Stand up to be Counted as a Follower of Christ in Matters Politics

Dear brethren in the Lord,

No doubt some believers have entered politics and in the course of time got so infused with it that they compromised the basic teachings of the Christian faith and in the end discouraged many others from getting involved. Equally true is that we can’t change the world fully by participating in politics because, ultimately, only the encounter with Jesus brings a transformation and total change. As we debate on participation or non-participation in politics in our Christian discourse, we should understand that it is a mistake to completely isolate ourselves from politics. Harold Lasswell, a political scholar, defined politics as who gets what, when and how. If we are to go by his definition, our role in politics shapes how the allocation of resources is done, either with justice for the ultimate good of man or vice versa.

I am not an expert in theology but with the little knowledge I have acquired, I feel obligated to share this.

We are in the season of the General Election as a nation and incidentally, it is during such seasons that a lot of yapping and hullabaloo rent the air. Today, it seems like life is at a standstill as every business deal you want to seal gets difficult… “Let’s talk after elections,’’ everyone seems to be saying. The strife and ethical tension escalating on social media is sad! Good will messages are passed across different platforms as we Kenyans preach peace while others spew verbal diarrhea and hate speech all round. I am sure you have received mass forwards of prayer chains to speak peace for our nation and it is almost without doubt that every charismatic movement and mainstream church has had prayers categorically for our nation. This is by all means very commendable and a reason why I am driven to share these few thoughts. Paul admonishes young Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1-2;“Prayers and petitions be offered on behalf of Kings and all men in authority that we may lead a quiet, peaceful and understood life full of godliness and all reverence…” Praying is commendable and good.

I have been disturbed lately though, by sentiments that have been shared by individuals I respect in the faith. Hearing some of them say involvement in politics is not good is why I write this.

 “I don’t really care, you know politics is not my thing,” “The men of God should not enter into politics”;  “Politics is a dirty game that will corrupt men of God.” Sounds familiar? Absolutely!

I have been attending a Biblical Foundation Class recently and I must admit that the biggest error I am unlearning and is the dichotomy I have grown up believing. We have with time dichotomized (created a separation marker) between what we believe is work that is acceptable and not acceptable for Christian involvement. Unfortunately, politics is one of those professions we feel is non-Christian. 

Let’s get to the scriptures. The message of the gospel which is the good news to humanity is that salvation is by grace through faith that causes sinners to be reconciled with God (Ephesians 2:7-8). The message of the cross transforms individuals in the totality of their lives and enables them to lead godly lives.  After our transformation we are called to go back to the world as mandated by Scripture in Matthew 28:19-20, go ye therefore and make disciples by sharing the good news and discipling others in faith. The gospel is a holistic message with implications for the entirety of life, which is not limited to a particular aspect of spirituality but also physical involvement that encompasses political engagement.

The Christian worldview should address life in its totality

While I was at campus, a common phrase was that of going out to preach because souls are perishing. The key priority is to go ye and preach the gospel for the salvation of men. I miss that zeal we had but of importance to note is that the good news addressed the holistic life of the people. As Jesus begins His Ministry for example, He affirms the words of Isaiah about His ministry and says in Luke 4:18:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,^[j]
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

The year of the Lord’s favor …debt cancellation and Jubilee as we get a picture from Leviticus addresses the social injustices in the society. Not just that, throughout His ministry, Jesus addresses the physical reality and needs of the people by healing the sick and feeding the hungry. When He is questioned about giving, he tells the Pharisees to give to God what belongs to Him and to Caesar what belongs to him because he recognizes the legitimacy of the government and the role it plays in policy making and societal order.

A good example also is the service of men like Daniel. He was a spiritual person but served in a very influential position in the Assyrian government under Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Darius , Belshazzar and Cyrus. It is said of Daniel that he carried out his work very well, without defying his God and no deceit was found in him. His good deeds made people recognize and lift up his God. His presence in the government did not only attract prosperity and favor from God but through his excellency in service, God was lifted up and He drew men to Himself.

We are Sojourners anyway, should it matter?

It is also true that we are aliens in the world who are heaven bound but remember, we have been saved for good works that the Lord prepared beforehand for us in creation. (Ephesians 2:10).  Part of the good work is continuing what Christ had started and reminded the disciples to wait for until they received power to be His witnesses; first within their locality and then to the ends of the earth. We are sojourners in the world, yes, but we have been sent back to the world (kingdom of darkness) to bring the light of Christ. We as believers move from where we are to the dark world to reach out to them with that light. What this then implies is that we be what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23; to relate to all men as they are so we may be able to impact. Because politics significantly affect our life even as sojourners, politics greatly shapes religious liberty.

We belong to the kingdom of God which is enshrined with justice and righteousness and as the salt of the world, we should take bold steps, stand up to be counted,  be involved and propagate policies that promote what is just and right. Praying is good, by all means, but is only one of the facets of the life of a believer and as such, active and physical participation becomes critical too.

We can pray for peace forever but if our faith then is not accompanied by works as true subjects of God’s kingdom, it becomes difficult to experience that holistic transformation. Praying  can make a leader’s heart be transformed, as Proverbs tells of the heart of a king being in God’s hand and like waters He knows how to turn…. However, being involved in the center of service like Daniel was will mean that we actively get involved; creating a just society through wise counsel and simply doing what is right as an individual in the area God has called you to work.

We have been called to serve and to do the good works that were prepared for us before creation…Ephesians 2.9-10. It is a call to service, which  JESUS summed up as loving our neighbor as we love ourselves( Matthew 22:39). From the story of the Good Samaritan in primary CRE class, we defined a neighbor as someone and anyone who needs our help. Must we serve in politics to feel that we are now serving our neighbors? No, but rather in whatever thing God has capacitated you to do. Politics is a critical place where we can demonstrates acts of service to our neighbors. Why? Because the politics of any nation shapes the freedom and rights of people, formulation of policies and laws that care for the disadvantaged and propels the thriving of o society. Most importantly, as we champion for the justice of people especially those who have no voice, we are serving Jesus and he says assuredly, “As you did it to one of the least of these you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). 

In Jeremiah 29:7 the children of Israel, who have been taken captive and live in Babylon as exiles, get a message from the Lord through the prophet. He says “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”  Why were they urged to be concerned with the welfare of the city? Simple. Secular governments, as was the case with Babylon, served a legitimate purpose in God’s plan for Israel. By extension, good governments today promote literacy, advance just laws, provide religious liberty and allow churches to preach and teach. Good government can serve as a conduit for the furthering of the gospel and human flourishing. 

As we near August 8, stand up to be counted.

If you can’t vie, support one who is vying, educate others to rise and be counted, go out, vote, and be involved.

Your vote is your voice.

I hope that you vote; even one vote will be a step towards propagating a kingdom of justice and righteousness.

Shalom…

Sisters’ Keeper!

Should I pursue a man?

He should initiate, then you respond

Well, it is a question that is hotly debated in our circles and incidentally very subjective. Some men will argue that a woman who has the guts to tell them that she likes him is a good thing because she knows what she wants. But in most of my interactions with men, they are always happy to initiate things and do the hunting; a woman telling him straight to his face that she likes him is strange and somewhat a sign of desperation.  “I want to feel like a man. Her asking denies me that chance,” one of them had said.

But we are Christians, and so without doubt I will be inclined to what I feel convicted about as far as the place of men in marriage is. I believe that a man should initiate and make the first move, and the lady responds. I know you are just about to quote the Ruth and Boaz kind of scenario. Relax; about Ruth, we can do an exegesis of the same and understanding her cultural context will clear the air.

I think that if as a lady you want a godly man who will take the lead and responsibility at home, then you should let him do the hunting. Otherwise, pursuing him will in a way be robbing him of the one thing that defines his masculinity/manhood—which is the role of a leader. Just let the man be, sweetie.

 1 Corinthians 11:3 says this; “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.”

The man is wired to take lead and you doing that is showing that you can still take charge and be the ‘man’ of the house.

Let us go back to God’s model for marriage. We were used to hearing, as we grew up, about the 4 P’s (Priest, Protector, Provider, Prophet) that defines biblical manhood and from this, one thing comes out strongly: God’s design is for men to take the leading role.
 In Ephesians 5:22, the Bible talks about marriage and because dating for us is ideally intended to lead to marriage, then pursuit of the already laid proposition of the leading role of a man  becomes key as we build the foundation.

 ²² Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

From the excerpt, it is clear that God’s hierarchy is Christ heading the man while man leads the woman in marriage as she submits to the leadership of the man. I believe submitting does not begin when you have exchanged vows but rather when you, as a single person, are getting ready for marriage by asking God to give you a teachable spirit and accept the leading of another person.

Let him ask you out and respond. I know there are instances where you feel connected to a man but he doesn’t say anything. You have given him the necessary cues and understated affirmation that he is the one who has stolen your heart but he is quiet. Should you pursue him? No. Do not. If all that is obvious and he is not making a move, two things are likely:

·         He doesn’t share the same feelings and attachments you do. Truth hurts but when a man is interested in you, he will not sit and wait for you to pursue. He will initiate conversations, suggest meetings and hunt you down. In fact, he will not give you any breathing space and his concern for you will almost border bother. If you pursue, it means he is absolutely not interested.

·         He is not a leader and needs to build up his courage and leadership before he can be fit for dating that leads to marriage. See, God’s design is that a man should lead and that a woman’s desire will be for him. I speak for myself and I believe it is the same gut feeling every female has. You will always want to feel wanted and pursued and not be on the pursuing end. You crave to be wooed — that attention, the beautiful messages to sweep you off your feet and all that wooing entails. So when you pursue as a lady, he may actually give in but what that does is reverse God’s hierarchy. 

     You take the leading role and the man then just sits around and you become the one to run the home. Eventually, because you are not wired to be initiator and leader, you will try for a few years— if you have the strength— and then all of a sudden get tired. You snap. You cry out, “This man is just sitting, he is lazy, I’m the one footing our bills, I literally do everything in that house; can’t he just be the man for heaven’s sake?” But you will be to blame, you started the fire darling…deal with it.

Because you are not wired to lead, within a short time you will get tired, and start talking about how you need to have a real man in the house. 

And it is simple. Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.”  Basically, it is a man who notices, initiates, and eventually when she responds, he finds a wife and in finding her obtains favor from the Lord, not the other way round.

Out of Love,

Sisters Keeper!

#TrippleS111

Single, Upholding Standards & All…

Create even a barbed wire around you to guard your heart if need be

Let us begin by saying that no matter how spiritual you are, breathing fire, binding demons and heaven bound, you are not exempted from the potential of acceding into a moral temptation. And true as it is as a woman, you can easily be a downfall for any man; married or unmarried, no matter how godly the man is. Now, it is sad how our society today has accultured us to taking serious things casually. We date without purpose just to belong and find identity. We have a string of friends with benefit who can cool down our system when the hormones threaten to rip us in two and worst still, some trait of married men using money and affluence to bed young women. With this generation where someone will say that “hurting you is the last thing I will do” but what they mean is that hurting you is actually in the list of their to do things, it becomes important for unmarried lady to have standards to help guard your heart in this cruel and heartless generation but also protect those men we interact with and their marriages and our reputation.

Some people will certainly see that hedge around you in the name of standards and think it is an avenue for controlling the other party but deep down you know it serves to protect both parties especially where marriage is concerned. Forget those thinking that standards serves to restrict them from enjoying, on the contrary, it helps one to enjoy healthy friendships with the opposite sex around us. Personally, having witnessed the anguish and outcry of an almost at the verge of breaking  marriage due to introduction of the third person into the scene, I decided that upholding these standards today has helped me to be indirectly involved in firming marriages and family relationships especially when relating to a married man at work or even church . Basically by knowing my limits, the kind of jokes and interactions I can have with a married man who is a friend etc.

By upholding standard, you set yourself to be attracted to your kind. The Bible says, charm is deceptive, beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Standards set redefine your beauty as a woman because it emanates from your convictions at heart and fellowship with God; and shapes your actions around men, choice of you words etc. in essence, this helps you to use your “honey” to attract bees and by all means keep off flies that always buzz around to get something for nothing.

A good example is a hug. There those people you hug but really nothing happens but I for instance set it so straight that I can’t hug a person of the other sex more than 30 seconds, unless it is the heartbeat that we are looking to hear. And because there is always a physical attraction and magical chemistry with the person you date, those long hugs, kiss, cuddle are things your body naturally crave for and basically setting boundaries helps you two to protect each other.

Avoid opportunities for temptation

Our spirit man is saved, we are daily being sanctified in Christ but our bodies are carnal and not yet saved. Do not meet a brother, married or otherwise in lonely places, his house etc. Stop flirting with them unless your intention is to awaken a hurricane and you don’t have a ship to sail you across safely. Always dress appropriately while meeting the other party and by all means keep your hands to yourself, innocently jabbing on his chest is an invitation to not so good things… touch communicates a lot, that’s what my lecturer taught me and how you touch and where equally tells much. Refrain from those touches.

Do not be available to participate in a talk that is detrimental to his relationship…

 There are these men who have been your friends and never kept a secret from you. They marry and after a short while, they ask for a coffee hangout and they begin to speak of how that woman is nagging him. Please, setting boundaries will help you know that participating in this conversation is wrong. Don’t  listen to him criticize his wife, praise her instead. Don’t be available to be a listening ear to his marital tension…you are not yet married, so what counsel are you going to offer on a road you haven’t treaded? This is a slippery road that makes a man susceptible to easily cheat by assuming that you are understanding and caring which is not true! So keep off!

Remember,

·         when the Bible admonishes us to treat younger men as brothers and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity (1 Timothy 5:1-2) it is basically reminding us that by watching our lives, and biblical doctrine closely in terms of being driven by obedience, then  we  save both ourselves and our hearers because our testimony and actions are consistent." (1 Timothy 4:16).

·         That when we set the boundaries, we are protecting ourselves from the temptation of awakening love before its time and it becomes a prerequisite to avoiding a hint of sexual immorality (Ephesians 5:3).keeping our marriage bed pure(Hebrews 13:4) and controlling our bodies in a honorable way (1 Thessalonians 4:4).

Guarding yourself is important even if others will think otherwise and give names pegged on your rigidity. if creating that hedge means erecting a barbed wire around yourself to keep off some characters who could climb over the wall to confuse you, then by all means do. Stating this firm non-negotiables is not to say that you are giving the other party a threat but rather telling of the consequence of you two meeting in his house alone can lead to and so in a way discouraging such meetings. 

“Setting boundaries is not giving up on people, boundaries shows others how you desire to be treated and it is their choice to listen or not.”

Yours Truly,

Sisters’ Keeper

 #TrippleS 110

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My Unmarried, Good, Non-Christian Male Friend…& Missionary Dating

Mmmmh,Not such a Good Idea

I know most of us ladies have 1 or 2 male friends who are non-Christian but so good, so cute and having it all together that at some point you have entertained the thought of just saying yes to his proposal and boom, you’d be married. If only.

They have not hidden their interest and intention to settle with you. He is one fine character unlike how you have been brought up to believe the non- Christian to be and is kind, smart, visionary, and remarkable guy who makes you laugh, connects with you and you feel meh around him. He always reminds you how amazing you are, never forgets your birthday, calls every other time and when hanging out with friends, he always refers to you as “my dream alpha woman” who has refused my offer. I am almost thinking that the picture of that man is in your head right now as you read. Even if he is drinking type, he is the social drinker as we like to paint it not to look so bad and if on the extreme he goes to the pub, in his drunken state, he is the type that shouts to the bartenders to leave him alone because he only loves “stacy”! You probably have coffees countless times and he never stops to remind you that all it takes is for you to just say yes and you’d be married like yesterday.

So here you are, raised up well in church, loving Jesus, singing in worship and totally sold out to Him. Never in your wildest dream did you envision being single for a long season in life. It was always the picturesque of you going to Sunday school, loving Jesus, becoming a youth and graduate in High school, have a basketball hottie as your prom date, get to college, meet someone spectacular, get married and have babies and a family of your own. Now, at 22 you felt good and ready to have a proper boyfie and at 25, God knows you were ready for marital life as someone shared. However, 27 kicked in and somehow you told yourself that it’s okay as God is probably working on some few things before you are ready to build a home with someone. You celebrate your last 20’s birthday, before you know it, second floor is saying goodbye and the steps leading to third floor beckons for you to lift your foot. 

Now in the third floor, you feel like this wait thing is a hoax altogether. You feel bad and cheated by God and the pressure from society and within mounts up…

You hear things like

•    “Uuhm, there is a son of my friend, he is a good man and I think he is not married, I would like for you to meet him.
•  You know, maybe you should just have a man to give you a kid if this marriage thing is not working
•   You really need to settle, when you get kids past some age, they are normally retarded, do something
•  You have to tone down girl, I think you are over ambitious and that scares men off.
•   Give that unmarried, non-Christian guy a chance…you know he will change, marriage changes people and you can change him….Eeh, lets stop here, did someone just say that I can change him? Am I Christ to change him? Cheei and as some comic writer put it, remember you are not “Holy Spirit Junior” to convict and change a man. Forget about this false evangelism called “missionary dating” in the hope that you will change him.

With the pressure, then you decide. “After all he loves me” and you throw caution to the winds and give in. Of course you enjoy the love and attention for a while but then you realize, there is still a void that is unfilled. It is even true when you understand that the thing that drives you and epitomizes your being is identity in Christ and that is the subject that you just can’t have a conversation on. This reality hits you when you know that there are days you just don’t want to be told how pretty and “fantamagorgeous” you are but you want to share a on a conviction you got through God’s word; that moment when you realize his love wont fill that void and all that will be suffice at the time  is him just praying with you and saying that “darling, I know it’s difficult for us but God is our refuge” but he can’t even recite Hail Mary or the Lord’s Prayer, leave alone the Apostle Creed and the subject just makes him uncomfortable.(pun intended)

It can be tempting and an easy quick fix to prove a point to self and others but do not settle for a non-Christian male friend for dating that leads to marriage. It doesn’t matter how good, cute, endowed and packaged he comes. You may have even verified with FBI and confirmed the dude is clean with no traits of a serial killer but don’t settle. Because your identity is in Christ, he/she may not get to really know you without knowing the Christ in you. And if you are genuinely and passionately pursuing Christ in your life, yoking with non-Christian good male friend is not a wise option. Your lives are so different sweetheart and you know it.

However, this is not by any means saying that you shut that non-Christian male because having them in your life equals giving the devil a playground to play “azonto”. It is actually unchristian to shut people out because they don’t subscribe to your faith. These are your colleagues at work; your cousin’s friends etc, what is important is creating boundaries and making a choice not to entertain them as lovers but by all means appreciating who they are. Jesus reminds us that we are the salt of the world, we can’t shut the world out and that is where we have called to go ye and make impact. Have them in your life but have the correct boundaries and let your light so shine that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven, can I get a Halleluyah.

I know it is hard in a marriage idolized society but accept that you are single and unattached, be open minded about meeting new people and getting to know brothers but meanwhile, life shouldn’t stop. Keep flying solo…God has got your back, literally and you aint solo as you think.

Love,

Sisters Keeper!

#TrippleS109