BY DENIS MWANGI
As an active Kenyan youth, I would like to make a confession that Kenya’s 2022 elections opened my eyes to many things. With my eyes always glued on the television, I watched politicians in those boisterous campaign trails address Kenyans. Who would deny the fact that many politicians are great mobilizers? It might take someone to be a genius to bring together a million people to vote for them. Sadly, most politicians used treacherous ideas to get multitudes moving in their direction. By all standards and if the first line in our constitution is anything to go by, then one wouldn’t be wrong to say that Kenya is a God-fearing nation. This simple fact gave politicians clue on where to prick Kenya and drain all her content.
Churches are governed by systems that play a pivotal role in controlling Christians. The voice coming from the churches is so powerful. What leaders say in churches has immense effect on political affairs. The problem arises when believers just take every word with them without question. What an easy task to control them? This control has been fueled by the fact that a vast majority of us are so religious but not spiritual. Our stay in churches today lingers because we are so keen on preaching and following church doctrines but not cultivating for intimacy with God. We are fanatics of god-like church leaders that we just want to do everything they say to please them. As is written in the Bible, it is difficult to please two masters at the same time. Our gullibility reduced us to nothing but puppets. It broke my heart how church leaders shared logical opinions that came with a stamp of Jesus on them. One that almost drove me nuts was, “True lovers of Jesus must vote in this leader”. This was so out of line. Every believer must be at liberty to act and choose leaders of their choice. Why not consult God and stop running with people’s opinions? One thing we must understand is that some religious leaders get used by political leaders as their mouthpiece. We all saw politicians use altars as platforms to campaign.
One of the political leader’s agenda was to legalize marijuana. It was the most misconstrued agenda during the time. My heart shattered hearing a member of clergy tell congregants not to listen to him without a solid reason. In his lengthy and vulgar speech, he strongly opposed marijuana equating it to evil only because it could be used as a drug. It’s weird he made a very obnoxious rant knowing well that it’s God who made all the plants that we see. Only mentally retarded people make judgements without scrutiny. The politician was not glorifying marijuana smoking in any way, shape, or form. Why was it so hard for this agenda to sink? He stood on the other side, but religion made a smokescreen to blind us. We made assumptions based on what seemed familiar to us. We just got reluctant and failed to digest the major side of his agenda. This was such a terrible reaction. It could have been the agenda to save Kenya. Who knows?
Massive gullibility in the body of Christ created a huge loophole. Politicians knew what to do to win minions and that was just trying to be religious. They disguised themselves as the staunchest believers of God during the period. This played out so well as they gained quick validation. Some deceived us that they had been sent by God to pull Kenyans out of mystery. Since they dragged God into their conversation why did we trust them so easily? Does the bible tell us that even Satan masquerades as an angel of light? Human logic is not enough for us Christians. It’s not unless we tap into divine direction. What we see or think no matter how true it seems it might be fabricated.
I would like to applaud the group of Christians who took time to seek God’s intervention. How delightful it was seeing real men and women of God uniting to fast and pray for a smooth season. Faith without actions is dead. In relation to this, I discovered that they truly believed in a supreme God who understood the mysterious times more than them. Their humility and authenticity were unmatched. On the flip side, I watched some Christians get into their circles to spread propagandas. They segregated believers thinking that their choice was the best. Their mouths were full of malicious rumors. Their cockiness was analogous to the pride buried deep in their hearts. There was another group of Christians who believed they had absolutely nothing to do with politics. Their participation would taint their holiness. Fear of action was a reality. Does any bible reader notice that we have been called to be more disruptive but not complacent? We have a voice and our fearless participation matters. Christians who are easily persuaded are like worn out tyres without treads. They lack a firm grip on what they believe and thus easily swayed.
