This is a hard one to do –because when it comes to matters of religion, most people become completely blind and unreasonable. Yet, the Word of God is complete on its own and leaves no gaps in what is expected of us.
Going straight to the point, those in power today seem to have appropriated God to themselves. It is like the rest of us that do not necessarily support their views on how to deal with the many problems in the country presently are not saved enough.
For the avoidance of doubt, I believe there is a God in heaven and have absolute faith in the power of prayer. I am a witness to what God can do in my own personal life experiences.
Having said that, I also know God has His own rules of operation and procedures to intervene in the affairs of men under the sun.
I do not know why, but something does not seem right with the dramatization of prayers by the Hustler brigade. Here are my considered views:
- God is a God of order – I have never seen anywhere in the Scriptures where God contradicts Himself. If indeed the Hustler leaders have been chosen by the true God, then they should just settle down and trust God to lead them. We should know them by their work –period. Why do they have to keep on running all over the Country reminding everyone how they were prayed into power?
- God will not walk down by Himself from heaven to solve our problems –in the era, we are living in, the God I know of works through his people to provide solutions for His children. To pretend that you can pray for God to walk down from heaven to reduce the prices of goods in our supermarkets, farm our land or fix government failures is to fool us around. He chose the leaders to use them to fix these things for our common good;
- We cannot be corrupt and appoint incompetent people into high offices then start praying to God to help us solve our problems –God has given us brains to think and not behave like other world animals. How can we steal from public coffers left-right-center and promote mediocrity in government and then expect God to answer our prayers? God is no boy to be fooled around with;
- We must respect the Rule of Law – our God is not a God of confusion. If He will help solve our problems, He will do so within our established Constitutional order and within the confines of our laws. The Constitution of Kenya clearly and unambiguously acknowledges the Supremacy of an Almighty God in the preamble. After that, it embraces our cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity. If this is true, then a President and his deputy elected under that Constitution cannot appear to own that God by mobilizing a section of religious leaders and their followers in the name of God. A president cannot divide God’s people in the name of prayer –that is to contradict God’s order;
- The Word of God warns of false prophets too – the truth is in our times and in this country, those with money have their way, even in most places of worship. Wheat and chaff will grow together and only Him who will sort it out at the right time. It will be foolish therefore for true Worshipers to blindly believe every charade being done in the name of Prayer and God. That is like saying the Word is not true or lies;
- Evil men often hide in religion to buy public sympathy and community goodwill – psychology has proved beyond reasonable doubt that perverts, charlatans, drug lords, criminals, and tyrants hide in places of worship and charity to fool the poor and the masses. They do things simply because a person who lifts the bible cannot steal, kill or even lie to achieve their selfish ends and greed for power and money.
For example, official data has it that Christians are 86% while Muslims are 11%. Combined, this totals 97% of the population. But look at the level of corruption and theft in both the Government and private sector, in our communities and homes across the entire Country. Where in the Bible does God allow such evils? Why then should we be quick to imagine simply because elected officials are lifting their hands in public to pray they are saints among the rest of us evil lesser mortals?
In Zambia, Edgar Chagwa Lungu used to lead prayers in public rallies while he presided over massive plunder and destruction of the country’s economy. This is a good testament that simply because a president holds the mike in public to pray does not automatically mean he means well for the poor, the masses, and the country. Let us use our heads and not blind loyalty to religious leaders and politicians!
As I conclude, let us pray for this nation –but let us not appear to mock God while at it. Prayer is a powerful double-edged weapon that cuts both forward and backward.
God is righteous, fair and Just in His ways and never works at the whims of anybody, no matter how powerful or big they may think they are.
None of us can appropriate God or His Mercy to him or herself –we are equal before Him and have called us to obey and trust!