This topic has been a subject of my thoughts sporadically, occasionally, for the past 2 years. Recently, I had some ugly and hurtful experiences, but they finally gave me the clarity to pen down my thoughts on it.
Christians are not new to being called religious fanatics and hypocrites. This accusation is not baseless. You will find Christians that are devout in their spiritual commitment yet have very irritable, detestable attitudes. They are wonderful church members but unbearable as neighbours, colleagues, or even lovers.
The emphasis of obedience in Christianity, the Nigerian version, is primarily obedience directly to God. I mean that instructions whose obedience does not require a human channel are commonly adhered to. While instructions whose fulfillment absolutely requires a human channel before you can fully fulfill them are rarely complied with by Christians today. It is much easier for a Nigerian Christian to obey the command not to fornicate, to pray and read their bibles daily, to go to church, to preach on the streets, and to give to God in their churches. That is more convenient. These are Christian activities you can fully obey by just doing them yourself; they are intransitive. Even preaching, a Christian can do that, and if no one listens or responds, they have fulfilled the Christian command to announce their faith publicly.
However, you will find that transitive commands are less adhered to, and the mind-blowing part is that no one thinks they did anything wrong. Patience, long-suffering, kindness, love, temperance, good speech, consideration, generosity, etc., need an object, a recipient, before you would comply with them. I understand that you can be patient with yourself, gentle with yourself, etc. These are, at best, good healing balms for personal, mental, and emotional health, but within the framework of Christian theology, self-love and self-patience do not qualify as good deeds with spiritual relevance until someone else benefits from them. So you find Christians who can, in Nigerian parlance, pray fire down, but the same persons have little or no tolerance, patience, or long-suffering towards another human. They lash out at the slightest discomfort; they plan and execute vengeance whenever they’re wronged instead of forgiveness. They don’t mind taking advantage of others for their own selfish interest, and they have no concept of making sacrifices solely for the benefit of another, which is very ironical because the foundation of the Christian faith is the sacrifice of Jesus for the salvation of the world. The Bible commands both obedience to God and showing love to men. But Nigerian Christians definitely missed out on the second part.
I bet that almost everyone who reads this has experienced a ‘committed Christian’ who was very fervent, but having them as a roommate, lover, neighbour, classmate or work colleague is a trauma you’re still healing from. To say the controversial part loud, some even have them as parents. The crazy thing is that it doesn’t occur to such people that they did something wrong, a sin or sacrilege. It just feels normal to do. No Christian will argue that God frowns at fornication, smoking, refusal to pray or read your bible. But such consciousness of divine disapproval is absent when a Christian is cursing a bus driver or pricing an artisan way below what they know is the value of their work. It just feels like the smart thing to do in that moment.
The question is, how are Nigerians able to embody this complex duality in their personality? The reason is hidden in the reason for religious commitment in Nigeria. God and religion are means to solve our problems and make our lives better. Underneath all the prayers, fasting, and commitment to church is the hope that God will, at some point, provide the good things of life – money, good health, assets, fame, career progress, and long life – as a result of devout service to him. Hence, we prefer to do things that make us feel pious towards God while being callous to people. Also, fear. The Christian concept of heaven and hell. People believe that if you please God enough, your heaven is guaranteed. Doing right by other people is never included in the equation, so it is not the priority. As long as you don’t do manifestly evil things or ruthless wickedness, you’re good.
This really shows the hypocrisy in the constant call for Christians who will effect positive change in their environment and the country at large. If there is no emphasis on love for others, treatment for others, and how it is an equally important divine instruction, the desire to see Christians change this country will never materialize. Never. Nation building can only be done when you have the best interests of others in your heart. In your choice of candidates, policies you support, refusal of election bribes, involvement in political parties, engagement with social institutions, business, labor, trade, etc. It cannot be done without having a deep, sincere concern for the stranger on the street. In a model of Christianity that only prioritizes obedience to God and undermines love for others, nation-building will forever be a fanciful wish.