CHERISH PEOPLE WHEN THEY ARE ALIVE AND NOT WHEN THEY ARE DEAD

I have lived and walked this earth for quite some time now. I may not be old but then I have come to realize that some interesting things happen in life that I don't and will never understand. One of those interesting things I have come to realize is that the most people you have in your life will never cherish you until you are dead. Obviously I have not been dead before but I have witnessed different situations where the nicest things are said to a dead person meanwhile nobody really cared about him or when when they were alive. What pains me the most of that, that person probably needed those words of encouragement whiles alive which could probably change something or bring some light into his life. It is very fascinating how all of a sudden a dead person becomes so important to people he was probably worthless to when he was alive. It is however heart breaking when these things happen and I keep asking myself one very important question. Why can't we cherish people when they are alive. No matter how busy we are, we just have to try and make time and spend time with the people in our lives. Create memories out of the moments we have because those memories are priceless memories which cannot be replaced. We should get to know people and give people the chance to know us and not just stand afar and try to figure them out. One of the painful things that could ever be is not getting to know someone and then the person passes away. All you can say is 'I wish I got a chance to know him' or ' I wish I had given him a chance'. Sometimes our experiences turn to push people away and because those people cherish the relationship they have with us, they always pull themselves back into our lives. But the truth is that one day we may push them away and they may never return.

HOW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE DIMENSION OF WORSHIP

We all have our way of worshiping, be it Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and even traditionalists. One common link to these religions is to connect with our maker. Coming from a Christian background, I am used to the form of worshiping where I have to go to church every Sunday. It was fun at the time because my brother and I felt cool with our Bible and once you stepped out, everyone in the neighborhood just knew that we were going to church. Going to church without a Bible and a Hymn book was like committing a grave offense since you would either sit there staring into thin air whiles the scripture reading is was going on or you would have  to stretch your neck and try to sing from the Hymn book from the person sitting next to you. Some people felt comfortable sharing their Bible and Hymn books with you whiles others wouldn't see the need to. Indeed, belonging to a particular denomination meant that one had to know some of the songs by heart which indeed comes from singing regularly and also being thought in the youth levels. It was indeed a sight to behold when the whole congregation would stand on their feet holding their Hymn books wide open and singing the hymns passionately and on top of their voices.

There were times when praying before eating was the most important ritual every Christian had to undertake before eating, no matter how hungry one was. Now we don't see these things in our churches anymore. With the emergence of various forms of technology and technological advancements, the way we worship in churches have gradually changed from the way it ought to be to how most churches feel it should be. Members of most churches don't really bother to take a Bible or a Hymn book to church anymore. This is probably as a result of churches mounting projector screens and LCD televisions all around the auditorium so as to be able to project the Bible readings as well as the words of the Hymns that would be sung. The existence of modern technology has also to people feel reluctant to carry Bibles and Hymn books to church since they will be able to download Bible applications to their tablets and smartphones which to them is more efficient. Now most men of God put their sermon on their tablets so they don't have to carry their big Bibles onto the podium.

Sometimes instead of people praying before they start eating,some rather tale a picture of the food and post it to instagram or facebook....and any other social network they deem fit for what they hope to achieve. Technology in itself is not bad but how it is used it what raises questions. It is not a bad thing having a portable Bible on your in church but taking the tablet and smartphones to church could also be a distraction to the owner as well as those around thereby defeating the main purpose of being in church in the first place. In as much as technology is good, we should know how and when to use it so it may not seem like we are putting a square peg in a round hole.

Richard Quarshie