Opinions of Sunday, 21 July 2024
Columnist: Isaac Poku
Waakye is a Ghanaian delicacy made of cooked rice and beans, preferably eaten for breakfast or lunch. In Ghana, you can easily find a seller when you enter the street, with as many as three times the number of sellers as there are junctions in a town. It is now up to the buyer to choose a reliable seller from the many available.
To help you make a decision, I recommend three markers. Firstly, the place should be clean; secondly, the vendor should be well-dressed; and lastly, there should be a queue. A queue indicates that the food has been tested and approved. If any of these markers are missing, it's best to keep searching.
Follow these guidelines and you will thank me later.
Did you know there are fewer waakye joints than churches in an area? If there are clues to find the best waakye spot, there should be even more clues to identify a genuine church. A church is a group of people called "out of" a larger number by someone (Vines Dictionary). Therefore, a group claiming to be God's people must act as those called out of the world by God.
Given that God has given us the Bible as a guide, I would like to present three characteristics that will help you identify an authentic church.
Firstly, the assembly must acknowledge God's supremacy, Jesus' lordship, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 1:22). Secondly, the church must accept the Bible as its ultimate guide (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Lastly, the body must teach and practice the apostolic doctrine as written in the Bible (Acts 2:42; 1 Pet. 4:11). Any church that refuses to submit to God is disowned by Him (Rev. 2-3).
It's disappointing to waste money on bad waakye, but it's even worse to waste time, resources, and your soul on a fake church. Use the mentioned features to save not only money but, more importantly, your soul.