Just not too long ago, we greeted one another ‘Happy New Year’ and here we are, already in the third month. Before we know it, it will be another Christmas/New Year season. For now, it is another Lenten season, which calls for Christians’ change from their wicked ways to lovely way of living among themselves.

There is this common saying that “the only thing that is constant in life is ‘Change’”. This is actually true, considering the happenings around the world we live in today, where many things have changed either positively or negatively.

When God created the world, the scripture says ‘it was good’. Why then is the world not good any longer, if not for the behavior of man created in the image and likeness of God?

The first Man, Adam and his wife, Eve brought the first change in the template of the world that God desired before creation. The change that was brought upon the world was as a result of man’s disobedience to the instruction of God.

Even when the second Man, Jesus Christ, has paid the supreme prize to set the world free, human beings will not let be, because of their continuous disobedience due to greediness, pride and selfishness.

God gave man Ten Commandments because of His love for man and when Christ came, He summarized the Ten Commandments into two: Love of God and love of neighbor. Love is of God because God is Love and he/she that has love knows God.

But the world has actually changed and rather than having positive changes, what is common is nothing but negative changes. Hence, from one generation to another, things continue to change from bad to worse.

The number of worship centres that are currently sighted on our streets greatly outnumber public institutions like schools, hospital etc. Yet, it is like we never had any, as what is commonly noticed in the world today are negative changes that further compound the woes of common man in the society.

In the past, it did no matter who one’s parents are when it comes to dishing out punishment for misconduct of any kind but this has changed in the world today. Whoever dares discipline any child that is not his/hers may live to regret the action. That is why there is no more respect in the society. The young ones today can do or say anything in the public and escape being punished.

I recently walked alongside three young boys, whose ages should range between 15 and 20, discussing among themselves pregnancy related issue. I heard them saying “whoever is a nurse cannot get pregnant anyhow. She will know how to go about it. You can imagine what that means for boys of the above age bracket to be discussing such topic loud and clear along the street.

The same way, I saw a boy smoking what I could not actually describe the content and he could move freely along the road, polluting the air with his smoking. Later when he gets affected by the kind of things he smokes, he will then be begging for alms to treat himself. The temporary enjoyment he is having will become an agony forever. That is why many youth today become insane, because of excessive consumption of contents that are alien to the body system.

Still on changing around the world today, it used to be a norm that one greets whoever one meets along the road or at any given point, even when such people one meets are by no way blood relation but today, some young or elderly ones can pass by uncountable times without greeting those they meet while moving around, except when they need favour from the people they meet. Even when one greets such people, they may not even respond. I remember a scenario long ago in Lagos. We were sitting in front of our rented house and someone came around, went inside to see another tenant without greeting those of us sitting outside. It was when he did not meet the person he came to see, that he then came back to greet us outside and then to ask about the where about of the person he came to see.

With the advancement in technology and emergence of various gadgets that are capable of making life better, the young ones today rather use the gadgets negatively rather than positively. A video recently went viral to draw the attention of members of the public to the usage of an Apps to produce fake bank alert, thereby getting away with products/services worth million of naira in the process. That is also a change, but in a negative way.

What of using the social media to circulate fake and negative news? All in the name of making money by crook way. What type of changes are we experiencing this day?

Apart from negative changes that might have been brought into the world by individuals, our government too cannot be excluded from the list of those bringing negative changes to the world. For instance in Nigeria, we have witnessed change from subsidy era to zero subsidy era, the negative effect of which we are still battling with in terms of skyrocketed prices of goods and services, high cost of transportation, close-down of businesses etc. Cash economy has also been changed to cashless economy, with uncountable negative effects on individuals and companies. What of change in free education of those good days to the era of Students’ loans era by the current administration?

The country had witnessed in the past, 6:5:4; 6:3:3:4 and now proposed 12:4 in the education sector.

We have also witnessed change from one National Anthem to another, yet nothing has actually changed positively since that change. It is a matter of what man makes of the Anthem, after all, action speaks louder than voice.

There was a time in the past when National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) would provide all the needed equipment that have to do with power supply, but we are witnessing another era at moment, where residents will have to buy every item, from cable to transformer and still be paying exorbitant bill to the power distributing companies.

We have had change in government led by different political parties; one of the political parties even embraced ‘Change’ as its slogan, even at that the country never experienced the positive change that the citizens desired. Gone were the days when one could sleep with two eyes closed, but that is no more. Robberies, usually carried out under the cover of darkness are now carried out in broad day light. Travelling either during the day or at night is a nightmare. Kidnappings, ritual killings, Yahoo plus, Cultism, suicide, same sex marriage etc have become order of the day.

What then is the world turning into? Are we truly ready to change from our negative ways to positive ways? Another Lenten season has come for us to be reminded of the need to change our evil ways and embrace lovely way of life as we relate with one another, individually and as a community.

Hope we are ready to bring about positive changes into our world at this Lenten season or we will allow it to just pass by like other Lenten seasons before now? Fortunately, both Christians and Muslims fasting run concurrently. This is a clarion call on each and every one of us, and the government too, to let people experience positive changes and not the type of changes we are experiencing at moment, where a litre of fuel that cost N165 changed to above N1000. A change where a family that used to eat thrice in a day can hardly eat once a day. A change where people that were gainfully employed before are now becoming Okada rider or ‘Maruwa’ riders. A change where many that have businesses or are employed have ‘japa’ to another country where positive changes is guaranteed.

May God grant us a true conversion of hearts during this Lenten season, Amen.