An Associate Professor at the Department of Construction Technology and Management of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Anthony Kwame Danso, has according to a story we have published today, asked Ghanaian youth not to rely on prayers as the only means to success, but to work hard as well.
According to him, the over indulgence in prayers and fasting could not make one successful and that the prayers should always go with hard work. “If you always pray and fast without working, it will lead to nought and you won’t see any breakthrough. On the other hand, if you are Christian and you are not prayerful, it won’t help you either. So work hard,pray hard and serve God genuinely and live in Ghana. Pray as if everything hinges on prayers and work hard as though prayers do not exist. This will make you succeed,” he said, whilst addressing a Baptist Church youth congregation in Kumasi recently.
Prof.Anthony Kwame Danso did not end his admonition there, but went further to also advise the youth to stay and work in Ghana and that, they should only contemplate of moving abroad to seek greener pastures if they have the opportunity.”It is good to travel, but if you did not get such an opportunity, stay in Ghana and work hard, regardless of your academic laurels. Do not say I am a graduate so you do not deserve to do some kind of job. Even if the only job available is selling bread, do it.
“Hard work pays. Even if it is an ice water business, please do it. It doesn’t negate your title as a graduate. My wife was a Computer Science graduate yet she was into pastries. Work hard and life will get better so that you become a responsible person in society,” he advised the youth.
In our view, the university don has stated what the church and society are refusing to acknowledge – that prayers alone are not the answers to problems confronting us as a nation and as individuals. As a newspaper that is deeply rooted in Christian principles and values, it will be a taboo for us to state that prayers are not good, because it is part and parcel of the Christian doctrine.
We are, however, concerned about the way some of our youth have banked all their hopes on prayers instead of working hard to achieve success in life. The Bible even teaches Christians that a hand that does not work must not eat. Unfortunately, there are hundreds, if not thousands of our university graduates, who are sitting at home doing practically nothing, because there are no white collar jobs for them.
As Prof Danso also acknowledged, all these things are happening because the graduate young man or woman thinks because he or she had attained university level of education, some of the jobs are below them. Based on this weird mentality, these graduates would rather turn their ‘anger’ onto God by praying all day and night hoping that manner will fall from heaven.
They have forgotten that the days manna fell from heaven was completely over and that they have to start doing something with their hands, for God to use that as a process to bless them. Unfortunately, because the church has become the means, through which some of our so-called pastors are using to enrich themselves and their families, they are refusing to preach the right sermon to their respective congregations. They are rather interested in the offerings from these vulnerable people without telling them that they must start ‘working on something small’, for the God Almighty to use it as a spring board to bless them.
Again, as Prof Danso noted in his sermon to the Baptist youth, countries such as Japan, China and other Asian giants ‘do not know God’ and yet they are prospering, but Ghana, with majority of Christian population is struggling to survive. This tells a strong story that the answer to our problems is hard work, backed by prayers and not the latter alone. It is the hope of The Chronicle that the youth especially will heed the advice of Prof Danso and find something to do with their hands for God to bless them.
