Ghana@65 : Christians Must Live as People of High Integrity – Rev JFK Mensah

Rev Joseph Felix Kwesi Mensah, General Overseer of the Great Commission Church International has called on Christians to make every effort to always uphold integrity in their public and private lives since it is required of them to be different.

According to him, the country is in dire need of leaders with proven integrity to lead, manage and transform lives and society, and Christians cannot but manifest the values and principles of God to brighten every place they found themselves, being the salt and light of the world.

Rev JFK Mensah, said this in a presentation on the topic: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Church in Promoting good governance, after 65 years,” at the 2022 Edition of the National Christian Forum in Accra on Thursday, August 26, 2022.

Taking inspiration from the Bible reading from Proverbs 10:9 (People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed), the Man of God explained integrity as “wholeness, perfection, soundness, simplicity, completeness and sincerity.”

He said Ghana at 65 years of independence and still roaming around the world to borrow and seek external economic intervention means, the nation is in dire need of leaders with exceptional character to lead the people, emphasizing that it is unacceptable that as a Christian-dominated population of about 71.3 percent, corruption is still on the rise in our public offices.

REV JFK MENSAH

“So what exactly do we teach and listen to in our Churches, what do we teach our young ones and children at home? If we all accept that stealing, lying, cheating and killing is a bad things, how come we are still hearing corruption, who are those in corruption, are we not the same Christians? “he stressed.

Rev Mensah said living a life of integrity as Christians is a must, non-negotiable, saying, you can’t dodge it, and that there is no University that could offer knowledge on good character and integrity.

He added, that our generation critically needs leaders with integrity – people who cannot be bought, will not compromise with wrong, will walk the talk, and will be completely honest in small things as in great things.

“Unfortunately, integrity seems to be a critical aspect of leadership which is mostly found wanting, both in the church and society. God expects us to stand out and be counted as a people who do not yield to corrupt practices but always uphold ethical values in every area of our lives, at home, in the workplace and in the church,” Rev Mensah said.

He charged believers to uphold high moral uprightness, hold themselves to ethical standards, eschew corruption, maintain a pure conscience before God and man, have no hidden agenda in their actions, do things without prioritising personal gain, live above reproach, and be consistent in their character, saying, “When integrity is upheld, then the nation prosper.”

While bemoaning the dwindling down of Christian teachings of character in homes and in churches, Rev Mensah challenged ministers of the gospel and Christians, in general, to put themselves on the integrity level scale by subjecting themselves to self-assessment and as well ensuring that their followers emulate the same.

He also charged Christians and believers to live a life of integrity by reviving the teaching of the Bible and obeying the word of God since the Lord detests lying lips (2 Corinthians 8:21; 1 Peter 2:12), abiding by the principles of God (fearing God and keeping His commandment), avoiding hypocrisy like the Pharisees which Jesus spoke against, and know that every action of theirs will be judged by God.

In his welcome remarks, Mr. Edem Senanu, said true Christians have abandoned the nation for persons with ungodly character to manage the nation and its resources, pointing out that the nation could not prosper despite the abundant resources because of bad leaders, leaders with no iota of integrity in them.

He explained that the National Christian Forum 2022 is to evaluate the performance of the three arms of government and the Church in promoting and consolidating good governance for accelerated national development.

According to him, the forum is necessary at times when the nation’s economy is crawling, the cost of living is rising, and the poverty gap is widening.

With that, Mr. Senanu said the 3rd National Christian Forum – NCF2022, accepts the challenge and responsibility to lead a discussion on reviewing the quality of Governance we have experienced identify the gaps and distill God-inspired strategies, solutions and innovations to move the country forward.

It provides thought leadership space for the Christian community including professionals, ministers and activists to contribute to national policies and to own the agenda for progress.

The forum also takes an in-depth look at the impact of the 3 arms of government, thus the Legislature, Judiciary, and Executive on Ghana’s development over 65years of nationhood.

Though Ghana is celebrated globally for its democratic credentials and provides exemplary political leadership in the West African sub-region, many Ghanaians are dissatisfied with the quality of governance and believe it could be better than what has been experienced.

Mr Edem Senanu

Mr. Senanu bemoaned the high levels of reported corruption and waste of public resources, despite the fact that all the organs of Government are supposed to be functioning and apparently fulfilling their constitutional mandates.

He said Ghana’s problem isn’t the fact that leaders are human, the problem is not being honest about a leader’s humanity and Churches and Christian organizations must stop ignoring red flags that indicate leadership integrity gaps.

Does the forum focus on what has worked? What has not worked? What can we do better moving forward? as a nation and as Christians?

Speakers leading deliberations include legal luminary Mrs. Clara Beeri Kasser-Tee who will be assessing the Effectiveness of the Judicial Arm of Government for the past 65yrs.

Mrs. Clara Beeri Kasser-Tee is the founder and Head of Kasser Law firm and a member of the Ghana Bar Association.

Nonpartisan/Independent Presidential Hopeful, Mr. Jacob Osei Yeboah(aka JOY) – will be evaluating the Effectiveness of the Executive Arm of Government for the past 65yrs

An Engineer, Entrepreneur and astute Strategist – Mr. Osei- Yeboah contested the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections.

Human Rights Activist and Philanthropist Dr. Kodjoe Sumney will also critique the Effectiveness of the Legislative Arm of Government for the past 65yrs.