Chakhesang Baptist Church Council
This is a clarion call of the Chakhesang Baptist Church Council (CBCC) upon its members to be the change. Change is a buzz word of our day! Everybody talks about it, but very few are serious about it! Almost two centuries ago, author Leo Tolstoy wrote, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” For most of us, this statement is already a cliché because we’ve heard of it 101 times! If only hearing were enough to make impact, the world would have been positively different today! A time to act is overdue!
We know the kind of situation we’re in but we’re slow to initiate positive change. Ignorance says, “I don’t know!” Apathy says, “I don’t care.” Our society is suffering from both of these diseases. Many don’t really know what’s happening; some have no idea at all what to do; some don’t really care! When apathy and ignorance become friends, anomie rules the day!” At this juncture, many are getting smarter in shifting the blame than own the responsibility of the mess we create among ourselves! Some blame the politicians, some politicians blame the public, some blame the corrupt system as if the system is pre-existent! Corrupt system is the byproduct of corrupt human mind. Hence, it can be rectified only by human initiative. Yet, the blame game goes on!Adam blamed Eve for eating the forbidden fruit, so did Eve on the serpent and the original sin was born! Anyone can shift the blame on anybody for the transgressions he or she commits but ultimately each one is responsible for his or her own conduct!
To usher in change is to be the change. It’s everybody’s responsibility to be responsible! Some intellectual giants, activists, and brilliant reformers have these to say: "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it" (Albert Einstein - Germany); “The world suffers a lot not because of the violence of bad people but because of the silence of the good people” (Napoléon Bonaparte - France); “Bad people need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good people should look on and do nothing” (John Stuart Mill - England); “Tragedy is not the brutality of evil people, but the silence of good people”(Martin Luther King Jr. - America); “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends” (Martin Luther King Jr.- America);
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little” (Edmund Burke – Great Britain)
2 Chronicles 7:14 gives its readers a sense of direction which is so relevant for the Naga Christians today: “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We have said enough prayers; however, change of behavior influenced by change of mindset remains undone! If prayers or word of mouth were enough, we would have been in paradise on earth today! The Lord doesn’t only command us to pray and seek his face but to turn away from our wicked ways; we all have home works to do during the forthcoming assembly election and beyond! We must act responsibly all the time but more so during this crucial time and specifically on the polling day.
Vote responsibly! Cast your vote without selling it!
Your vote today will determine your tomorrow.
Vote with a purpose; vote with a vision.
Your vote can be a spark towards a significant change! Indeed, “It is better to light a candle than to curse darkness” (Adlai Stevenson). Romans 13:12 says, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”Let’s not wait for change to come,it doesn’t come; change is within you and me. Let’s be the change!
