Instant Coffee
No, instant
coffee is not God’s greatest gift to mankind. Rather, it represents how our
generation likes to do things – instantaneously. We expect our relationships to
run like efficient computer programs – without any hitches or bugs. We need our
processes to unwind like clockwork. We hope to not have downtime on anything. We
want everything to be ready and available to us as soon as we wish it.
Unfortunately, that is not how God designed the world.
The Fallacy of Prayer
Prayer is
such a commonly used word that it can be found in the most unlikely sentence.
“I will pray for you”, says a person to another for a whole range of reasons
between losing a loved one and going for a visa interview. I have not heard of
any study done on the relationship between prayers and their expected outcomes.
I can however venture to assume that prayer is not all that effective in terms
of producing solutions to problems taken to the Lord in supplication.
Signs and Wonders
The rate at
which people join new and vibrant evangelical churches can only be matched by
number of disgraced preachers who have been caught conning their followers with
fake miracles. These faithful adherents go there looking for signs and wonders.
It’s just as Jesus had pointed in Mathew Chapter 16 verse 4 where he said, “A
wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it
except the sign of Jonah”. The sign of Jonah of course refers to Jesus
crucifixion, death, interment for three days in the belly of the earth, and
subsequent resurrection. He was implying that there would not be many miracles
to be witnessed after he left the tomb. The only wonder is the fact that people
still believe in fake miracles.
Doers of the Word
I have a
problem obeying the word of God. I find it particularly hard to love God and
fellow man as indicated by Jesus to be the single most important commandment in
that it consolidates the entire law of God. I guess it was the reason James in
verse 22 of chapter one of his book in the bible instructs us thus, “Do not
merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, Do what it says”. I find
the bible, especially the New Testament rather straight forward. It does not
require a high aptitude or education to understand. The only hindrance to
obeying the word appears to be personal ego.
Cause and Effect
Newton’s
third law of motion states that, ‘for every action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction’. This law is not just true for physics. It applies in all
spheres of life and nature. When one makes a decision for instance, he or she
has to live with the consequences. This holds true whether it is a good
decision or a bad one. This is one law of nature that Kenyans seem to be
painfully ignorant of when it gets to election time. They go out in large
numbers and elect people with openly known questionable credentials and act all
surprised when their ‘newly minted’ leaders display their true colours. The
same applies to children who are left to bring themselves up and their parents
seem clueless as to the association between poor upbringing (or lack thereof)
and indiscipline.
Religion – Man’s Worst Gift to
Himself
People look
down upon a person who does not subscribe to any religion. He or she is
considered incomplete, even evil. Religion in modern times is not a means to an
end. It is an end in itself. People are ready to kill or get killed in the defence
of their religion. Unscrupulous preachers are coming up with all kinds of weird
doctrines and there is no shortage of gullible followers. Religious fanaticism
is more the rule than the exception in the myriad religions, denominations, and
sects dotting our landscape.
God’s Gift to Mankind
When God
made man, he put something in him. It is an inbuilt thing and is present in
every individual. It is hidden in plain sight and those who discover it are
amazed at its simplicity. They wonder how they didn’t find it sooner. That gift
is Common Sense and once you tap into it, you will never be conned again. You
will be able to see through any opportunistic scheme. Use your gift!
