The Luxuries We No Longer Notice
I was relaxing on my bed recently, surrounded by soft pillows and watching a sermon on a flatscreen. It was on a night in summer. The AC was off, but the fan was blowing gentle breeze of air to keep me cool while beautiful hymns were playing from the living room. I looked around at all the things around me, and it immediately dawned on me, that I was surrounded by comforts that even the wealthiest kings of antiquity could neither purchase nor imagine.
Growing up in Africa in the 90s, I remember how hard life was and even still is for many people there. Even as a child, every dawn, we had to wake up and walk for several miles just to fetch water (for the taps flowed at dawn and cut off during the daytime for strange reasons I still cannot understand). Water was such a scarce and precious commodity that it was rationed to ensure that it lasted longer in our drums. Oh, how we envied those who had tap or borehole/well water in their homes!
When Water Was Worth the Journey
I still remember how one of our neighbors, a nursing mother who had given birth a few months prior, died one early morning while on her way to fetch water. After walking for several miles and crossing highways with the group she was walking with (we always went to fetch water in groups), she slipped into a large gutter and hit her chest on the edge of the concrete gutter. She didn’t wake up again. She died miserably and instantly, crushing under the weight of her burden and leaving behind her husband and young children. I was shocked with grief and disbelief. She died in her quest to get water…
Life Without Sanitation and Reliable Power
Back then, we never had toilets in our homes. Even today, it is the case in several houses in Africa, Asia, and South America. To visit the toilet or throw away refuse (waste), we had to walk for miles just to get access to a pit latrine, which also happened to be close to the refuse dump. It wasn’t uncommon to see people openly defecating on the large heaps of refuse instead of using the pit latrine for a fee. Toilet rolls weren’t common, and we used corn cobs or old newspapers. As a child, I always saw a toilet in the home as the best thing in a man’s life and I ever craved and wanted it. It was something I never had and always regarded those who had it in high esteem…
Electricity wasn’t common as well: several towns didn’t have it and those that had it weren’t getting constant electricity: whenever the lights went out, you could hear the loud sounds of ooohhh and bitter curses. When it came back on, you could hear the loud shouts of excitement from distant houses! As a result, every home had kerosene lantern lamps and gallons of kerosene or candles to provide light whenever the electricity went out. Indeed, I can’t count the number of homes and humans that were burnt down to ashes from these kerosene lamps and candles. Our own home was burnt down by a candle one morning. I took nothing from the house. All my books and belongings were destroyed. Even as I write, many people still suffer from such fates.
From Bare Floors to Modern Comfort
The luxuries that come with electricity, such as fans, TV, iron, kettles, microwaves, cookers, refrigerators, phones, etc were unheard of. People walked miles to watch black and white television. I still remember the first time my father brought us a color television. We became the jewel and masters of the community! That was a time when people went to cinemas to watch movies, and videos and audio were recorded on cassette tapes …and that was a few decades ago!!
I vividly remember the types of cars we used in the 80s and 90s in Africa…those were old Bedfords with people crammed at the back facing each other. Very few people had cars and roads were just untarred, leaving us to the mercy of dust, mud, and swamps. Houses were mostly made of mud. Even when made of blocks (of cement and sand), they were not plastered. We slept on the bare floor for years and I never knew the comfort of pillows or mattresses until my late teenage years. Having a fan was a luxury and an air conditioner was not even part of our dreams. Many kids still walked barefoot without shoes…we didn’t even have bags/luggage for our clothes: we packed our clothes into plastic bags or boxes! Some had their clothes in baskets or metal pans (large bowls).
Richer Than Ancient Kings
If this is the situation of many now and of most people 30-70 years ago, then imagine the lives of people 200-5000 years ago! Those were times without telephones, electricity, refrigerators, cars, internet, etc. Even the wealthiest people and kings then, didn’t have these luxurious homes, potable/running water, vehicles, clothes, media, communication equipment etc. that we now have. To have access to toilets, water, televisions, multiple phones, air conditioners, pools, constant electricity, beautiful roads, abundant clothes and shoes, cars, trash bins, etc., is a great blessing indeed! For my ancestors and the kings of old never had these. To be able to call anyone across the globe by voice or video, or text people immediately is a great blessing indeed! As a child, my parents had to send me messages by letters or recorded tapes: but now we can just do video calls or talk by phone through WhatsApp!
The Hardships of Earlier Ages
Across many periods and regions, ordinary people lived under recurring threats of war, raiding, enslavement, famine, and political violence: indeed, many who lived barely 80-100 years ago and the years before them (all ages up to the first World War) never had peace. They lived in walled cities or villages that suffered from constant attacks from enemies and surrounding tribes/nations. Almost every year there were wars somewhere, with thousands of men being killed in war or slavery as war captives. Thousands of women and children were also either killed during these wars or captured and sold into slavery. Imagine living through such times where economic activities such as farming, trading, etc. were disrupted by constant fighting. People easily lost their life savings and investments, and nothing was permanent or secured.
Besides these constant wars were idolatry where several children, men, and women were sacrificed to pagan gods to help win wars, change the weather, avert disease etc. Thousands were killed for being witches (called witch-hunting), idol worshippers, Christians, and non-conformists. Those were times of caste system where few appointed ones were leading the nations and most of the people were mere peasants, servants, slaves and poor non-influential people who had no say in government. There were little legal protections against abuses and excesses of the ruling classes: people were killed for the least infractions with no recourse to appeal or impartial justice. Several women were used as temple prostitutes where they freely slept with the worshippers who came to such temples as part of a fertility cult or worship.
They used fire for light and put it out before sleeping. They had poor housing and lived in forests, closer to wild beasts. They had to cut giant timbers with fire, saws, axes, manual labor, and machetes before they could grow food to eat. They didn’t wear luxurious clothes nor have fans and air conditioning to keep them comfortable in bad weather. Whenever I read history, I think of how far man has come and how good God has been to this ungrateful generation of humans!
Yet, how often do we give thanks to God for granting us these technological, political, economic, and judicial advancements that make our lives easier and comfortable? How many people died using ships to travel from place to place compared to the safer and faster air travel that we now enjoy? We take it for granted and forget that our forebears walked barefoot for miles and worked day and night just to sleep on a bare floor without light.
On this Sabbath, I am thanking God especially for how far He has brought us and the beautiful blessings He has surrounded us with. For making our lives easier and comfortable than the drudgery of our forebears: we are most grateful!! Thank you Father 🙏🏼
