Make the lion in you roar

Stephen Mpofu
All urban settings in Zimbabwe — and indeed, in other countries around the globe — were and are still subjected to relentless bombardments of information by radio, television and interpersonally about the dangers replete in the Covid- 9 pandemic.

But what do we see in Bulawayo? By Tuesday this week a total of over 2 000 people in the City of Kings and Queens, out of nearly 10 000, were arrested for lockdown violations, the highest record out of this country’s 10 provinces.

Are we seeing here a woeful rearing of the ugly head of opposition political fatalism, or just what does such blatant disregard for the safety of other city dwellers in Zimbabwe’s second largest city, tell the world at large about the offenders in point?

The thumbing of noses at the measures introduced to curb the spread of the global pandemic can be expected to have serious, negative boomerang effects internationally as Bulawayo boasts two particularly important seats, one as host of Zimbabwe International Trade Fair and the other as Zimbabwe’s industrial hub, albeit in intensive care at present.

Potential international exhibitors and potential foreign investors reading stories about the disregard for human safety in international news might develop cold feet and stay away from a country that they believe disregards human safety — the latter remaining too close with their hard-earned money, believing that there will be no security for their golden eggs — and might even blame the Government for not ensuring that safety is guaranteed.

But as everyone should know, the Government has and continues to take every measure possible to ensure the protection of lives in Bulawayo, as everywhere else in the country, is strictly observed.

With the lockdown extended to May 3, it must be incumbent upon every Zimbabwean to follow to the letter every measure that Government takes to protect lives everywhere else in the country in order to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic so that there may be no further extension of the lockdown in order for our economy to recover.

If the need arises, the Government might have to introduce draconian measures to ensure compliance with all regulations or allied measures that it takes for everyone’s safety.

Returning to the coronavirus that has taken the entire world by storm, as it were, world health experts say that the virus was first discovered in animals in the 1960s, but no exact animal carrying it is identified or located in a particular country.

Furthermore, one would have expected that the curiosity with which scientists are made would have led these learned people into following up on the virus and taking the necessary measures to curb it if that was found necessary.

Or did the Covid-19 virus catch the world scientists napping, or did science collude with the maker or initiator of the deadly virus, whose origin many attribute to the devil in Satan’s desire to upstage God by making people turn away from God believing that He is responsible for the pandemic?

But we learn this from God’s Word in John 3;16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Also in John 10:10: “ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”

So we all have it from the horse’s mouth that the Covid-19 virus, which by early this week had claimed the lives of 169 400 worldwide out of more than a million people infected is the work of the thief, the devil, and not that of the Creator of humanity and this world.

In the circumstances, what does this world’s Covid-19 crisis tell Christians in the first place, in light of churches also currently affected by the lockdown but with most churches live streaming their services.

When things are normal, Christians go to church and ask their pastors to pray to God to free them from trials and tribulations that they face in life.

But evil, as some in Christendom say, has ears to hear and, that being the case, born again Christians can from their home settings or elsewhere pray to God and “make the lion in them roar” and evil or any other intractable challenges they face will flee from them.

What is therefore required during the period of lockdown and other difficult times is for Christians, and the world at large, to preach the message of love and complement it by doing love.

This is particularly necessary as after the Covid-19 world pandemic some economies will remain in intensive care or experience ups and downs for prolonged periods before stability returns with big economies flourishing once more to provide, preferably without hideous strings attached to it, to smaller economies breathing hard on their heels.

Thus, by doing love people who have will go to the rescue of the have nots and because of His love for the world God will demonstrate much more of His blessings on us His people.