cold and anything uncomfortable, I do not see anything happening to help them, I have not amazing solutions and sadly, we seem to be at the peak of government indolence and societal heartlessness.

This cannot continue, our society is the poorer for the hungry and homeless that roam around us in the vaunted prosperity of this great land. No, we are not prosperous, we are poor.

Nigeria: The spectacular gospel of Mammon

To believe the unbelievable

It is difficult to appreciate the honest and truthful propagation of the gospel in Nigeria in the context of the unconventional places of worship called churches all around the place.

In a country where a majority are in thrall of the supernatural and bound by the incredulity of the superstitious, it would appear the religiously savvy have found a ready customer base and market for a set of products that range from a message, through the spectacular and a form of rampant hedonism sold off as signs of prosperity.

In a recently broadcast television documentary on Channel 4 in the UK, Seyi Rhodes in Unreported World reported on The Making Of … Nigeria’s Millionaire Preachers [1], showcasing the rather different Dr. Sign Fireman who unexpectedly appears rather casually than in the usual well-tailored suit.

The spectacle of enticement

A healthy sense of scepticism and discretion is required whilst viewing this show but the message is clear, dreadful seriousness envelops the congregation as exorcisms take place to amazement and incredulity, the supposedly possessed responding to commands like automatons until they are set free.

The earnest aspiration of most is for a prosperous life exemplified in materialistic shows of wealth as in the testimony of the pastor of a branch of Dr. Sign Fireman’s hydra-headed organisation called the Perfect Christianity Ministry whose rise from rags to untold riches included 3 cars, designer suits and gold wristwatches.

The message is no doubt perfect, it is about enticement as Dr. Fireman proffered at one of the lectures to his coterie of junior minister pastors of the branches, the packaging appears to be everything but the real essence of Christianity and as for if it is a ministry, it as much as ministers to some need.

Itching ears

In Apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he identified that kind of ministry in these words, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. ” (NIV) II Tim 4:3 [2]

There is nothing wrong with the quest and desire for prosperity but that basic longing appears to have been hijacked and converted into the mantra of filthy lucre, all the words for gospel truth are used to present another gospel where Mammon is god and the worship is broadly entertainment.

This level of perversion might in the end begin a new type of Puritanism just as it proliferates splinter groups that call themselves churches all with the view of ministering to the needs of the people by first catering to the seemingly greedy machinations of the cult of personality that passes for presiding over a congregation.

Who are these people?

At the end of the documentary, you had to ask where Dr. Sign Fireman came from, what are his antecedents, what is his history and did he get his name by deed poll?

Beyond that, it is difficult to see the difference between the workings of the Italian mafia and these deceptively interesting church organisations with their heavies, entourages, security and “bling.”

As for yellow being all around the place, I am wont to believe it is more the homage to some Yellow god in some grotto yet to be accessed by civilisation than an affectation borne from childhood lending to the claim of being a yellow freak.

One must not however contemn those who have been caught by this spectacle, it serves a purpose almost as nefarious as it could be considered sinister but there is no scriptural foundation for the burial of Satan, no matter how contrived the interpretation offered to loosen the purse strings of the sad to say seriously taken and gullible lot that participated in this travesty.

Sources

[1] 4oD – Channel 4 – Unreported World - The Making Of … Nigeria’s Millionaire Preachers

[2] Bible.cc – II Timothy 4:3

Thought Picnic: Attending the 1st Church of the Bank

A Facebook initiation

I found it difficult to join in this Facebook discussion, matters concerning religion amongst Nigerians very rarely find an objective trajectory, getting involved in the conversation almost always leaves you exasperated.

In this case, I decided it was best to lift the initiating statuses from Facebook and create a blog on the issues raised.

Chxta Bee

is pretending that he hasn't heard about the 1k charged as gate fees by Christ Embassy...

http://www.facebook.com/Chxta/posts/190118291004350

Seyi Osiyemi

Gone are the days of I.O.U Christianity. When you are allowed to make a monetary 'pledge' and pay later. Nowadays, it is 'Pay As You Go' Christianity. Some Churches even have signs saying 'cash only'. And in cashless societies, the ushers have mobile EFTPOS machine or there's always an ATM within the Church premises. #The Lord Loves A Cheerful Giver#

The gospel of cash

The matter of church and cash or the tendency for the message to centre mostly on money, the acquisition of lucre and the dispensing of it with the lifestyles that purveyors of that gospel live always draws comment and many not that favourable.

The common term for this message is the Prosperity Gospel where prosperity which should be broadened to include health, peace, contentment and ability has been narrowed down to transactions in money.

Now there is a faith element that allows people to believe that investing in the “House of God” is good value with great returns and there is no reason to contemn that belief system, it does work for some.

Cash the key to the blessing

However, it becomes worrisome when access to the sanctuary is gated as if one is attending some social event of particular privilege and right of access to those who can afford to make payment to gain entry to that inner sanctum for blessing.

There is a school of thought that proffers that no one is compelled to make that payment but coercion does not have to be direct, there are people who are fearful enough of the missing a blessing that their motivation is compelled by that fear of losing out.

There people who think the “Man of God” is infallible and hence every utterance and action is presumed to be of God no matter how wrong and false it might be, in that vein they are compelled by the force of the personality they believe is derived from Godly instruction.

There are others who might well question the rationale behind this development but cannot be seen to separate themselves into a thinking minority challenging the norms in that environment – so they are compelled by the circumstances to acquiesce and emulate.

The majority however just do as they are told, joyfully, sheepishly and without hesitation, they have become members of the cult, their spirituality well exceeding their ability to reason out the options they might have and make quality decisions grounded in the Scriptures they profess to fully believe to the letter.

However, let us not challenge any of these people on any of these belief systems, rather, let us assume a more practical posture on this matter.

The harvest of investing or sowing

If money were put under a mattress, it would yield no interest and probably go mouldy; however, if invested in a bank with some guaranteed interest there would be some profit; in shares or stocks, there is the possibility of there being a profit or a loss but those who invest in the markets vary their options to ensure that their investments yield returns.

The farmer naturally sows seed expecting a harvest and knows when a harvest is good or bad, tends to the crops during the season between planting and harvest to ensure that the best yield is derived from all the labour that when into that activity with the hope that when the crops reach the market it would have been all worthwhile with the impetus for the same rewarding activity the next year.

Most instances where references are made to sowing in the Scriptures there is the reaping; where investments are made there is real accounting and accountability with rewards for making the best of the initial capital given.

Open a ledger with God

In other words, there is nothing wrong with paying into the coffers of these institutions of churchianity but open a ledger with God – write down what you put in and when you did, note when you get your returns and if that investment has been worthwhile or your church has been selling you junk bonds masquerading as seed faith.

With all read and seen, there might well be a time for some tables to be upturned in the temple, there might not be the money changers and pigeon hawkers of old, not even the selling of indulgences of times of Martin Luther but your indulgence in being craved and many leaders are indulging in very unscriptural practices but if you cannot free yourselves of these cults I would suppose the leaders have had it made and you have your hopes to live on with reality somewhere in the not too distant eternity.

Meanwhile, we are all fully persuaded of the fact that, the Lord loveth a cheerful giver; a bountifully rewarded receiver could even be a more cheerful giver if they have been giving for the right reasons, in the right places far from being fleeced for every penny they have to receive that amazing blessing.

Think! My people, think!

Your greed will serve you badly

What is prosperity?

When a good friend sent me this piece of news, I smiled and as he noted, it might interest me, it does.

I have always heard of the Prosperity Gospel, a message delivered in certain Christian congregations of the Pentecostal persuasion, I, for one have not fully appreciated the content or context, but I know what living the good life is all about.

In my perspective it is not about women, wanton living, bling and hedonism, rather, it is about having enough to be liberal in giving, being ready and resourceful to tackle issues and being able to see a way out of whatever situation as well as understanding contentment.

Whilst money is important, wisdom is the principal thing, one has to be smart about the use of time, resources, people, opportunities and trials.

The pastor was a bigamist

The piece of news I am concerned about is that of a Pentecostal priest who apparently died in an air crash in Nigeria intestate.

At death, he was eulogised, praised and lauded as a patriotic and selfless Nigerian, well, the truth has erupted like a long dormant volcano that has returned with vigour.

He had a second wife, so he was a bigamist, that secret became front page news when the first and second wife entered into a tussle about the pastor’s estate as it transpired that he was worth about $55 million.

One can imagine the shock when the first wife realised that she had a rival and surely, she would have wanted to prove that the other woman was an impostor.

But once she had ascertained that this woman was who she said she was, any level-headed arrangement would have allowed for them to come to some sort of amicable settlement and split the loot in two.

All for me and none for you

Well, they did not, because one who have felt deserving of more than the other and their lives flash before them about a life of grandeur with $55 million rather than $27.5 million as hedonistic insurance.

If, these women had listened the beautiful preaching of their late husband rather than sought to practise the acts of the self-same man, they probably would have been wiser and smarter about the corruption of great riches in the hands of those who have worked for nothing.

23 things to accounts for

The legacy of the man has already been destroyed as the evil men do does tend to live after them.

Anyway, their altercation on how to split this largesse came to the notice of the anti-graft and anti-corruption organisation in Nigeria and they waded in and impounded the whole inheritance because not proof could be found of how a pastor and electoral officer came into such great fortune stashed away in hydra-headed bank accounts numbering 23. Short intake of breath.

How is it that in this case too, two fools and their late husband’s ill-gotten money are soon parted? Because your greed would eventually serve you badly.