Freedom Come Rain

When the Church speaks, it boldly declares spiritual truths that break yolks, decimates strongholds, impacts governments, shakes up the lived realities of the people, and provides clear and unencumbered steps to redemption. Too many churches are lukewarm, have been spat out of position, and are adding nothing to the trajectory others set for the societies in which they exist. Too many church leaders are absent from the public discourse, which is needed to guide nations away from the bloodletting, the robberies, the defiling of the innocent, the breaking down of families, the abject poverty, and the greed and dishonesty in high and diverse places. Without the voice of the uncompromised Church, there is no truth, and the Father of Lies is given full credence to have his way with the society, which is something he has been trying for eons to achieve. Unfortunately, way too many church leaders are compliant with the enemy’s agenda. In Satan’s bid for information control, unrighteous narratives are promoted and the people are led astray. Truth is sacrificed among fiercely competing and persistent propaganda. The traditional press was designed to be a bastion of truth, expected to operate from a pillar of integrity, playing the specific and vital role as champions of ‘the mob’ – representatives of all the people, giving a voice to the voiceless, making the comfortable uncomfortable, and offering hope to the hopeless. Journalism’s objective is to balance the scale in the system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state. A journalist’s role is to stand in the gap in this dispensation called a democratic society. This is not unlike the mission of the Christian church, which is designated salt and light in the earth. But when the church is compromised and silent, the salt loses its savour, the light is hidden, and the voice which dominates the media is that of the unrighteous. Historically, democracy has relied heavily upon the exchange of ideas relayed through the widespread distribution of information through media platforms. Media or mass communication is designed to champion the cause of the masses. It is mandated to hand a megaphone to the voiceless, levelling the playing field so that big-monied interests and no-monied interests, aka the poor, have fair access to the public discourse. Well, that is how this should work in an ideal world. But not so in the real world, where those with big monies dominate and dictate policies that affect the masses. Oftentimes, mass communications through newscasts, advertisements, and entertainment deliver direct and indirect messages with a view to influencing thought, changing opinions, and instructing decisions. Entertainment in particular seeks to create a false reality and builds kingdoms, create heroes, establish idols, and promote idolatry and even gods. As the world becomes more information savvy, with social media overtaking its traditional counterpart, talk has taken its place as king. It determines what people will accept and what they will flatly reject. Social media is an intense operation that allows any and everybody to become influencers, and the influencees are as many and as varied. When the church abandons its assigned role, the information that is available in the public domain is skewed, and it is doubtful whether true democracy exists. Without the voice of the righteous and a force of integrity that champions the cause of the people as a whole, those who determine policy – who make decisions for the society and who implement the decisions and interpret the laws – are prone to favour the most influential sectional interests and financial dominance, which wield enormous power. Media is compromised when there is excessive pandering to big business interests over the call to serve a wide and general public. In the absence of integrity and determination to uphold the standard of truth, media, like all other sectors, can become rogue. The church is compromised when it caters to governments and big money and rejects the tenets of the undiluted gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jamaica, a rogue media and compromised church will join with the political and other perverts to ignore or suppress righteousness. This is a country where most of the people are poor and undereducated, the income gap is wide and widening, crime and especially murder are major worries, the truth is often tainted, and corruption thrives. It is no wonder that the Bible calls the enemy the prince of the power of the air, who is possessed withthespirit that dominates the minds of the children of disobedience. When it comes to promoting the gospel in the traditional media spaces, religious freedom, human rights, and interfaith relations are accommodated, and spiritual truths are cast aside. The enemy bombards the airwaves with his messages of disobedience to the Word of God, discontent, fear, drunkenness, overindulgence, sinfulness covered in a promise of happiness, false prosperity, and gender confusion, among others. The Christian voice is drowned out in the noise. The poorest suffer most from the bombardment of disinformation, as they often have no seat in Gordon House, no standing in the prominent churches, and are not shielded from the corrupt. Even their access to public services, social welfare, and the social safety net is significantly reduced. Despite its humongous size and historical stature in Jamaica, the church appears cowardly and terrified of its own shadow. According to available census data, the church in Jamaica accounts for more than two million of the 2.8 million Jamaican population. This is no lightweight. But for reasons known only to those who are positioned at the helm, clear way is given to the state and the unrighteous. The church has lost sight of its size, power, and the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord. When the church was actively playing its role as the hands and feet of God in the society, she defended the poor and dispossessed and boldly declared the Word of God in and out of season. She knew that persecution was in the offing, but she was confident that it was a battle that she could not lose. When Christian media stand up to face down unrighteousness in this or any society, it must be supported by those who stand for God. It is in this light that I add my voice in congratulating the team at TBC Radio for staying the course for 27 years, even in the face of the harshest persecution from the government, the church, and so many others. TBC Radio provides more than an option; it is a direct assault on the noise from the enemy's camp. Christian media must not seek to replicate the values of the traditional counterpart, but know that we are engaged in an end-time fight against unrighteousness. No room for compromise.

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