Tie your seatbelts up tight, roll up your sleeves and hang on: this is going to be a stupendous mindboggling mental rollercoaster ride!
Look for the word HATE in the verse below:
Exodus 20
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Hate is such a strong word isn’t it? But when we turn away from a Loving God, what would you call that? Love? Nah. It’s a deep dislike. It’s hate.
Did you feel loved or hated when as a child you were ignored by your parents? Do you feel loved or hated when you hear that your hubby was seen with a kashuugwah? Do you feel love or hatred for your boss when you’re by-passed for a promotion that should rightfully have been yours? When your cheque is delayed yet the sonko who owes you a month’s salo is driving a Lexus 4WD?
Putting a loving God on the Sidelines of your life is hating Him. That’s what He says. He wants you to PTG. Demanding? Yes, but look at it this way, because of Him, you are. There are thousands of girls and boys from broken families whose parents have split up and divorced. The one common thought-thread that these children have is this ‘.. my father left us because he HATED ME.’ …. ‘my mother hates me… she left us alone and went away.’ As an immature Christian, when I didn’t know any better, I would scream and cry, rant and rave and ask God, why do you hate me??… when I thought that He had abandoned me or ignored
my prayers or was shunning me… but you know what, God is incapable of hate. He is a God of LOVE first and foremost. But when you disregard the first commandment it simply means that you’re turning away from God, shunning Him, running past Him or By-passing Him. It means – in anglais – that you hate God.
Now, hold on tight to that thought while we swing back …. read the verse below and this time, look out for the word INIQUITY.
Exodus 20
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Only 16% of Americans say they read the Bible every day.
According to a recent Gallup poll, about six in ten Americans (59%) say they read the Bible at least on occasion, with the most likely readers being women, non-whites, older people, Republicans, and political conservatives. Readership of the Bible has declined from the 1980s overall, from 73% to 59% today. The percentage of frequent readers, that is, those who read the Bible at least once a week, has decreased slightly over the last decade, from 40% in 1990 to 37% today. About one American in seven reports an involvement that goes beyond reading the Bible. Fourteen percent currently belong to a Bible study group. In terms of frequency of readership, 16% of Americans say that they read the Bible every day, 21% say they read it weekly, 12% say they read the Bible monthly, 10% say less than monthly and 41% say that they rarely or never read the Bible.
Sources: http://www.centerforbibleengagement.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=7
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:6-8
Your kids will get it, yes, they will have wicked guests and visitors constantly in their lives…
OK, hate, iniquity.. and your offspring…
You still here? Good. Hold on to those thoughts while we go take a closer look at the word JEALOUS but this time don’t scroll back yet to look for verse 20 - let’s dissect, cut up, slice and divide this word first -
The word jealous has been belittled and mistreated, trampled upon and given an evil connotation by the world. It’s synonyms are envy, covetousness, resentment, invidiousness: It’s been given a color - green, it’s been blamed for horrific crimes, it’s been used as an excuse, a reason, a justification, a pretext for innumerable intolerable injustices. It’s used casually, cruelly, hatefully – and it’s primarily used in the negative.
Your jealousy and mine is a pitiful emotion that rages like a wildfire, it destroys marriages, damages people and devastates lives. My jealousy and yours is a misguided emotion, it beguiles us, leads us blindly into a dark room where we think that we’re not getting what we think is ‘ours’. Where we think we’ve been Left Behind and by-passed ..(and therefore HATED). Like the By-pass highways the Chinese are building all over Nairobi city, by-passing the CBD. By-passed by Expectations. By-passed by Appreciation. By-passed by Approval. By-passed by LOVE.
Your heart and soul is fueled by expectations. Expectations of: Love from your family. Appreciation from your friends and family. Approval from your family, friends and society. When we don’t get what we except, we get bewildered, baffled, hurt. When someone else gets what we expect - what you think belongs to you – you and me both tend to throw our emotions into a huge pot filled with a nasty stinky brew called Jealousy.
And so when we read this commandment, we visualize the word HATE, we mix it up with JEALOUS and we make an assumption… oh, God’s mad coz I bypassed Him … therefore, in His jealous fury, He will withdraw His blessings plus make my children and grandchildren suffer.. We shun away from thinking that our God could be jealous. Whether jealous for us or just simply jealous, I know I don’t care to think that God would rip me apart in some spiritual fury for not obeying Him. And therefore my mind blots out this commandment in it’s entirety and my brain spews out a message similar to this: [You can’t be serious, Does not compute, Error Reading: system error 404, your Browser can’t open the page “http://www.God’s commandment#2.com” because your mind isn’t connected to the terminology.]
But wait a minute! Hang on! My God isn’t any of the above… My God is Loving, Caring, Holy, Gracious, Merciful, Just….. this just didn’t make sense to me… so, I did a Bible Word study and I looked it up, and guess what?? Yup, the biblical meaning of this word jealous - It means – Zealous. Not a ‘Jay’. The letter ‘zee’ or ‘zed’ or however you pronounce Z before the EALOUS. What is Zealous? It’s Passionate, Protective, Enthusiastic, Keen, Caring, Shielding, Defensive, Watchful, Wary. Our God is Zealous for us. Defensive. Engardé for you at all times. Body Guard. 1st Bodi (think MacMende!) Our God is protective for us at all times. Against Evil. Got that?
Now, in traditional theological thinking, and in Bible History, Israel is likened as God’s Bride. So when God commanded Israel not worship other gods, it was likened to God asking Israel not to commit adultery. Spiritual adultery. You’re just-a-man, yah??... If your wife commits adultery you won’t be a happy man. God isn’t a happy God if Israel goes off and commits spiritual adultery with another god. Two. If your wife goes off and commits adultery and then returns to you, but she’s pregnant with his child? In Iran they stone women who commit adultery. I can hear you say gleefully… serves them right.. but, now, if you (yes, you male Christian dude!) go off and worship other gods - what happens when you get spiritually pregnant?? Because you will. Does God stone you to death for your wickedness? No, He is a Merciful Loving God and will embrace you, but you will have to live with that thing that you have birthed, that wicked offspring, born from another god. You will have to live with the repercussions of your sin.
…. here comes another twist in this rollercoaster ride…
Because as a Believer in 2010, how exactly does this apply to you? We DON’T idol-worship! We don’t worship other gods!
Think Provision.
God Provides, Without Him we have Nothing, through Christ we can do all things, our strength is from The Lord, The Lord is my shield and strong right arm... throw in a few verses of your own, verses where Our Lord assures us of His Gracious and deep Love for us in addition to His Provision for us in all areas, spiritual and physical.
Question: Do you have an Mpesa account? Ever done what I once did, and instead of buying Airtime credit for my DataCard – my BambaNet - I sent Money? One K. I was lucky. Went immediately to the SafCon outlet and withdrew the cash (after proving that I was the owner of that data-number) and re-sent it back, this time taking great care that I credited the correct account!! There are those who have mistakenly CREDITed AIRTIME instead of MONEY to their family or friends….sent them 20k. 30k of airtime… ha ha ha! they will talk forever… but you know, that’s it. You can’t change that Airtime back into Cash.
Or maybe you’ve written one wrong number, just one wrong digit, when sending someone money. Ooops. Wrong account. Utado? Do you remember that lovely story last year where a couple in New Zealand found millions of Dollars in their usually-below-balance Bank Account. … they withdrew it all and fled – vanished! Ha ha ha! Now, what I wonder, just what would you charge them with? Wrongful withdrawal?? It was in their bank account!
But what happens when we willfully give the credit to inanimate objects with what is rightfully Gods?
He gets protective, wary, watchful for our Souls. He knows the dangers of wrongfully crediting what rightly belongs to Him into another realm. You see, we have a spiritual realm which has two opposing dimensions – Good and Evil. God is the Keeper of the Holy Realm. Who is the keeper of the opposite, the unholy? Yup. Satan. So when we bow down to anything that isn’t our God… we’re worshipping the exact opposite, which is….
Satan.
This is deeeeep…
Let me tell you a true tale.
Chapter 1
Earlier this year on a warm, sultry afternoon in a sleepy suburb called Mbezi, in Tanzania, where the only thing that moved in the hot moisture-filled air were the occasional squawking crows and a lizard scampering for shade in the leafy purple bougainvilleas, gun-totting thugs entered our compound and - we got robbed. Laptops, 40inch HD flat screens, video editing equipment, cameras, passports, my brother-in-laws entire wardrobe, plus his entire 10year collection of LINGALA Dvd’s, shoes, my son’s brand new shiny blue PSP..
We thanked God that no-one was home that hot-sleepy afternoon. Our mlinzi wasn’t hurt. The rotten thugs didn’t beat him up. PROVISION.
Chapter 2
While running around between the Police-station making statements and home to review again what had been stolen, Drew got a friendly visit from our neighbour, who if you recall from my past articles holds the not-so-dubious title of Witch. She paid Drew a courtesy call to give her poles for the robbery + to offer her services… she promised that she would pray for all the items to be returned.
The End.
Post Script: Prayers include chanting and prancing around the house plus her giving the client inanimate objects - charms and objects, strings with beads, belts, or powders made from the bodies and bones of crushed small dead animals, et cetera.. you get the drift?
Synopsis of above short story:
Do you know that I believed and still do believe it. I totally believe (that’s 3 times I’ve said that) that if my Witch-Doctor neighbour had prayed to her spirit gods for those ‘things’ to be returned, and scattered a couple of chicken bones around the compound, our things would have returned…
Our God is so Mighty!
So, I believe in that unholy realm.
And I avoid it.
Because yes, you will get whatever Luck or Providence you desire, you will get your stolen goods back, you will pass that interview and get your dream job, you will marry that hot babe, you will be POWERFUL, BUT AT WHAT PRICE? At what Spiritual Cost? Because one day, because of bowing down to that god, that spirit from an opposing realm - one day, that evil spirit would come back for payment, to collect: your firstborn son, your beautiful daughter, your loved one.
Too Deep? Or just scary stuff? We have a Swahili saying “malipo ni hapahapa” – meaning that payback for the wrong deeds, the evil that we have committed - is not after death, but right here on Earth and within your lifetime. In English? Repercussions.
Those of you Out of Africa are probably reading this in disbelief and wondering what’s wrong with my head, or thinking that maybe I should join the ranks of Dean R Koontz and Stephen King and write a best-selling horror novel….
But before you make a judgment, let me point out to you a few issues…
Druid worshippers, Tarot card readings, Psychic readings, Clairvoyants, Numerology reports, Astrology Charts, New Age shops, Magic, Satanists, Karma Readings….. eeesshhh! I prefer my Africa anyday! I haven’t yet met an educated black man who ups and goes and worships a tree - willingly….
But Nyakio, I hear you shout, I don’t ascribe to any of the above!!! So I ask, do you have a good luck charm? A ring that your grandmother gave you? A watch that your Dad presented you with when you completed High School? A bling-thing that you wear around your neck that you can’t leave the house without? A special suit, or tie, or shirt that anytime you wear it, providence smiles upon you? maybe- you meet hot manze’s (chicks) when wearing that particular shirt, perhaps it’s a lucky suit and any interview you go for, you get the job you wanted, did you narrowly miss being involved in a harrowing accident because you wore a special item or had some piece of lucky wood in your pocket? Your good luck charm could be anything… a button, a worn stone or pebble, a piece of wood, a picture, a wrist charm to ward off evil spirits, a bracelet… a string of beads, a string tied around your foot or hand, a mug, a bullet dug out of your body that didn’t kill you… Nothing wrong with these items in and of themselves: unless you ascribe to it: Luck, good fortune, destiny, coincidence or providence. If - when you misplace it, or it’s stolen - if the loss of this particular ‘thing’ makes you despair, cry out in hurt, makes you bewildered by the loss of it, makes your heart stop because you cannot find it, makes you numb with shock because your wife threw it in the trash or your kid broke it and you query – ‘what am I going to do without IT?’ – that thing, be aware – beware! you have bowed down and worshipped it. It’s your god with a small g…
Two, while you’re busy looking for your misplaced great-aunt’s ring, what are your children watching and reading online? I recently came across an online site for children with the lovely wording….’a safe haven for your child’s imagination’…. Discussions? an example below...
A: yes, I am (age 16)
Q: are witches bad?
A: I am a good witch.
Q: Do witches deserve to die?
A: They are not of the devil and they don’t deserve to die…
Dear Parents, Shauri yenu.
Read the 2nd Commandment once more:
Exodus 20
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
… when we ascribe and credit to something else the qualities of God, Our God warns us that we invite into our lives that something else. Different account, different credit, we will have to live with those withdrawals for a couple of generations..
Let’s look at history.
When Moses first went up the mountain, he came down with a set of commandments and found some of his flock prancing round a Golden Calf. He was furious at their ignorance – at their lack of knowledge because they were former slaves, they were like infants - babies who did not understand the repercussions of committing spiritual adultery.
Old Civilizations: The Mayans, the Aztecs, the Incas, Egyptian gods, the Kingdom of Mesopotamia, Greek gods, Roman gods…they made and worshipped other gods didn’t they, and we always read about sacrifices of first-born sons or of beautiful daughters, children killed or born maimed or sacrificed on some gruesome altar to appease the gods.
Ring a bell? When we worship what’s not God, we get what we desire, but what’s the payback? Malipo ni hapa hapa.
Our God is a jealous God. He cares for us, he is protective, He is wary, looking out for us and our families. And He says, in black and white, that when we Love Him and worship Him, when we bow down before Him and look to Him for all our needs, when we Thank Him and Pray to Him: in contrast to the opposing Spiritual Realm, that instead of the payback of us sacrificing the souls of our sons and daughters to some indescribable hell, HE WILL SHOW MERCY TO THOUSANDS. Upto the 10th Generation, He will show mercy to those who Love Him. His payback is Love. He is a God of LOVE and Mercy.
There’s a modern belief in Kenya that those who sell Drugs will get rich. Stupendously rich beyond belief. Billionaires… Heard the hit song? It’s on everyone’s lips …’I wanna be a billionaire’ - Yup that one. Nothing in comparison to those who sell drugs… The belief is that they will afford to educate their children in the most expensive private schools in Kenya or Abroad, buy private planes or helicopters to land on their private airstrips, buy Shinde’s and Hummers, build huge homes with heated indoor swimming pools, invest in the booming real estate and have shares in ventures like the proposed TatuCity, travel around the world – (a different city every night) … wear Dolce&Gabbana from head to toe…. BUT… the belief includes the fact that that same drug will also be sold to their children- that Drugs will take the soul or the life of their sons or daughters…
Of which realm is the Drug world? Our God’s or Satan’s? Holy or Evil?
If you’re planning on Disobeying God’s 2nd Commandment, please, I implore you, don’t get children.
Now, let’s get personal. What’s Your Payback? Seriously, what kind of friend are you? How do you behave towards your relatives? Do you lean on the Lord’s side or do you sway towards being devilish? Do you demand a pound-of-flesh from your loved ones when they all they want is your respect, or love, or care or maybe even financial assistance? How high is your interest rate? If you love her, does your mind whisper back to yourself, what will I get back with an evil grin? If you buy someone a meal at Galitos, what will you demand in return? Are you as a Christian, open and loving in your relationships, giving without expecting some bloody sacrificial pound of painful flesh in return?
Or switch the question around - If you receive an unexpected expensive gift from an associate or friend, do you tremble in fear, dreading the dark day when they will come collecting sometime in the near future, knowing that you will payback - painfully? Drop those friends like hot-cakes. With friends like those you don’t need enemies. God loves us. Keep His 2nd Commandment. Meditate on it, Ponder on it. His payback is deliciously simple:
Deuteronomy 6
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.
How many graciously old (80+) men and women do you know of today that are enjoying a marvelously healthy-mentally aware, spritey-old age, or do you pray and hope you die young because old age sucks with disease, poverty, senility and misery? The Word of God reads: you will enjoy long life. And if you say, if you profess and confess that you have Christ in you then this week let Him shine through by practicing graciousness. True godliness is born through practice – reading God’s Word plus practicing - acting out, being mindful of others – gracefully, without expecting a heavy return. As our Lord has given us, let us also try to attain a measure of godliness and give and give from our hearts without demanding a painful payback. Let us give Love to our loved ones, without hurtfully demanding their appreciation, let us give peace to our neighbors without demanding half of their parking slot, let us volunteer our time to the church body and not expect your name in the church bulletin. This week, this month, practice gracious giving towards tithes and financial aid to your church, without expecting the pastor to approve you by paying you a personal home visit or to announce your name in the weekly announcements!!
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:10 – 12 NIV
November 2010 ©NYAKIO JENI MUNYINYI
