INSTITUTING DEVELOPMENTAL WORK ETHICS AMONG AFRICAN CHRISTIANS IN THE LIGHT OF GENESIS 26:1-22

Abstract

The level of underdevelopment in the post-Independence Africa is often attributed to the Euro-Christian religious orientation which tends to escalate the euphoric glories of the world to come, to the detriment of developmental efforts in the present life. Drawing from this, therefore, critics have derided the Euro-Christian faith as a mere instrument for the perpetual enslavement of the African mind for the purpose of stagnating Africa in a permanent state of underdevelopment. A new pan-African awareness is actually arising now, calling for the total abolition of Christianity as part of the vestiges of Western colonialism, and advocating a return to traditional African norms and faith, as a way of moving the continent forward. However, a lucid look at the Christian document of faith, especially Genesis 26:1-22, shows that the present evasive, escapist work orientation of the present-day African Christians is not an intrinsic characteristic of the Christian faith, but the product of a hermeneutical error that has endured. This paper seeks to exegetically and hermeneutically analyse Genesis 26:1-22, and to draw attention to its inherent advocacy for a pragmatic developmental work ethics, within the context of the tenets of the Christian faith, as a necessary step for breaking the perennial barriers to African development, and moving the continent forward in its developmental aspirations.