RIGHT from my secondary school days many years ago, I have discovered that our problem in life is our inability to know the true character and nature of people. Most of our judgments are based on our superficial view of people. We often view people by what we see them do. The problem is that the heart of man is desperately deceitful and wicked, and it is very difficult to actually know the heart of a man.
There is always a contrast between outward morality and inner character. Just last week, on Sunday to be specific, I was in Warri just about the time churches were closing, and the traffic was much; men, women, the young and all manner of people were trooping out from the various churches clutching their bibles in such holy manner that seeing them, one would conclude that the devil is in trouble. However, my experience in life has thought me to know that true goodness is not about outward appearances but about the purity of one’s heart and actions.
When I was a boy in primary and secondary days, my mother would always warn me not to follow friends that drink alcohol or have the penchant of womanizing. To her, it is the outward appearance that matters. And this is true with so many other people. Nobody takes time to scrutinize the purity of one’s heart. Looking at the number of worshippers trooping out from the various churches that very Sunday morning, holding their bibles in such holy manners, one will believe that if seventy per cent of those worshippers worship God in truth and in spirit, definitely the society would be a better place to live, and we may not even need the services of the law enforcement agents. For the fact that the society is still rotten in spite of our commitment to religious activities is a testament to the fact that we should not judge by the outward appearance of hypocritical holiness.
I remember vividly one experience I had in one supermarket. I walked into one supermarket one faithful day and a church member was buying gin but as he sighted me entering the shop, he tried to force the bottle inside the nylon bag, but unfortunately he was yet to pay and in the process of struggling to force the bottle into his bag and pay for the items he bought at the same time, the bottle fell down and broke into pieces and the smell of gin was everywhere. This is a man who talks down on people who drink alcohol and call them sinners. Outwardly, he was seen as an angel who preaches against the consumption of alcohol and moral decadence. The truth is that he was taking alcohol but was hiding it from people, especially church members, who was seeing him as a man of his word.
Some individuals refrain from drinking alcohol due to religious or personal beliefs, presenting themselves as righteous and disciplined. However, their hearts may be filled with wickedness, malice, and cruelty making them far worse than those they look down upon. I am not suggesting that people should start drinking alcohol because I am not a fan of alcohol. I am just using it to buttress my facts and to show that there is deceit in every facet of life in our society today. Fake and hypocritical leaders everywhere; church leaders, our school heads, the police, the customs, our political leaders and leaders in various spheres of life
The true essence of morality is kindness, honesty, and compassion. Frankly speaking, pretending to be virtuous while harboring envy, hatred, or wicked intentions is more harmful than open imperfection. Those who judge others while committing evil in secret are the real threats to society.
A society where people pretend to be morally upright while secretly engaging in corruption, injustice, and cruelty becomes toxic and destructive.
Our religious leaders should emphasize genuine goodness, love, and integrity rather than focusing only on external rules.
Our problem is that many corrupt leaders pretend to be pious, disciplined and righteous, but exploit the people. Their hidden wickedness does more harm than those who openly admit their flaws. It is therefore correct to say that a society that rates people based on appearances rather than their true character will continue to suffer from hypocrisy and injustice.
In governance and government business, you see different people and character, people who appear good on the surface but inwardly they cause problem for the people and government. The problem is that before they are discovered, a lot of damages have been done. Nigeria is facing serious economic and security predicaments today because of the character of some people; hypocrites, holding sensitive positions in government.
For Nigeria to be good again, the government and the governed must make concrete efforts to condemn hypocrisy in every facet of our daily life and actions.
