When I was in primary school, one of the many pranks that we enjoyed was writing something on a piece of paper and sticking the paper on the back of an unsuspecting fellow pupil. The messages ranged from “Kick me” to “I am stupid” and everything in between. Oh heck, yes I hang my head in shame but in my defence, er, I have said over and over that at I was young and foolish.
Well, fast forward to when I went to college and many times I would walk in the streets of Nairobi and wonder if I still had some lingering sticker on my back saying “I am gullible”. I cannot begin to count the number of times a guy would approach me and whisper in my ear “Gold chain! good price!” and others would say “Earrings! Pure gold!” and yet even others would not ask but would simply shove the items on you and say “sema bei (state your buying price)”. One thing they all had in common is that this offer was always accompanied by furtive glances to any passerby. Even if the thought of buying these attractive ornaments crossed my mind, the demeanour of the seller was always enough to stop me from making a purchase ...However, that is not to say that I hated gold and would have been ashamed to own several pure gold accessories. In fact, owning gold is not forbidden in my clan just so you know!
On the other hand, as I walked in town, I also noticed how the stores that sold gold were heavily guarded and in fact most of them the doors were not left wide open, oh no ... the doors were closed and the askari positioned there to control who got in and who did not. Oh yes, those askaris had power to vet long before terrorism that saw devolution of askari authority.
I began to questioned why would these jewellery store owners invest so much in security and yet they could easily have hawkers peddle their precious metal on the streets of Nairobi. What was the difference in the wares? The glaring difference for me was that the ones in the shop were more expensive. And not just expensive in terms of cost but even in the way they were handled. The guys in the shop had a certain TLC (tender loving care) manner in how they handled the gold they sold and their customers. They treated customers who came to purchase gold with a certain reverence. Yes, I remember once going to collect a pair of rings with a couple for their wedding and as we sat waiting, we were offered cold drinks and some Indian sweets. And not even one person shoved anything to my face nor did anyone whisper anything in my ear! In fact, the only furtive glances were mine ... I kept wondering why they were being so nice to us ... again do not judge me, I am born and bred in Nairobi therefore am suspicious ok, borderline paranoid. Do not roll your eyes at me!
Well, my conclusion was pure and simple, what was in the store was pure gold ... it even came with a warranty. Oh did I mention that for their first anniversary my friends received a call to wish them a happy anniversary and also let them know that they were entitled to one free polishing of their rings and they could bring the rings anytime before their 2nd anniversary. I told you the customer care rocked!
Here is the thing, there has been media frenzy on fake pastors and men and women of God who pray and prey on the public. It is sad. It is very sad. Actually, it is not just sad but downright annoying for me. It is the kind of thing that fills me with the kind of righteous indignation that makes one throw a brick to the TV set!
And for the record my anger is not at the media fraternity per se. To them it is plain and simple, they are receiving money to air these mpastors, in fact if it was not for them, many of these mpastors would never have been heard of.
But today, I need to speak to the Christians ...seeing that we are a country that is said to be 80% Christian. For the record, I have always doubted that figure mainly because it assumes that one is a Christian by default ie, am not Hindu, Muslim, atheist etc so I am a Christian but that is a conversation for another day.
Beloved, as a flock we have a responsibility for our own spiritual growth. We can approach God directly seek Him for ourselves. The bible is available for many of us and we should learn to pray for ourselves. Yes, there is power in corporate prayer but guess what, my God is does not play hide and seek ...if you seek Him, He shall be found. And finding Him is not subject to status, sex, religion, tribe or even subject to any human control ... infact, He is a God who desires we find Him! The word of God says, the word of God is alive and active ...read it and it has the power to transform! Seeking God is not even a function of education and my late great grandfather was testimony of that.
Let us get off our comfy seats and stop being lazy Christians ... just the same way no one can do push ups for you, no one can seek God on your behalf and you simply give him money ... not your pastor, not your bishop and not even me! In fact I will take it a step further and say many of us operate with God as though we can manipulate Him with our money. You know how roll, I have sinned and depending on my perceived gravity of that sin, my offering on Sunday shall be reciprocate to my shame and guilt.
Seek God while He can be found and work out your salvation with trembling and fear. What happened to thirsting for the Lord as a deer thirsts for streams of water? Why have we reduced Christianity to a form of witchcraft? Nipe nikupe?
Over the years, the one verse that has guided and guarded my heart as I have grown in my Christian walk has been 2 Timothy, 3:15 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
It therefore means that every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. This means that even without a pastor, the Word of God can speak to me ...simple plain ME! Yes, pastors have a role but they are not, cannot be held responsible for my personal spiritual growth.
Stop approaching God with the "naomba serikali" mentality. This attitude stinks of hopelessness and a resignation to the forces of fate!!
Back to the guys selling gold in the streets ... well one common complaint I heard was they had been sold fake stuff and yet the buy had bought it thinking the price was too good to ignore. So at a tender age I concluded if you buy cheap gold in the street and you find out you have been conned, you have no one to blame!
You see these preachers are a disgrace to Christianity and are an affront to the faith I profess and possess. But in all these, I am yet to hear of a case of a pastor who held a gun to someone to send them mpesa, we willingly do this. Giving is NOT wrong. However, why are we giving? Are we giving so that we can be able to gain access to the Heavenly Hypermarket where blessings material abound and we want to KDF heaven and exit with heavy laden paper bags? Stop treating your encounter with God as the ultimate shopping experience where prayer is the parking lot of the divine mall!
In fact, if that is what you have reduced your God to ....the master storekeeper and your pastor the shop attendant ....then I dare say you deserve to be conned!
Finally to my dear brothers and sisters, one thing every banker will tell you is that when they are being trained on how to identify fake currency, they spend hours studying the real thing. They learn how it feels, its features and basically everything that pertains to that note. That way, when a fake one comes, they will check it against the real and immediately spot the fake. Remember fakes are many but the real is only one. One thing I know from experience is that if you seek for yourself and study the Word of God and the truths therein, you will know when someone comes you with their lies ... because you know the truth that ALWAYS sets one free.
And for these so-called men / women of God, I say be afraid, be very afraid for even though the Lord tarries to deal with your ill gotten wealth, His judgement on you shall surely come because while He is a gracious and merciful loving and forgiving God, He is a God of justice and it will be a horrible thing for you to fall under into the hands of an angry God and yes, your actions must anger Him ... woe unto you who have taken advantage of people who came to you ... you wolves clad as sheep!
As for the media guys, I say to you this, if someone approached you with a 300 shillings note today, you would know it is fake and you would not fall for it. At the same time, the reason there are fake pastors is because there are real ones. They are not memorizing mpesa numbers ... they are soaking themselves in the word of God and not just preaching it but living it. Seek them ... they can be found.
Beloved, if the man or woman of God quotes an mpesa number more often than he/she quotes the bible, if you long after you have left church all you remember is “mbegooo” .... RUN BABY RUN!!
