Youth and Corruption
By Fr. Patrick Kachoka
A corrupt free generation starts with the youth. The national campaign against corruption whose theme is Resetting the Moral Tone avers this fact. The Church is aware of it too. Church and State have a duty to transform the youth from passivity to activeness, from being victims of corruption to fighters of corruption. Whereas the nation equips the youth with moral weaponry, the Church equips them with spiritual ammunitions. One way is to empower the youth to inflict a decisive blow on the motives or whys of corruption with the Word of God. Michael Comer’s Corruption and Bribery identifies a number of whys of corruption. Before proceeding, a quick look at the four groups of youths (Lewis Robinson).
The first group includes youths who do not know that they do not know corruption. Until they are enlightened, they remain the largest reserve of untapped human resource for the fight. The second group includes youths who know that they don’t know the whys of corruption and how to tackle them. The third group involves youths who know the whys but need support on how to combat the motives. The fourth group involves youths who almost effortlessly slay the whys; they have the knowledge and competence. So, in whichever group, youths are the best positioned social group to launch a formidable attack that causes the most damage at the leviathan.
Let’s now equip youths with both the whys and the scriptural missiles to bombard each motive at the earliest possible time in their life. The first why is egocentricism. It manifests in the use of force, threat, fraud or intimidation in order to compel somebody to obtain salary increase, promotions, bonuses, tenders and other benefits. This aims at amassing oneself with unfair and unmerited advantages. Youths, be alert of such spirit. Armour yourselves with the words, “a sudden fortune will dwindle away, accumulation little by little is the way to riches (Proverbs 13:11). Further, “Yahweh will make you abound in possessions: in the offspring of your body, in the yield of your cattle and…
Subscribe to Together youth magazine and read the whole story
