Living in a Cruel World
29 July 2026 By Abiodun Giwa
Abiodun Giwa
There is more poverty and suffering in the world than one would expect in a humane society. We live in a cruel world. Some have, and many lack. Politicians have seized on the situation to practice any economic policy they think could assuage the people. Capitalism, Communism, and Socialism are three major competing economic systems. Capitalism seems more welcome because of the open doors it offers others and free enterprise, unlike Socialism and Communism. Yet, a large number of people are still struggling under Capitalism, while the other two really make life miserable under rigid control.
Jesus Christ hated the face of poverty, suffering, and sicknesses without solution. He healed the sick with his extraordinary power, fed the hungry, and challenged the authorities. People flocked to him. People flocked to him, believing he was the expected savior, just as they look forward to opposition politicians as saviors but are disappointed by their tricks.
There was something in the early Christian practice that mimics Communism and Socialism. All members have everything in common, and no one claimed anything to themselves. Thus, Ananias and Sapphira were stoned to death when they hid what they had from the Church practice. Those were the times when human power had not taken over the Church. As time went on, Martin Luther from Germany traveled to the Holy See and saw leaders who preached one thing and did another. It was the beginning of the Schism in the Church. Many of the early churches that branched out of the Catholic Church followed the precept of no single ownership. However, the Pentecostals changed all that to single ownership. Every pastor began to control their Church's purse too and do anything that pleased them. And still exempt from taxation, as nonprofits.
All that the new generation Churches care about today is the pastor's family's well-being. The pastor does care about members' spiritual wellness, but, materially, it is each to their own kingdom. It is no surprise that the practice of a common purse and the use of materials failed in the Church, and one should not expect anything different from politicians who embrace a practice that had failed there. The Church never gave the control of the purse any other name than a humane way to share what belongs to us all. Is there anything wrong with that, my brother, to lack and decide to share what we have? Isn't that a real source of joy or happiness?
Christ began a good cause, but his later-day disciples who seek to modernize have messed up his mission. They don't want to die like Christ or early disciples like Peter, Paul, and John. All they want is the purse to themselves, and some of them do awful things worse than the early leaders in Rome who compelled Luther to begin his own Church. Many people are scared of religion now because of the Church's direction of affairs. However, many also still go to Church because poverty, suffering, and sicknesses have not ceased. There is no personality like Christ to feed 2000 people with crumbs of bread, command the sick to get healed, and tell the people what to do to escape suffering.
The world map of cruelty has not changed. It only shows that some countries manage their suffering, poverty, and sicknesses better than others. And people from other countries are rushing to escape and enter countries with a sense of better management, even though they are hounded and unwanted. It is the story of the sociology of immigration. No one can blame countries that work to control migration into their land. It is about resources, budgeting, and management. Today, insecurity in the land has become another reason no country will open its door to migrants without caution.
Albeit, in so-called developed Capitalist societies that are struggling with excessive migration from backward countries, people complain of working so hard and all their earnings going into paying bills, with little left for comfort. And working has replaced religion. No one is expecting any savior whose disciples would mess up his mission. They expect a political party to present a detailed manifesto of action for them to follow; any deviation from it will mean a departure to another party. It is no longer a journey of following any leader whose demise might leave them in the middle of an ocean, and his disciples who are supposed or mandated to continue the good work would be embroiled in self-gratification.
It is not supposed to be a world of survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, it is, and I am not expecting a change anytime soon. To anticipate a change, is like recasting Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot", who never arrives. I believe that the curse after Adam and Eve's fall is strong against humanity.
Jesus Christ hated the face of poverty, suffering, and sicknesses without solution. He healed the sick with his extraordinary power, fed the hungry, and challenged the authorities. People flocked to him. People flocked to him, believing he was the expected savior, just as they look forward to opposition politicians as saviors but are disappointed by their tricks.
There was something in the early Christian practice that mimics Communism and Socialism. All members have everything in common, and no one claimed anything to themselves. Thus, Ananias and Sapphira were stoned to death when they hid what they had from the Church practice. Those were the times when human power had not taken over the Church. As time went on, Martin Luther from Germany traveled to the Holy See and saw leaders who preached one thing and did another. It was the beginning of the Schism in the Church. Many of the early churches that branched out of the Catholic Church followed the precept of no single ownership. However, the Pentecostals changed all that to single ownership. Every pastor began to control their Church's purse too and do anything that pleased them. And still exempt from taxation, as nonprofits.
All that the new generation Churches care about today is the pastor's family's well-being. The pastor does care about members' spiritual wellness, but, materially, it is each to their own kingdom. It is no surprise that the practice of a common purse and the use of materials failed in the Church, and one should not expect anything different from politicians who embrace a practice that had failed there. The Church never gave the control of the purse any other name than a humane way to share what belongs to us all. Is there anything wrong with that, my brother, to lack and decide to share what we have? Isn't that a real source of joy or happiness?
Christ began a good cause, but his later-day disciples who seek to modernize have messed up his mission. They don't want to die like Christ or early disciples like Peter, Paul, and John. All they want is the purse to themselves, and some of them do awful things worse than the early leaders in Rome who compelled Luther to begin his own Church. Many people are scared of religion now because of the Church's direction of affairs. However, many also still go to Church because poverty, suffering, and sicknesses have not ceased. There is no personality like Christ to feed 2000 people with crumbs of bread, command the sick to get healed, and tell the people what to do to escape suffering.
The world map of cruelty has not changed. It only shows that some countries manage their suffering, poverty, and sicknesses better than others. And people from other countries are rushing to escape and enter countries with a sense of better management, even though they are hounded and unwanted. It is the story of the sociology of immigration. No one can blame countries that work to control migration into their land. It is about resources, budgeting, and management. Today, insecurity in the land has become another reason no country will open its door to migrants without caution.
Albeit, in so-called developed Capitalist societies that are struggling with excessive migration from backward countries, people complain of working so hard and all their earnings going into paying bills, with little left for comfort. And working has replaced religion. No one is expecting any savior whose disciples would mess up his mission. They expect a political party to present a detailed manifesto of action for them to follow; any deviation from it will mean a departure to another party. It is no longer a journey of following any leader whose demise might leave them in the middle of an ocean, and his disciples who are supposed or mandated to continue the good work would be embroiled in self-gratification.
It is not supposed to be a world of survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, it is, and I am not expecting a change anytime soon. To anticipate a change, is like recasting Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot", who never arrives. I believe that the curse after Adam and Eve's fall is strong against humanity.
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