We often put on a brave face and sometimes rationalise the world we live in by assuming, hoping and believing that ‘good actions will lead to good outcomes’. And so the religious man/woman and the wise person around us would advise us with words like ‘the only way to love is through love’ and then sacred texts are cited to hammer in the message of ‘be good here to reap the rewards in the hereafter’.
Now if we bracketed the ‘hereafter’ (the heavenly world) and simply looked at the ‘here’ (the mundane world), sometimes the only way to love is NOT through love, hell is indeed the only way to Heaven. The above picture, that would be the focus next, has just come to Swipel’s attention. For the residents of Ojola in the heart of Luo land/Western Kenya, the story behind this picture illustrates just why ‘hell is the only way to heaven’.
In an increasingly deteriorating state, the residents and especially the motorbike taxies went to see the authorities from the head of the ward to the constituency’s Member of Parliament (MP). They were met with promises that would never materialise and in the process they discovered that the road could have been done long ago had it not been because of some unethical practices by local politicians.
Fed up and angered, the motorbike taxi drivers armed themselves with spades, hoes etc., and dug up the road from both ends leaving a small path in the middle for their two wheeled vehicles and those legging it. Luckily for them, the non-repressive authorities did not cite (number 123456789-Swipel’s invention) country’s law against vandalism to hunt the road diggers down and lock them up. The inconvenience it caused to the 4 wheel driver of Sir and Madame somebody did prompt some action. They took the hint and now have announced that they will upgrade the infrastructure in the area. ‘HELL IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN!’
Now, is that the way ahead? What is the story out there?
swipel 
Is swipel insuniating that we all have to go through hell to get to heaven. Assuming that swipel believes in the concept of hell and heaven, I am sure that he is not comparing the state of affairs in Africa to what the Bible, Quoran and Tora refer to as hell. As human beings there one string we hang on to that gives us a reason for living and that string is call “HOPE”. The hope of a better tomorrow. It does not really matter when that tomorrow will come or where that tommorrow will be, what matters is that we have hope. Religious leaders are by no means hammering us with the message of good deeds and the spread of love. All they are doing is encouraging us to keep growing as descent human beings in the midst of our difficulties. A hole in the street in Africa will be looked upon from us in Europe as a type of hell while a pedestrian in my village will jump over it an walk to his farm. Hell is real and it is nothing like an inconvenience in our life on Earth nor is it a pit stop on our way to heaven.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Phodie,
Swipel never meant to bash religion and a whole host of beliefs behind it most of which are useful. Swipel indeed bracketed the ‘hereafter’ and focused solely on the ‘here’. The essence of the argument was that, strictly speaking, destroying a road is a bad deed, but a necessary one to get it upgraded. Hence the tittle ‘hell is the only way to heaven’. Destroying a road, stopping traffic, striking could be seen as features of civil disobedience that Martin Luther King would have endorsed, so perhaps ‘hell’ which is put between ” is indeed the only way to heaven?
LikeLike
It has been hard fought but all is well that ends well. Swipel has just learnt, from a reliable source, that the Ojola road has just been upgraded to the contentment of its residents!
LikeLike