LET’S learn to share when we see that relish is about to rot, every house you enter now smells like I don’t know…like a rat has died in there, says Catholic priest Fr Chalwe Chonde.
In his homily, Fr Chonde said homes were now smelling like mortuaries because fridges were not working due to prolonged hours of load shedding.
“If you have chicken, share because relish is rotting. Homes are now smelling like a mortuary. It’s happening with fridges. Every house you enter smells like I don’t know or like a rat has died there. Let us now learn to share. You see relish is about to melt or rot, share. ‘Power will be restored’, but do you really see it being restored? Long gone is the time we used to say it will come while we’re asleep. Right now, it just blinks. So things have changed. So what is important is for you to share and just buy dried food. If you want something meaty, you just buy what you can cook and finish and not wait until tomorrow because it will rot. You just have to keep your fridge open now because if you don’t, it will look like you have killed people. Air fresheners are really selling. You might think you’re the only one going through it but it’s everyone. You think you’re a good wife by buying food in advance, fish, meat and whatever but everything rots altogether. If you insist on eating what is rotten, you start using ‘please teacher, please teacher’ (bathroom),” he said in Bemba.
“So take care of your neighbour. We’re reminded to do good to our neighbours. Let’s discuss what is good to our neighbour, more especially in this time when things are very hard. Things are tough. So let us learn to share what we have with our neighbour. In that way, God will touch and bless you and I. It’s important to do what is good to our neighbours. What you want people to do to you, do it also to others. You complain that people do not thank you but when did you thank others? If you don’t want to say good things about others, you shouldn’t expect good things to come back to you. Let us learn to do what is good and God will bless us”.
He added that people should learn to do good for others without postponing it to the next day.
“From the book of Proverbs, we are told that my son, do not withhold good to those whom it is due when it is your power to do it. So if it is your power to do what is good to others, do it. Don’t withhold the good. So let us learn to do what is good to others. It must be our way of living to do what is good and standard to the other. We need to learn to do what is good. Once you do what is good, then God will definitely bless you. And further he is saying, ‘do not say to your neighbour, go and come again tomorrow. I will give it to you’. If it is your will, if it’s your power, when you have it just do it today. Don’t postpone to the next day. You may not be there. What if you die? So do it today. So if you have something and your friend or neighbour is looking for something from you, share. So let us learn to share today and not tomorrow. Tomorrow may not be yours. So let us just do it today. Don’t postpone things for tomorrow,” said Fr Chonde.
“Do not plan evil against your neighbour who dwells trustingly besides you. Aim to do what is good for your neighbour. It is for a purpose that those people are just near you. Their house is just near your house, so don’t do what is harmful to them. Do not do what is abominable to them. Do good to them because they will assist you. They are the very people who will come to your aid whenever you’re in trouble. So don’t insult your neighbours saying they are witches. Those are bad manners. Telling off your neighbour that ‘you’re jealous of me because I married well’. Who married badly? So it is important that we try by all means to do what is good to the neighbour”.
