Editor,
There was a time in our community when people often fought among themselves. Disputes were settled with violence, and machete attacks were common. Life seemed to have little value, and revenge was a way of life. We lived in fear, guided more by anger than understanding.
Then came Christianity – quietly at first, like a whisper carried by the wind, reaching one household after another. Over the years, that whisper became a wildfire. Within a few decades, almost the entire Wancho community had embraced the faith. The machetes were laid to rest. The age-old feuds slowly faded. People began speaking of love, forgiveness, and peace – concepts we once mocked, now guiding our lives. The message of Christ touched hearts, and with it came a transformation we never thought possible.
Today, over 90% of the Wancho population identifies as Christian. We no longer spill each other’s blood in broad daylight. We gather under the cross to pray for our families, to teach our children the values of compassion and honesty. Spiritually, mentally, and even physically, we have evolved.
But as I reflect, I cannot help but notice a strange contradiction. We abandoned many of our traditional rituals – the sacrifices, the chants, the forest ceremonies – labelling them un-Christian. We were taught to leave behind anything that didn’t align with god’s word. And so we did. But strangely, we held tightly to certain aspects of our culture – especially those that please the flesh: feasting, drinking, and, above all, the insatiable craving for wealth.
Step into any church on a Sunday, and you’ll see our businessmen and contractors lifting their hands in prayer, warning others not to sin. “Do not cheat, do not lie, do not steal – the lord is watching,” they say. But by Monday, many return to their businesses not with righteousness, but with cunning. In the world of contracts and tenders, it’s not uncommon to hear of 90% profit margins squeezed from government projects. Roads that vanish after one monsoon. Buildings that crumble before they’re even inaugurated. Supplies that exist only on paper. Yet the money flows into private accounts unchecked.
The contractors, if not accountable to the government, the community, or their own people, should at least fear god as true Christians and work with all integrity – taking marginal profit instead of engulfing the whole project while doing nothing.
What has happened to us? We abandoned animal sacrifices, but we sacrifice our integrity every day. We no longer chant in the forest, but in our offices, we whisper lies into files. We no longer drink local brew in the name of spirits, but we toast foreign liquor in the name of business success – often bought with money meant for public welfare.
Is it not sin to cheat the government? Is it not sin to rob the community of its future? Is it not sin to forget the very teachings we claim to live by?
And it’s not just the businessmen or contractors. Even ordinary citizens – our fellow Christian brothers and sisters – are often no better. I’ve witnessed instances where minorities or less privileged groups were burdened with unjust fines – sometimes amounting to Rs 20 to Rs 50 lakhs – over matters that could easily have been forgiven in the name of god. Is it fair to demand a brand new vehicle as compensation for a minor scratch?
These aren’t isolated incidents. I could fill pages with examples of similar injustice – committed not by non-believers, but by those who claim to walk in the light of Christ.
True Christianity is not about what rituals we abandon. It’s about what kind of heart we carry. The real change must not be limited to customs – it must transform our character.
If we truly believe in Christ, we must reflect him – not just in the church pews, but in the way we do business, in the way we treat our neighbours, in the way we earn our money, and in the decisions we make when no one is watching.
I, too, am a Christian. I do not write this to judge, but to remind. The machetes may have rusted, but if our hearts are still sharp with greed, hypocrisy, and deceit, then have we truly changed?
It is time we look inward. Not just as Christians, but as human beings. Because no religion, no sermon, no Sunday worship can save a soul that chooses profit over principle.
Let us not forget – we were not called only to worship, but to become the light.
Abo Monwangham,
Longding